TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Marco Marinelli
Enriching youth work practice with the principles of theatrical performance art, integrating the listening skills typical of a performer on stage and awareness of the use of the body and voice into the conduct of non-formal activities with young people. In theatrical artistic practice, greater sensitivity is developed towards oneself, one's own being in space and time, and in connection with the energy and emotionality of one's colleagues and the audience. This inner process of the artist corresponds to what is defined as the ‘magical dimension’ in youth work (Ets competence model to work internationally, p. 21), a dimension in which intuition and the combination of intentions, desires, and resistance can create meaningful moments for young people, marking a turning point in their growth.
Learning objectives
- Develop personal and interpersonal skills in complex and dynamic contexts:
Strengthen active listening, empathy, awareness, effective communication, and flexibility in uncertain or challenging situations, promoting the ability to adapt, improvise, and collaborate
- Learning new methods and tools to stimulate creativity, lateral thinking, and critical thinking:
Exploring and experimenting with innovative and multidisciplinary approaches such as participatory theater and circus arts to encourage problem solving and out-of-the-box thinking, with the aim of applying them in one's own educational and social contexts
- Foster awareness among young people of their role as agents of change in their communities:
Promote engagement and civic responsibility among young people through artistic practices and play, stimulating awareness of their potential to bring about change in their communities
The trainers team was composed by me and Anna Maria Avella, Trainer expert in immersive theatre and creative methods for youth workers
The course is aimed at both social and educational workers (educators, school teachers, psychologists, pedagogists, sociologists, trainers, facilitators, volunteers) who work with young people on a daily basis and are interested in using performative and playful practices to support and encourage young people's growth, and artists who wish to approach or deepen their work with young people in workshop contexts or planned activities.
During this training course we had participants from Spain, italy, Portugal, Latvia, Poland, slovenia, Belgium
During this training course we used mostly creative tools and methodologies, in particular:
- Immersive theatre principles, to create olistic experiences where all the senses are involved and engage participants in a deep process of listening and interaction;
- Theatre of the oppressed, to deal with the topic of social inclusion and power relation;
- Physical theatre, to let participants focus on themselves and to interact with other participants with lightness and intentionality;
- visual facilitation, to take notes of all the topics and output produced by participants;
- Open space technology, to involve participants in a process of tool sharing
Participants learned new methodologies to work with young people by using creative methods connected to theatre, poetry, storytelling.
- raised awareness about the topic of social inclusion and active participation by reflection on their power role as trainer/youth worker/educator;
- gained motivation to propose activities and artistic events in their local community
In this project I was involved as trainer and as project manager.
- I created the infopack and searched for partner organisation able to send participants to the training course;
- Organised online meeting with partner organisation to have a common ground on the training, selection of participants and how to support them.
Regarding the program, I worked with Annamaria on the project design, by taking in account needs of participants, priorities of the program and learning objectives set in the ideation of the project.
During the training course, I delivered with AnnaMaria the different activities. I dealt mainly with the topic of social inclusion and theatre of the oppressed. Together we created activities for reflection, debriefing and harvesting the learning outcomes of the day and the entire week
Marco is a creative and enthusiastic trainer, specializing in active participation and social inclusion through Circus and Theatre of the Oppressed. Working with him on designing the programme and facilitating the activities was a truly stimulating and enriching experience. His sense of humor and engaging style not only inspired me but also fostered an inclusive and motivating learning environment for all participants.