TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Anton Toshev
The Creathon youth exchange aimed to empower young people to participate more actively in society by strengthening their self-expression, self-confidence, and intercultural competence through creative and artistic processes. The project addressed the need for safe, non-judgmental spaces where young people could explore their identities, emotions, and limiting beliefs using expressive arts as a tool for reflection and learning.
The training responded to challenges such as low creative confidence, fear of judgment, limited opportunities for meaningful intercultural interaction, and a lack of practical methods for personal development. Through collaborative artistic activities, participants developed greater self-awareness, emotional expression, teamwork, and openness toward diversity.
Creathon supported the goals of the partner organisations by promoting youth empowerment, non-formal education, creativity, and active participation. It strengthened participants’ capacity to use artistic methods in their local contexts, encouraged community engagement through follow-up activities, and contributed to the long-term development of international cooperation between the partner organisations.
The activity brought together an international group of 24 young people aged 18–30 from four Erasmus+ programme countries: Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, and Hungary. Participants represented diverse social, educational, and cultural backgrounds and shared an interest in creative expression, personal development, and intercultural learning. The group composition was balanced in terms of nationality and gender, ensuring equal participation and intercultural exchange throughout the activity.
The international team consisted of facilitators and group leaders from the same four countries, who worked collaboratively before, during, and after the exchange. This international trainer and support team ensured continuity between preparation, implementation, and follow-up phases, and created a learning environment grounded in intercultural cooperation, mutual respect, and shared responsibilit
The training was based entirely on non-formal learning methods, with a strong emphasis on experiential, participatory, and arts-based approaches. Expressive arts were used as the main learning framework, including music, movement, theatre, creative writing, and visual arts, allowing participants to explore personal themes and limiting beliefs through direct experience rather than theoretical input.
Learning took place through hands-on workshops, creative challenges, and small-group collaboration, where participants co-created artistic outputs and reflected together on the process. Reflection was supported through guided group discussions, individual journaling, and sharing circles, helping participants connect their creative experiences to personal insights and learning outcomes.
Additional methods included intercultural learning activities, team-building exercises, peer learning, and community-based learning through the organisation of a public creative festival involving local residents. The programme encouraged learning by doing, self-reflection, and mutual learning, in line with the principles of non-formal education.
The activity resulted in strong personal, educational, and community-level outcomes. Participants increased their self-confidence, creative expression, and ability to work in intercultural teams. Many reported greater awareness of their limiting beliefs and a stronger sense of belonging, safety, and motivation to engage creatively in their daily lives. The high level of participation, emotional engagement, and initiative taken by the group throughout the programme indicated that the training objectives were successfully achieved.
A key outcome of the activity was the public festival day in Apriltsi, named "Anyone can create", which demonstrated participants’ learning in practice. Participants designed and hosted creative workshops in small “huts” around the town, offering activities such as music, visual arts, movement, and improvisation for local residents. This culminated in a public showcase in the town square, organised by the team with a stage and professional sound. The programme included a performance by a local children’s brass band and organically evolved into a shared dance exchange between participants and local residents, creating a strong sense of connection and mutual learning. Around 100 people from the local community took part, confirming the relevance and accessibility of the participants’ work.
The training’s success was further demonstrated through its follow-up phase. After the exchange, participants implemented four local actions, one in each partner country. Each national group adapted their favourite methods and concepts from the exchange and brought them to their local communities through creative workshops and events, extending the project’s impact beyond the mobility itself.
The activity is documented through the Creathon project website, a project video, a downloadable project booklet, and photo documentation. The festival and project outcomes were also covered by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) and featured in an interview on Bulgarian National Radio (Hristo Botev Programme), providing additional public visibility and external validation of the project’s impact.
In addition to overall coordination and participant support, I contributed directly to the learning process by supporting and co-facilitating several programme elements.
I took part in multiple workshops as a co-trainer or trainer-support, adapting my role according to the needs of the session and the group. For example, on the first evening I facilitated a short creative activity that integrated administrative tasks, turning the collection and verification of required documents into an engaging, non-formal learning moment that helped break the ice and build group trust while saving a great deal of time for the team. On the following day, I supported a sensory theatre experience prepared and led by Kris Filipiuk, contributing to group safety, flow, and participant engagement during an emotionally immersive process.
I also played an active role in the evening programme, including the “Oscars Night,” where I supported the facilitation by energising and preparing participants before their stage appearances, helping them overcome probable stage fright and engage playfully with the activity. Beyond direct work with participants, I contributed to the extended trainers’ and leaders’ meetings, collaborating with the three facilitators and four country group leaders on daily reflection, participant well-being, and decision-making. Through this combination of facilitation, support, and coordination, I contributed consistently to both the educational quality and the smooth implementation of the youth activity.