Trainers’ Wellbeing Retreat

International Youth Work Trainers Guild invites you to participate in the Trainers’ Wellbeing Retreat, which is organised as part of our Erasmus+ accreditation approved by the German National Agency.

The Trainer’s Wellbeing Retreat was born as one of the outcomes of the Holistic Trainer project (https://iywt.org/holistic), which is a strategic partnership in the field of youth work to empower trainers with the resources and support they need to thrive in their roles. Specifically, the findings revealed that many trainers face significant difficulties managing burnout, high emotional demands, and stress while maintaining a balanced lifestyle due to irregular working schedules and limited structural support. 

This Retreat offers participants an immersive experience focused on physical and mental wellbeing, as well as the unique challenges of life on the road. It provides dedicated time and space for reflection, sharing practical tools and methods to sustain personal wellbeing and foster professional development. Participants will reflect on their own growth, explore supportive community systems, and design personalized wellbeing routines. The retreat also facilitates coworking and networking opportunities, enabling trainers to connect and collaborate. Over five days, the program guides participants through holistic wellbeing topics, culminating with integrating their personal wellbeing practices and strengthening their identity as Holistic Trainers.

Objectives:

• Introduce the Holistic Trainer topics of Physical and Mental Wellbeing and Life on the Road. 
• To provide space and time for reflection and sharing practices, tools and methods so participants can maintain their own wellbeing as a way towards personal and professional development. 
• To reflect upon their professional growth and discuss possible supporting systems within the Trainers community. 
• To explore, try out and share different paths, tools, and methods to design their own personal “wellbeing routine”
• Provide space for coworking and networking

Preliminary programme:
Day 1: Initiation, Introductions, and Creating the Retreat Space. 
Day 2: Focused on Physical Wellbeing of trainers and corresponding wellbeing practice. 
Day 3: Focused on Mental Wellbeing and corresponding wellbeing practice. 
Day 4: Focused on Life on a Road and corresponding wellbeing practice. 
Day 5: Integration of Holistic Trainer identity (personal routine and supporting community), followed by Evaluation and Closure

Please note that the programme will be adapted according to the needs and contributions of selected participants

Participant Profile

• Individuals currently working as trainers/facilitators* with diverse backgrounds and expertise.
• We welcome a balanced mix of senior, mid-career, and newcomer trainers, fostering intergenerational learning and inclusiveness across all experience levels in the youth work sector.

* The Trainer in the field of youth is defined as someone “who shapes, guides and accompanies the learning processes of individuals or groups. Trainers design and implement educational activities based on the values and principles of youth work and non-formal learning; they create conditions that promote the learners’ individual development, and they shape the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary for youth work”

Eligibility Criteria

• Minimum age: 18 years.
• Language: Participants must have a good working knowledge of English.
• Residency: Applicants must reside in one of the eligible countries (please review the call for the complete list).
• Available to participate the entire duration of the retreat. 

Apply now using the application form https://forms.gle/Nf6r4usjGN9A5frD6

Team of Trainers

Ekaterina (Katya) Sherer (ES) Olga Kyriakidou (EL)