TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Tali Padan
During the training courses 15 multipliers (NGO staff, teachers, volunteers…) who work in the field of international youth work from Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Germany and Ukraine will get familiar with the Betzavta method. Through games and interactive activities they explore the democratic decision-making process in a more personal way, and eventually get a more fundamental understanding of democracy. In the second part of the training, the participants focus on the use of Betzavta in their own working context. They learn how to moderate an activity and give/receive peer feedback. The composition of the training fosters the development of regional and international cooperation. In addition the trainings offer the multipliers a platform for exchange of ideas on their understanding of democracy.
Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Germany and Ukraine were involved as participant countries, and the trainer team came from Germany and Denmark.
Betzavta was the method used for this series of training courses. Betzavta is a Hebrew word and means "together". The title of this method of learning democracy, which was developed by the Adam Institute in Israel, makes up the programme and philosophical background at the same time. Betzavta questions the traditional and unsatisfactory paths of conventional conflict resolution with surprising seminar units and presents in its place the concept of creative conflict resolution. With the help of a special conflict dilemma method, it achieves the essential conditions for tolerant social interaction: the willingness to mutually recognize the right to personal freedom. On this basis, the four steps of democratic decision-making provide the conflicting parties with a valuable tool for dealing with conflicts in a novel way. Betzavta is an internationally renowned democracy education programme used in schools and non-school educational institutions.
The major competence in this training course is based in self-reflection and awareness. Within social and civil competence, a greater a awareness of oneself enables you to understand the other better, and be able to communicate more effectively. By deeply examining ourselves, in a conflict situation, or during the process of the conflict being resolved, we make less of a gap between myself and 'the other'. The 'other' becomes more understandable, more like 'me'. This narrowing of the gap allows for a greater opportunity for inclusion and the building of a peaceful and accepting society.
This was the major outcome of this training course, as well as the 2nd part, which enabled the group to implement this activity by learning how to be trainers.
I was one of two trainers, and along with my co-trainer, we designed and planned the training in both logistics as well as training content and activities.