TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Denise De Stena
This training course aimed to strengthen the capacity of youth workers to support, guide, and assess the learning of volunteers, particularly during the final phase of their ESC journey — when volunteers begin transitioning back to their personal lives. It addressed the often-overlooked need for structured reflection, emotional closure, and self-assessment after long-term mobility experiences.
It fit perfectly with the goals of Strauss APS (as both lead and hosting organization) by equipping youth workers with tools to:
Foster volunteer well-being
Recognize and validate learning outcomes
Support reintegration into daily life after volunteering
It also aligned with the broader mission of increasing the impact and sustainability of ESC projects and strengthening the support systems surrounding volunteers.
The target group included youth workers, youth leaders, facilitators, and mentors — people already involved or preparing to be involved in ESC projects and youth mobility activities. These participants were motivated to improve their capacity to support volunteers' learning processes, especially toward the end of their service.
The training gathered 28 participants from the following countries:
Italy, Spain, Germany, Estonia, Serbia, Hungary, Greece, Türkiye, North Macedonia, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Czechia, Croatia, and Slovenia — offering a wide mix of experiences and cultural perspectives in an international learning environment.
The training used a variety of non-formal education approaches, with a focus on personal meaning-making, emotional processing, and practical integration.
We carefully designed each session to help participants explore not only how to support others, but also how to reflect on their own identity, purpose, and role as youth workers in closing learning processes.
One of the key tools we used was the Ikigai model, adapted to the context of volunteer mentoring. Participants worked through a guided reflection to map out:
- What they love doing in their support roles
- What they're good at as mentors
- What the volunteer experience needs from them
- What gives them a sense of deeper purpose
This exercise helped frame mentoring not as a technical task, but as a meaningful contribution rooted in values and identity.
Other methods included:
- Silent reflection walks in nature, to help internalize concepts and connect emotionally with the end-of-volunteering transition
- Interactive constellation work, where participants could “step into” different stakeholder roles (volunteer, mentor, sending org, etc.) and explore emotional dynamics
- Personal symbol-making, where each person created a visual or object that represented their way of supporting closure and transformation
- Peer circles for exchanging tools used in their organizations, from reflection journals to closure rituals
Rather than front-loading content, we facilitated spaces where participants could slow down, go inward, and come back with insights they could apply directly in their ESC work.
- A renewed awareness among participants of the importance of supporting the end phase of the ESC experience
- The creation and exchange of concrete tools to support volunteer reflection, feedback, and reintegration
- Strong intercultural connections and potential future collaborations among participants
Success was evident through the active engagement, depth of the reflections shared, and the quality of tools and approaches co-developed during the course. Many participants expressed how the space allowed them to rethink their support roles in a more holistic way.
I was part of the trainers’ team from the preparation phase to the end of the training, and my role was deeply connected to creating emotional connection and meaning within the group. I focused on facilitating spaces where participants could slow down, reflect, and find clarity — not just about tools, but about their role as youth workers accompanying others through change.
Rather than delivering content, I often worked on setting the tone and rhythm of the group — bringing in elements like slowness, silence, and symbol-based reflection. I helped co-create the flow of the training, contributed with sessions grounded in personal purpose (like the Ikigai) and supported participants during emotionally charged or uncertain moments.
I see myself not just as a trainer, but as someone who helps hold the space when things get real, when people confront doubts, contradictions, or questions about their practice. That’s the part I enjoy most — and the one I feel most responsible for in any team.