4Z. Between us - Learning as a relational practice

Learning is not something that happens alone, it happens… between us.

The idea of 4Z. Between us - Learning as a relational practice training is to explore relationships as a pulsing, core space, where we find meaning, growth, transformation, where learning unfolds. We will explore ourselves as relational beings, shaped by our histories and stories, values, patterns, needs and at how these inner dimensions have an impact on the way we learn, we design, facilitate. Through dialogue, co-creation and shared experimentation, we will work on learning not as the mere transfer of knowledge, but as a relational process built on trust, curiosity, and mutual presence.

We will look for what makes learning truly relational, how safety and risk can coexist meaningfully, how conflicts, differences, can become a source of insights. Going from personal awareness to group dynamics, we will explore how relationships can shape teams, communities, and organisations, and how relational learning can become a core principle of our professional practice. In the era we live in, where we can get “fast answers”, with the risk of also getting “fast learning”, we will try to slow-down for a more meaningful human connection.

The 4Z Between us - Learning as a relational practice training invites you to rediscover relationships as the most advanced and ancient learning technology we have: the place where we learn to learn, and the place where we learn to be. And to be with others.

The training also takes inspiration from Kath Hennell’s Four Zones, a way of sensing how we move between comfort, fear, stretch, and growth. These zones remind us that learning is never just internal, it lives in the spaces between us, in the tensions we dare to lean into, and in the support we can give to each other.

Main aim:

To deepen participants’ understanding of learning as a relational process based on presence, co-creation, and mutual support. To strengthen participants’ capacity to design and facilitate learning spaces where relationships, dialogue, and trust enable meaningful growth.

Objectives:

• Explore how relationships shape learning - and how learning transforms relationships.
• Develop awareness of how one’s way of relating affects others and the learning environment.
• Experience conversation as a space of learning - where meaning, trust, and growth are co-created.
• Build trust and openness as foundations for meaningful learning.
• Practice feedback, vulnerability, and conflict as tools for growth.
• See relationships systemically - beyond the youth worker-young person pair, including peers, teams, communities, and organisations.
• Learn to design and hold relational learning spaces based on co-creation and dialogue.
• Experiment with relational learning in real contexts during the practice phase.
• Reflect on and connect experiences to the ETS Competence Model.

For whom?

This is an invitation for youth workers, educators, trainers, facilitators and for anyone who works with and through people, and is curious about how relationships shape learning. If connection, dialogue, and shared growth are part of your practice, you may already belong here. Apply to “Between Us 4Z” module and embark on a journey focused on “learning and relationships” through the lenses of the ETS (European Training Strategy), with the following format:

• Prep Phase: Preparation phase with the group of participants’ (online and asynchronous) from the end of March 2026
• Training Activity 1: 10. – 16. April 2026 in Tauchen - Austria (including travel days)
• Practice phase: the practice phase, to be implemented in between Activity 1 and Activity 2, will be designed in a co-creation process between the trainers’ team and the group of participants.
• Training Activity 2: 13. – 19. July 2026 in Weimar - Germany (including travel days).
• Follow-up: Online Follow-up Phase with the participants’ group (agreed on together)

This “4Z. Between Us” SKAB’ing module and its activities will provide opportunities to explore:

Activity 1: 10.04.-16.04.2026 | Tauchen (Austria)

• Day 1: Arrival day
• Day 2: Arriving between us: creating the learning space, building trust, and exploring learning as a relational process.
• Day 3: Relationship with self: exploring personal learning histories, values, emotions, and how they shape the way we learn and relate.
• Day 4: Relationship with others: learning through dialogue, trust, feedback, difference, and shared presence.
• Day 5: Tension and learning: working with vulnerability, conflict, and relational dilemmas as sources of insight and growth.
• Day 6: Integration and transition: harvesting learning and preparing the relational learning experiments for the practice phase.
• Day 7: Departure day

Practice Phase

Between the two training activities, participants experiment with small relational learning practices in their own contexts, focusing on observation, reflection, and learning from experience, supported by peer exchange and online reflection moments.

Activity 2: 13.07.-19.07.2026 | Weimar (Germany)

• Day 1: Arrival day
• Day 2: Reconnecting and reflecting: sharing experiences, questions, and dilemmas from the practice phase.
• Day 3: Supporting the relationships of others: facilitating learning in groups, teams, and shared spaces.
• Day 4: Relationships as systems: exploring learning within organisations, communities, and wider relational contexts.
• Day 5: Designing relational learning spaces: translating relational principles into learning and facilitation design.
• Day 6: Integration and moving forward: connecting learning to the ETS Competence Model and clarifying future practice.
• Day 7: Departure day

Information on participation

Given that the module is structured as a comprehensive package, which includes two training activities, preparation and an intervening practice phases, we highly recommend participation in both training activities for the full experience.

How to apply?

Please apply until 7th of February 2026 via https://forms.gle/wBwUKNrLUVe1977U7

We will inform all applicants on 16th of February 2026.