TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Nebojsa Nick Djeric
Youth in Action Programme project, Training Course Europe - place for all youth, Action 3.1 has implemented in period from 25th April to 3rd May 2014 in Novi Sad, Serbia, with participants from European program countries and neighboring partner countries.
On this training course participants have developed new knowledge and skills in self-motivation, team work, entrepreneurship, tolerance, raising empathy and other skills of self-motivating and self-empowering through non-formal education, and also tend to create more and equal opportunities for young people with social obstacles in education and social environment and their inclusion in modern European society.
The main objectives of the project were:
· to promote Youth in Action Programme as an educational tool for young people with social problems
· to encourage young people that didn't have good social environment (to play an important role in their local communities using acquired new knowledge and skills on our training course)
· to encourage participants to use their better social environment and skills to empower youth from broken families to take part in building safer society on European values
· to encourage participants to clarify importance of roles in society for youth with social problems
· to meet the participants with team work and building emotional strength through group process
· to offer learning methods of non-formal education to participants for improving inclusion of unemployed young people with social problems
· to promote Youth in Action Program as a tool for social inclusion of unemployed youth
Target group in our TC were all people that are working with young people with social obstacles (youth workers, youth leaders, NGO activists, peer educators, psychotherapists...).
Participants from Croatia, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Romania, Bulgaria, Armenia, Malta, Albania, Czech Republic, Italy, Russian Federation, Poland, Ukraine and Turkey took part in the Training Course. The working language of the Training Course was English.
The working methods used on this training course were non-formal education and informal way of learning. This included: games, energizers, ice-breakers, team building exercises, individual and group outdoor educational activities, work on practical examples in a small groups, simulations, thematic workshops, discussions, debates, presentations...
Activities on our training course were:
• Presentation of Youth in Action Programme, its permanent and annual priorities and objectives
• Session about cultural and ethnic diversity;
• Session about tolerance and anti discrimination topics;
• Study visit to local NGO's and Governmental institutions dealing with discrimination of young people - youth with social obstacles;
• Session about inclusion of youth with fewer opportunities - youth from broken families;
• Workshop with photo gear - basic tips and tricks;
• Photo-marathon on Petrovaradin Fortress (www.petrovaradinfortress.com) and anti discrimination session on Petrovaradin Fortress
• Educative workshops on how to create project idea, develop it into the written project proposal, implement and evaluate a project
The main goal was: Promotion of tolerance and multiculturalism among young people with an emphasis on youth from disadvantaged (broken) families and their inclusion into society in the spirit of European values as well as education and empowering socially disadvantaged youth, meeting with current situation in European society and the motivation to continue active engagement and participation in society.
The main idea was: Education of young people about tolerance in terms of origin, religion, sexual orientation, social status or ethnic minority issues. Raising the awareness of the participants about what it means to be "Young European'' whether they are from an EU country or not. Empowering young people to overcome the lack of social factors that affect demotivating and stigmatizing in meeting the fundamental needs of each young man to safety, the right to personal development, equal opportunities of social, emotional, and social well-being as well as to increase awareness of multiculturalism and European social values.
The main product of "Place for all youth!" project was to promote the idea of European youth, the idea of freedom and equality among nations, gender and sexual orientation, religious and send a clear message, "A society without discrimination."
Also, as the final product is created short video and on line photo exhibition that is posted on organization website.
In this training course I worked as a trainer with my colleague Vera Srdić - Family psychotherapist, experienced in work with youth with fewer opportunities and their inclusion
In total two trainers from Serbia delivered program activities using an interactive and participatory approach method.
Training course “Europe - place for all youth” supported by European Commission and Youth in Action Programme http://ec.europa.eu/youth/index_en.htm and organized by NGO European Youth Center of Vojvodina from Novi Sad Serbia, www.eycv.org