TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Karlo Brunović
Aim of the activity was to increase the quality of youth work of partner organisations in promoting active citizenship. Special emphasis was on using non-formal education methods because non-formal learning can help enhance youth’s understanding of the EU, inspire a more active participation in social and democratic processes, as well as foster a sense of belonging to the European Union.
There were three specific objectives:
● increasing knowledge of partners' youth workers related to the Union’s functioning, common EU values, and fundamental rights
● increasing knowledge, competences and skills of partners' youth workers related to promoting media literacy and critical thinking among youth
● exchanging experiences of participating organisations on how to use non-formal education in promoting active citizenship among youth.
Target group were youth workers from Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, Croatia, Estonia, Spain, Lithuania and Latvia, working with youth who face cultural, social, economic and geographical obstacles.
I employed various non-formal education methods to engage youth workers and explore the theme of active citizenship.
I used the "World Cafe" method on the first day to spark initial discussions among participants regarding active citizenship. Next, I introduced the Percipio game to give participants a chance to express and share their opinions on social issues through their perceptions and associations.
To provide an opportunity for participants to practice their argumentation regarding European values and active citizenship, I facilitated a "Four Corners" session. During the Workshop on Logical Fallacies and Mental Biases, I used practical tasks to help participants discern fallacious argumentation and bias within media discourse.
To explore the opportunities of deliberative democracy, I organized "Fishbowl Conversations" to facilitate interactive dialogue about youth and active citizenship. Several sessions were dedicated to an "Open Space" format, allowing participants to share their own experiences and skills in promoting active citizenship from their respective organizations.
For the sessions focused on the European Union, I used participatory methods—such as Kahoot quiz—to test the participants' knowledge of the Union's functioning and common values.
The training generated knowledge, skills, and competencies needed by partner organizations to foster and facilitate young people’s participation in Europe’s democratic life. After the training, a digital leaflet was produced containing basic introduction to fostering active citizenship among youth.
By increasing the level of quality of youth work through training on media literacy and critical thinking, the Union’s functioning, and common EU values, the training positively impacted youth in local communities.
After the implementation of the training
course and during the dissemination phase, the trainers assessed the participants’ final evaluation surveys and EU Commission surveys, concluding that project objectives were successfully met.
Udruga Prizma's website (https://www.udrugaprizma.hr/civitas-2023) includes a link to digital toolkit "Non-formal approach to
fostering active citizenship among youth" developed after the training.
I was responsible for overall preparation and implementation of the training course, including design of training programme and meetings with partners during their preparatory visit.
Besides conducting core training sessions, I also contributed to reflection sessions, including mid and final evaluation by motivating participants to share their impressions and reflect upon their learning.
After the training, I was responsible for producing a a digital leaflet containing basic introduction to fostering active citizenship among youth. Moreover, I was in touch with project partners to follow-up on their dissemination activities.