TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Kata Dietrich
crEATe! was an 8 days long Training Course with the aim of equipping youth workers with new, innovative methods and tools in youth workers, related to the topic of of food-climate nexus. The program was created in order to allow youth workers to gain a new environmental attitude, to learn new methods and tools on how to make their first steps towards a more sustainable food consumption. Furthermore they got to practice how to design their own educational tools and developed facilitation skills.
The program involved youth workers, teachers, trainers, social workers from 5 countries: Estonia, Hungary, Greece, Italy and Spain.
The main training method that we used was creative recycling - a method that is focusing on skill development through upcycling. Using this method, participants learn how to create new items out of waste materials, while they also develop their personal ans social soft skills. This method was combined with several other non formal educational elements - mainly using the method of gamification. Participants learned about how they can use games as a tools for educational purposes and also got the chance to design their own gamification tools.
Participants developed their personal and professional skills - such as communication, problem-solving, cooperation and so on. They also created their own educational materials and practiced facilitation in a safe environment which will allow them to be more confident in their own work. They can also use the educational materials that were created during the training course in their work with young people.
I was one of the head trainiers of the training course. I worked together with another trainer who we developed the program together with. I was responsible for the creative recycling methodology and the overall flow and outcomes of the activity.