TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Panayiotis Theodorou
Captain Culture TC is an experiential 8 days (including traveling days) course.
Main aims are 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 in youth work.
Objectives:
- become aware of the importance that influence of culture has on person’s behavior and identity
- recognize and be sensitive for differences that other cultures bring.
- point out the importance of cultural issues in Youth in Action
- to develop tools, activities, strategies for improvement of youth work on local level focused on cultural diversity
- to promote multiplying effect of youth workers in local participation
Target group
- 28 youth workers dealing with intercultural issues interested in using alternative approach in intercultural learning.
Target group
- 28 youth workers dealing with intercultural issues interested in using alternative approach in intercultural learning.
Participants were over 18 years old and came from one of the project partner countries: Austria, Cyprus, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey.
Specific feature of the training is that it consist of two parallel courses: Exploring Daily Day Activities and Outdoor Activities in one TC. Participants will be able to benefit from one of it (regarding the choice they will make prior to the course) and in common sessions sharing, evaluating and discussing their experiences.
1-) Exploring Daily Day Activities
Have you ever recognized funny things about other cultures during your travellings? Did you discover that your friend from East Europe always wears pyjamas and you don’t? Are you the one that is always late while your friends from the North are always waiting for you? Have you ever walked into a French toilet and didn’t know where to seat?
Would you like to join us in our mission of exploring these small things?
We invite you to discover differences in daily day culture, like food, clothes, time, music, dances, customs and ways of communicating with each other etc. In fact, all the other things that shape our every day life and have roots in our culture.
2-) Outdoor activities as a tool for ICL
How do you connect a lake, a mountain and a forest with Intercultural Learning? Well, the same way you connect a hike in the mountain with the love of your life, or a canoe with the meeting of cultures!
Come and explore how to use outdoor activities (ex. hike, orienteering, , pic-nic, star gazing etc.) in intercultural learning – ICL. We will be focusing on communication, different aspects of culture (general, national, personal etc.), cultural clashes and intercultural projects.
Participants will also develop their own outdoor tools for ICL.
During the project a final evaluation session was run on day 7 afternoon, and several monitoring tools have been used during all tc duration. The evaluation session used several methodologies (visual, verbal, written evaluation) and tried to offer participants the possibility to participants to express themselves about different aspects of the tc and also about future perspectives of cooperation and further projects after tc.
The evaluation was also an ongoing process which aimed to self learning. The reflection groups (smaller working groups) would work as a space for participants to evaluate their personal learning throughout the day. The tools given and discussions gave the opportunity for both self and group evaluation .
Moreover a final evaluation team meeting happened on the last day. It was an opportunity for trainers to discuss about the overall tc implementation and about feedback from participants taking into consideration also evaluation forms (see attachment). A report on the questionnaire given is attached and by reading it we could understand that the training had a real impact on the trainees. This has given us the push to go for another training enhancing the quality within it.
During the final evaluation meeting we also plan some further actions to support the real implementation of project ideas developed by participants during tc by offering support and advice of trainers in the future by distant communication . We discussed also about the future of Captain Culture as training and about possible future editions in other countries and about other cooperation possibilities between team members and participants.
Participants’ organization, colleagues, peers but also the young people participants are working daily together and will be benefited from this project because new tools, competences and skills that have been gained and used by participants in their own organizations/projects. Youth workers and leaders from different youth centers and youth organization in Lefkosia were also involved in the open activity of tool creation. In day 6 in the tools presentation which include educational tools on intercultural learning developed and tested for the first time by participants. It was a really important moment for the international group and local youth organizations to interact and learn from each other.
As a trainer and part of a team i had a full time responsibility of the flow of the training. Sessions were equally divided and shared amongst the three trainers. The planning was reviewed every day and adjusted according to the needs of participants. Implementation and evaluation of the activities were in the everyday agenda.