Support the Supporters: Training for professionals working with youth in the field of inclusion and diversity

Are you somebody who always provides support in your youth work? Then this training course is for you! "Support the supporters" provides room, space and support for those who always give support & who rarely get active time to be supported themselves, especially those who work with inclusion and diversity. If you feel you would benefit from an empowering community of supporters, we would love to have you.

Objectives:

• To address the need of support for those who work with inclusion and diversity;
• To reflect on the needed support, as well as personal resources and power to access them in their day-to-day;
• To equip participants with a deeper understanding of what support means: on a cognitive, physical, mental and emotional level;
• To increase the knowledge and experience on what kinds of support exists and fit the best, as well as recognizing limits and asking for support;
• To gain new tools, methods, techniques through peer support, the power of community and non-formal education;
• To develop the basis for a more sustainable work practice.

Methodology:
The Training Course is built on the foundations of non-formal educational principles (voluntary, learner-centered, participatory, experience-based). It aims to create a safe and creative learning environment to focus on support. The program is experiential and based on a holistic approach: for us, this means taking participants as a whole person with all that they bring and including the mental, physical, and emotional levels. For this, we will engage with various creative and imaginatory methods to foster emotional exploration and expression. We will use introspection and embodiment to reflect on our support sources.

Participants' Profile:
This course is for anybody who identifies as belonging to one or more of the following groups:

• Youth workers, people working regularly with young people on a voluntary or paid basis, interested in the topic of INCLUSION and DIVERSITY for whom the topic of support resonates (who feel the need for support);
• Activists in their respective fields that have the role of a multiplier in social inclusion;
• We especially invite people with diverse backgrounds to apply. This includes, but is not limited to: lived experience of migration (including refugees), disabilities and chronic illnesses, neurodiversity, LGBTQ*, people of color, people with fewer learning opportunities, and people from diverse socio-economic backgrounds;
• At least 18 years old;
• Speaking a sufficient level of English (being able to express personal needs, emotions, challenges you face in English without translation).

Important to know:

• This training may not provide you with all the knowledge about support you may need to make your work fully sustainable, but it will set the foundations so that you can develop and adapt it afterwards.
• This training is not group therapy but it works around self-awareness and there is a lot of focus on exchange, talking and connection.
• This training may involve challenging inner processes that participants will be invited to experience.

Flow of the training course:
Kick off meeting (date tbd): One hour together online.
Participants meet, take away some of the nervous butterflies before the training and talk about expectations and practicalities. Short and sweet.

Residential Training (Arrival evening, 4 full working days, departure day):

• Day 1 - Refresh (26 March): Participants arrive at the venue. They have the opportunity to get to know each other, be aware of the practicalities and already dive into the training with a short session where they experience mindfulness. Participants have a chance to start refreshed into the training and connect with their peers.
• Day 2 - Reflect (27 March): On the first full day of the training, participants get to know each other, the program, the team of trainers and the frame of the training, introducing a safer space as well as buddy support and reflective moments during the day. Participants experience support and learn about what support is. In the afternoon, participants get in touch and refl ect with/on their own support needs.
• Day 3 - Recognise (28 March): In order to use support effectively, participants need to recognise where support is needed. On this day, participants go deep into this topic. They get a chance to be aware of what they are carrying and to celebrate the support they give daily.
• Day 4 - Relief (29 March): After recognising and facing challenging realizations the training provides relief on day 4, focusing on how to introduce lightness and playfulness. Participants get empowered to deal with their challenges and understand how to be effectively supported (within themselves and with others). This day also offers the opportunity to explore support outside the venue and some time off.
• Day 5 - Reinvent (30 March): After this intense journey, participants now get the opportunity to analyse what gives and what takes energy in their youth work and develop a strategy on what to do when support is needed. It is also time to make an inventory of all the tools and methods to take back and to evaluate and reflect on the training as a whole
• Day 6 - Return (31 March): Enjoy one last breakfast together and have a safe journey back home.

Check in online meeting (date tbd): One hour to check in and see how everybody is doing - how they manage to continue with support and where they might need more support.

Venue & accessibility:
The venue, European Youth Centre Budapest is accessible for wheelchair users and those with walking impairments. We will be able to accommodate other accessibility requirements. After the selection process, we will get back to all the participants regarding their specific needs during the training course. This training course is inclusive and accessible to all. If you need to bring a personal assistant or a guide dog with you, or if you need an accessible room, sign language interpretation, teleloop, or other kind of support, we will try to arrange it for you. In order for us to support you in your participation, we have included a question about your individual needs in the application form. Of course, this does not have any influence on your application.

Team:

• Richárd Kiss (he/him) is a trainer-psychologist specializing in mental health, resources and resilience through non-formal education. In his work, he emphasises the creation of safe and brave spaces and reflective processes through empowering, creative and accessible methods.
• Kristina Rosenhagen (she/her) is an international project leader, trainer and facilitator with over 10 years of experience in youth work, intercultural learning and non-formal education. Her work focuses on inclusion and diversity, empowerment, creating collaborative spaces where people across cultures can learn, connect and shape meaningful change.
• Manina Ott (she/her) is a freelance trainer and organizational developer with a focus on diversity. Working for more than 12 years in non-formal education, focusing on participation, empowerment, and power-critical perspectives.