TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Ciobanu Florin
To enhance the digital competences of youth workers and professionals working with young people with fewer opportunities, enabling them to reach and engage these young people more effectively through modern digital communication methods.
Project Objectives
Develop practical competences in visual communication using tools such as Canva.
Strengthen skills in short form video creation using CapCut and mobile editing tools.
Explore the educational use of TikTok and other social media platforms.
Design digital youth engagement activities, including Digital City Games.
Support youth workers in preventing digital and social exclusion through innovative educational approaches.
The training course brings together 4 national groups from Romania, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Poland, creating an international learning environment based on peer exchange and cooperation. Participants are aged 18+ and include youth workers, trainers, educators, teachers, volunteers, NGO staff and other professionals working directly with young people.
The educational and coordination team consists of:
Barbara Leszczyńska, Poland, Project Coordinator and Youth Worker, Facilitator, responsible for the organisation and overall implementation of the training course.
Florin Ciobanu, Romania, Trainer, responsible for the educational process and the development of participants’ practical competences in digital youth work, visual communication, social media tools and digital engagement activities.
The training was based entirely on non-formal education and learning by doing. Participants learned through practical experience, collaboration, experimentation and reflection rather than traditional lectures.
Examples of non-formal learning methods used included:
Experiential learning and hands-on workshops, participants created visual materials, short educational videos and social media content using Canva, CapCut and TikTok.
Peer learning and co-creation, participants worked in small international groups, developed digital products together and exchanged feedback and good practices.
Simulations and scenario-based learning, participants practised online communication with young people and designed responses to realistic youth work situations.
Digital City Game, participants explored Olsztyn while completing digital challenges using mobile applications, QR-based tasks and storytelling. This connected outdoor experiential learning with digital participation.
Peer facilitation and micro-sessions, participants tested activities with the group and practised facilitating digital learning processes themselves.
Case studies, participants analysed real Erasmus+ projects and examples of digital youth work, linking existing practices with their own professional contexts.
Group challenges and collaborative tasks, participants worked together to solve practical challenges and develop inclusive digital youth activities.
Reflection and peer feedback, daily reflection groups helped participants identify learning outcomes, evaluate their experience and consider how the methods could be transferred to their organisations.
Action planning, participants transformed their learning into concrete follow-up activities to implement with young people in their local communities.
The training strengthened participants’ practical competences in digital youth work and gave them tools they could directly transfer to their organisations and local communities. Participants developed skills in visual communication, short form video production, social media engagement and digital facilitation, with a strong focus on reaching young people with fewer opportunities.
The main outcomes included:
Increased confidence in using Canva, CapCut, TikTok and other digital tools for youth work.
Creation of visual materials, short educational videos, social media content and digital youth engagement activities.
Improved ability to analyse young people’s digital habits and identify communication and outreach challenges.
Development and testing of inclusive digital activities through simulations, peer facilitation and the Digital City Game.
Stronger teamwork, peer learning, communication and facilitation competences within an international group.
Concrete follow up ideas and action plans that participants could implement in their organisations and communities.
We could identify the success of the training through participants’ practical outputs, their active involvement in workshops and group tasks, peer feedback, daily reflection sessions and the final evaluation process. Participants assessed their own activities through reflection tools, feedback forms and peer review, then identified improvement steps and follow up actions.
The Youthpass process also supported the evaluation and recognition of learning. Participants reflected on the knowledge, skills and attitudes they developed, including digital communication, facilitation, teamwork and project design competences.
Websites and documentation:
Warmińsko Mazurska Wojewódzka Komenda OHP w Olsztynie, organiser’s official website: https://warminsko-mazurska.ohp.pl/
Youthpass, documentation and recognition of participants’ non formal learning outcomes: https://www.youthpass.eu/
Click & CONNECT Info Pack, which documents the project objectives, methodology, participant profile, training process and planned learning outcomes.
The available Info Pack does not contain a dedicated post training publication or a specific online article reporting the final results, so I would not add such a link to TOY unless you have one from OHP, Facebook, Instagram or your organisation.
I worked as the full-time trainer of the “Click to Connect” Training Course and was responsible for the educational process throughout the activity. My role focused on designing, delivering and evaluating the non-formal learning programme, while supporting participants in developing practical competences in digital youth work. The project documentation formally identifies me, Florin Ciobanu, as the trainer of the course.
My main responsibilities included:
Designing and delivering the training sessions based on non-formal education, experiential learning and learning by doing.
Facilitating practical workshops on visual communication, Canva, CapCut, short-form video creation, social media and digital youth engagement.
Designing and facilitating simulations, group challenges, peer-learning activities, co-creation exercises and the Digital City Game.
Supporting participants during hands-on activities and providing coaching and individual or group feedback on their digital products and activity designs.
Facilitating peer learning and encouraging participants to exchange methods, experiences and practices from their different national and organisational contexts.
Guiding participants in designing inclusive digital activities that could be used with young people, especially young people with fewer opportunities or at risk of social exclusion.
Facilitating reflection and evaluation processes so participants could identify their learning outcomes and connect them with their professional youth work practice.
Supporting participants in developing concrete follow-up activities that could be transferred to their organisations and local communities.
As the trainer, I had continuous responsibility for the learning process, from introducing the concepts and methods to coaching the practical work, facilitating reflection and supporting the transfer of learning into future youth work activities. The training therefore represented a full trainer role rather than participation as a guest speaker, workshop contributor or occasional facilitator.