TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Simona Muršec
The aim of the 'Do you speak Trainish?' training for trainers was to develop competencies which are needed in order to ensure a high level of quality when working with young adults through non-formal education.
The participants:
• reflected about different dimensions of a learning process
• Explored the different dimensions of education, its societal role and emancipatory potential when used as a tool for social change
• developed an educational activity
• reflected about ICL in educational activities
• learned how to measure the learning outcomes of an educational activity
• used quality indicators for the planning, delivering and evaluation of non-formal education activities
• identified ways of personal development and growth for the future
• explored possibilities of using Youth in Action for organisational development
The activity was answering the need of EEE-YFU to prepare a group of trainers, who would in the future be competent to join their European Trainers Network.
The Training for Trainers: Do you speak Trainish? gathered 22 participants from different European YFU organisations (Belgium, Denmark, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Hungary, Romania, Norway, Turkey, Estonia, Sweden, Austria, Lithuania, and Serbia). The working language of the Training Course was English and the educational team consisted of 4 trainers coming from Slovenia, Portugal, Switzerland and Romania.
The theme of quality in non-formal education is one that arose from the needs analysis of the promoters and also it is of major significance for EEE-YFU. Together with the theme of volunteering they reflect both the needs and the interests of the organisers and the participants. Also, after the selection of the participants, the programme was adapted to fit the profile and specific needs of the participants.
Firstly, the learning process of the participants during the Course was based on the methodology of non formal education. We believe that non formal education, as an active participation based learning process, helped to reach the objectives and influence the positive change we were trying to achieve while organizing this particular training. We used a variety of methods of non formal education such as inputs from the trainers, simulations and role plays, intercultural learning as a process present in all exchanges and networking, variety of visual inputs (videos, movies, photos, graphics, flip chart draws), workshops prepared and run by participants, brainstorming, energizers, reflection groups, discussions and creative thinking (both in small groups and in plenary).
A big part of the activities with the participants took part before and after the training course during the e-learning phase.
Firstly, the training for youth trainers involved in international youth work is strongly interrelated with the empowerment of young people to be active and to take responsibility for shaping and acting in society. The skills, attitudes and knowledge (SKAs) on how to develop high quality trainings in the international context contributed to the promotion of the active citizenship especially when the trainees are expected to apply their gained SKAs in practice in the follow up activities. This will also be extended to the local level as the participants are also active on the local and national levels in their own countries.
One of the main aims of the training was to encourage co-operation between the organisations represented after the training. Therefore, already during the training, participants were encouraged and given space in the programme, to discuss how, when and on what topics there are grounds for co-operation projects and further discussions. EEE-YFU's role in this will be to continue communication at European level, and promote the links between the co-operation in between YFU organisation and possibilities for doing similar projects nationally.
The video trailer for the activity can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSVSicIFEgc
The video report of the activity can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150539860421670
As part of the educational team, I actively contributed to the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of the training course.