BE THE KEY: Empowering European Youth Workers through Conflict Management Skills

Today‘s world is challenging for young people: different ways of living, loving, believing – as such – being often trigger misunderstanding and exclusion. Youth workers play an important role in supporting young people in coping with personal, social and intercultural conflicts. They can facilitate constructive learning outcomes and stimulate reflective perspectives, supporting young people in recognizing conflicts as part of an important learning process. The training course „BE THE KEY: Empowering European Youth Workers through Conflict Management Skills“ aims to equip young people (youth workers, leaders, facilitators, coaches, trainers, NGO staff and volunteers) with practical skills to intervene and to deal with conflicts in their local community and environment in a way that bring out positive outcomes for learning and change. The training course intends to develop their competences contributing to a spirit of mutual understanding and respect on a local, national and European level. 25 participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Montenegro, Portugal, Serbia, Spain and Ukraine will come together for nine days in Sajan, Serbia from May 5th to 13th, 2014. Objectives of the Training Course are: • to deepen participants understanding on the nature and the different types of conflict • to exchange experiences, expertise and good practices about conflict management • to develop participants skills and knowledge on tools, strategies and methods of conflict management • to develop common strategies to be used within the local environment in educating young people as peer mediator • to foster a European network on conflict management The use of non-formal methods as inputs and discussions in plenary sessions, exercises and simulations, thematic working groups and workshops, meetings and the use of open space will provide the platform to be trained with specific conflict management skills and relevant background knowledge.