TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Stefano Esposito
The aim of this training was to help them develop self-awareness and self-care as key elements for finding personal balance when working closely with others.
When self-care is prioritized, youth workers are better equipped to contribute creatively and productively, fostering better communication skills and interpersonal relationships.
By addressing their own needs, understanding and setting priorities on well-being, youth workers underwent their own personal reflection process that helped them support young people in their personal development process, while creating a healthier and harmonious group.
OBJECTIVES:
- Build self-awareness to enhance youth workers well-being
Encourage youth workers to understand their own emotions, values, and beliefs, and reflect on how these shape their ability to connect to young people and collaborate effectively in teams
- Foster authentic and supportive communication
Develop the confidence to act authentically, seek and offer support when needed, and build trust - key to fostering collaboration and creating positive environments within youth work and with youth.
- Promote self-care for sustainable engagement
Emphasize self-care practices, enabling youth workers to stay balanced, maintain their energy and focus while dealing with their daily work commitment on the local, national, european and international level.
- Embrace self-reflection for personal and team growth
Encourage regular self-reflection to recognize strengths and areas for growth, helping each participant contribute meaningfully to the collective wellbeing.
The Training Course was part of the TPC (Training Practice Course) developed within the framework of the Salto Training of Trainers TOT Edition 2024/2025. This Training Course involved 23 participants engaged in the youth work field from different European countries, named by the participating representation of different National Agencies.
The participants were either Youth Workers residents in the Partners' Countries.
The trainers’ team itself was also international, with trainers from Italy, Portugal, France and Belgium and it was formed during the 1st Residential Seminar of the Training of Trainers in the European Youth Center of Budapest
The program was carefully designed to achieve its main objective: enhancing communication and cooperation skills of youth workers while introducing and fostering reflection tools, as well as self-care practices. The team consisted of a balanced mix of participants with varying levels of understanding of the well-being framework. The project followed a step-by-step structure tailored to the participants' learning needs. Through non-formal education methods, participants were introduced to fundamental principles of creating a safe and brave space, reflecting on their journey of personal growth to connect the dots of the different stages of their life. Activities were primarily rooted in reflection and self-care practices, with complementary techniques such as Forum Theatre from the Theatre of the Oppressed tradition to enhance certain aspects of the training. Furthermore, framework models such as Core Quadrant, DISC and NVC (Non Violent Communication) were used as self-introspective methodologies. The program balanced hands-on practice with theoretical concepts, enabling participants to gain a comprehensive understanding while developing their own daily self-care practices. These sessions provided a safe space for participants to discuss their experiences, share feedback, and reflect on their learning journey.
Open conversations about challenges and achievements fostered deeper engagement and ownership of the learning process. Participants also had access to a small internal-use only resource center to look at the implemented activities, materials developed by the trainers as well as materials used by the trainers to facilitate the learning process (e.g. Graphic Facilitation, Forum Theatre, mentoring resources). A key element of the training was fostering collaboration. Participants were encouraged to actively support one another, sharing tips, best practices, and insights to strengthen team dynamics and enhance collective learning.
The Training Course opened the discussion among the different participants for introducing well-being as an important aspect of the everyday life of a Youth Worker, while creating a space for sharing knowledge and different approaches within different context.
The trainers' team developed a small internal resource center for the participants to share materials and implemented activities to foster the sustainability and good practices for the community of international youth workers. (The website is for internal use only and it is not a pubblication of the National Agency, just a resource center for the participants developed by the Trainers)
I worked as a full-time trainer being part of a team of 4 Trainers in total, and one extra person supporting the Logistics.
The sessions were structured around Well-being, reflection, self-care practices, communication and cooperation while working in team.
My main responsibilities involved:
- Collaborating in the program design and creating structured, engaging training sessions.
- Introducing theoretical and practical tips on how to navigate communicating meaningfully and cooperating in teams.
- Leading interactive workshops, group discussions, and activities.
- Facilitating conversations on the communication and cooperation and how to develop emphaty for communitarian actions, both within a team, or in the wider local communities.
- Coordinating the team and managing the training schedule, including conducting daily team debriefs and adjusting the program as needed based on participant feedback.