TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Milena (Lazic) Nikolic
This project started as part of SALTO's TOT – Training of Trainers and first it took place in Slovenia in 2008. The next edition of Captain Culture was in Sicily in 2009. The repetition of the training with developed content happened again in Cyprus, giving a form that responded to needs presented during the last two implementations.
Main aims were to learn how to deal with cultural diversity, to use cultural diversity as a tool to discover identity, to work with concrete aspects of cultural diversity and integration of it into youth work.
Training ensures that participants will (Objectives):
- Develop awareness of the importance that influence of culture has on person’s behaviour and identity.
- Recognise and become sensitiveness for differences that other cultures bring.
- Understand the importance of cultural issues in Youth in Action Programme.
- Develop tools, activities, strategies for improvement of youth work on local level focused on cultural diversity.
- Promote multiplying effect of youth workers in local participation.
27 Youth Workers and Youth Leaders active in local and international youth field, who are interested in using alternative approach in intercultural learning and are expected to work with groups where they can implement intercultural learning activities. The participants were coming from Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia and Cyprus.
Team of trainers:
Rodrigo Vilarinho, Portugal
Panayiotis Theodorou, Cyprus
Nina Arnus, Slovenia
Milena Lazic, Serbia
The training course followed non-formal educational methodology based on experiential learning using a participative and learner-centred approach with a special focus on innovative and alternative approaches towards intercultural learning.
Specific feature of the training is that in certain moment it consisted of two parallel working groups in one TC, meaning that participants who are more focused on learning by doing were following one working group and the ones that are more oriented on reflective learning style were following the other. Participants were able to experience Captain Culture from any of the two angels, with the shared sessions at the end of every working day; where they were building common learning experience through sharing, evaluation, discussion and integration of both groups’ experiences.
Also, another specific quality of this training course is focus on tools and concrete use of learning products, therefore participants were supported and guided on development, implementation and evaluation of their own tools for intercultural learning and dialogue.
4 new educational tools for intercultural learning and dialogue have been developed by participants during the training course. There was also the possibility to test those tools and experience role of a facilitator (design, implementation and evaluation) with local volunteers from Cyprus.
At the same time 5 different international project ideas (mainly youth exchanges and initiatives) were developed by participants during the training course.
I had a role of a trainer, meaning that I was responsible for design, implementation and evaluation of the training program in common sessions with the whole group. Having in mind specific design of this training course I was also responsible for the Daily Day working group together with Panayiotis Theodorou from Cyprus.