TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Marzena Ples
The aim of the training course was to support the professional and personal development of youth workers and youth leaders (especially the ones who are working in inclusion field) and to raise the quality of their projects concerning inter – religious, inter – cultural and inter – political connection/connections.
The objectives of the training course were:
To provide participants with educational support and open space for sharing and exchange knowledge and experience on inter – religious, inter – cultural and inter – political dialogue and the connection between these three groups
To support the development of participants (Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes and Values) in the fields of inter – religious and inter – cultural dialogue (for example, democracy, tolerance, social phenomena’s, mutual influence between religion/belief, politics and culture, involvement of young people, etc.)
Reflecting on the notion of European Identity and its underlying values (democracy, tolerance, plurality, human rights), searching common points between young people in Program and Partner (Eastern Europe) countries
To provide participants with useful tools that will help them to rise quality of their projects in mentioned fields
Experiencing, discussing and sharing historical and recent understandings of political influence in inter cultural and inter religious dialogue and vice versa and its implications for young people active participation in society
To foster corporation between Partner and Program countries
The participants of the training course were youth workers and youth leaders from Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Latvia, Romania, Ukraine.
The program was designed from the intro to the practical tools approach with focus on non-formal learning methods such as experiential learning, role plays, games, discussions etc.
First participants has a possibility to work with definitions of religion, culture and politics to find common understanding and were finding the connections between these three aspects and find the ways, how this can be integrated in their work with young people (tools). The training course program tackled the so called “differences” between Eastern and West Europe to be able to find common ground for future projects. During the program for participants experienced the possible conflict situations and figure out tools how to deal with them, etc.
The training course successfully brought together youth workers and leaders from Programme and Eastern Partnership countries to explore the intersections of culture, religion, and politics in youth work. Participants deepened their understanding of intercultural, interreligious, and interpolitical dialogue, and collaboratively developed shared definitions to support effective communication. They engaged in critical reflection, analysed conflict scenarios, and exchanged good practices from their own contexts. The course provided space for the co-creation of practical tools for dialogue and conflict resolution, and participants designed personal action plans while reflecting on their learning using the Youthpass framework. The training also fostered new partnerships and future cooperation opportunities, while strengthening participants’ awareness of European identity, values, and cultural diversity.
I was a full time trainer and together with two colleagues Nik Paddison and Andreja Aušperger we developed and delivered the programme.