TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Liga Rudzite
The aim of the lab was to provide youth field professionals with an opportunity 1) to explore the complex and diverse realities of young people in a changing Europe and 2) to prepare to better respond to those realities by applying values-based perspective of diversity and reshaping their youth work practices.
The objectives of the lab were:
- to create a community of learners ready to engage in a challenging, self-reflective, long term, dynamic learning process;
- to identify the relevant socio-political and cultural conditions that influence the lives of young people on local and European level;
- to explore the contexts in which young people grow up today, and critically evaluate the current youth work responses to them;
- to understand reasoning and motivation behind young people’s views and attitudes, discover how opinions are formed, and practice critical thinking;
- to challenge/ radicalize the concept of diversity, exploring it based on a values-based, rather than from a normative policy perspective;
- to develop the most relevant competences for reconsidering and reshaping youth work practices that are appropriate for the current challenges;
- to incorporate principles of slow youth work in diversity related practices;
- to discover opportunities to incorporate values- based approach to diversity within Erasmus+ activities and to support international cooperation among participants.
The lab consisted of an online learning phase, 2 training courses, a personal project phase in between the two training courses.
The training course was for 20 participants from the EU and Western Balkan countries.
The core team consisted of 2 international trainers, and two representatives from the NA and the SALTO SEE RC.
We used a blended learning approach with on-line learning and residential learning phases. We used non-formal learning methods throughout both residential labs and during the practice phase. We used mostly various types of knowledge pooling and discussion methods, to engage the participants in a common group learning process, build empathy, and practice skills for diversity work.
Participants critically explored the concept of diversity and self-reflected about their competences in relation to that. They evaluated youth work practices that respond to current socio-political challenges, and explored ways to engage in a more diversity-related work. Participants developed and tested new approaches and tools for diversity work.
I was one of the 2 trainers, responsible for planning, implementing and evaluating the overall lab, as well as supporting participants in between the residential labs.