TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for ilias karachalios
The main aim of the PBA was to strengthen interfaith dialogue and anti-discriminatory practices in youth work and related sectors by building sustainable international partnerships. It responded to the need of youth professionals, educators and community workers for safe spaces to explore sensitive issues related to faith, identity and discrimination, while at the same time developing concrete Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps project ideas. The specific objectives were to:
– explore different realities and provide opportunities for cooperation and networking by looking at funding opportunities such as Erasmus+ and ESC;
– reflect on personal systems of beliefs, structural issues and organisational practices in order to identify common ground for cooperation on interfaith dialogue;
– provide opportunities for cross-sectoral networking (youth, formal education, community and faith-based actors) and partnership building;
– support participants in strengthening their dialogue skills and in translating them into future projects.
The activity directly contributed to the goals of SALTO Inclusion & Diversity and the Polish National Agency by promoting inclusion, social cohesion and quality in international youth projects through a strong focus on interfaith dialogue and partnership building.
The activity gathered 54 participants from 24 countries and 3 continents. The target group consisted of youth workers and youth leaders, teachers and educators from schools and higher education, representatives of NGOs, faith-based organisations and community initiatives, as well as social and health workers who are working with young people of different faiths and convictions, often at risk of religious discrimination. The group reflected a wide geographical and cultural diversity from across Europe and neighbouring regions.
The trainers’ team was equally international: it included facilitators from Belgium (SALTO Inclusion & Diversity), Austria, Poland, Jordan and Greece, together with staff from the Polish National Agency of the Erasmus+ & ESC Programme and external experts (e.g. on interfaith dialogue, local history, visual recording and documentation).
The PBA was based fully on non-formal education methods. We used interactive plenary sessions, small-group work and learning-by-doing approaches. Methods included:
– dialogue-based exercises (e.g. agree/disagree lines, structured dialogue on religiously related topics, storytelling circles);
– case studies and role-based group work (for example, responding to a fictional interfaith crisis situation in a school);
– workshops on non-violent communication and empathic listening, using visual card tools for feelings and needs;
– project-lab sessions to develop concrete Erasmus+/ESC project ideas, including problem-tree analysis and feedback from National Agency experts;
– reflection groups and daily debriefings;
– networking and partnership-building activities, as well as a cultural evening in a Tatar restaurant to connect interfaith dialogue with the local context.
Throughout the activity, methods were participatory, inclusive and experience-based, encouraging participants to connect their own realities with the content.
The PBA successfully achieved its main purpose of building partnerships and strengthening interfaith dialogue competences. According to the online evaluation (51 respondents), overall satisfaction with the activity was very high, with nearly two-thirds rating the PBA 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale. General organisation was rated around 4.8/5, and the main objectives of networking, exploring different realities and strengthening interfaith dialogue were all rated positively. Participants’ self-reported confidence in implementing interfaith dialogue projects increased from an average of about 3.3 (before) to 4.3 (after) on a 1–5 scale.
Many participants left with concrete ideas and partnerships for future Erasmus+ and ESC projects (especially KA2/KA220), as well as clearer understanding of dialogue tools, non-violent communication and project-management methods. Qualitative feedback highlights the value of networking, peer learning and the safe space created to address sensitive issues.
The activity is documented through a comprehensive evaluation report (“Everything starts with dialogue – Evaluation Report”) and a public Padlet with programme information and materials: https://padlet.com/saltoid/pbainterfaithdialoguepoland
I worked as a full-time trainer and co-facilitator in the team. My responsibilities included co-designing the programme flow and methodology, preparing and facilitating sessions on dialogue, interfaith topics and communication, and supporting mixed international groups in developing their project ideas. I facilitated several interactive exercises (e.g. group-work on religiously related topics, dialogue activities, project-lab moments) and contributed to daily reflections and adjustments of the programme. I also supported the online evaluation process and the analysis of its results, and contributed to drafting the final evaluation report and recommendations for future editions.