TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for marco valerio battaglia
The training activity aimed to equip youth and social workers with knowledge and skills in experiential learning and nature-based methods to promote the psycho-socio-emotional well-being of young people. The project addressed the need to develop professional skills in youth workers, enabling them to integrate non-formal and nature-based methods into their work. It fit the goals of the partner organizations by supporting their commitment to providing high-quality, innovative youth work and promoting social inclusion among young people
The target group for this project was youth and social workers involved in the education, care, and support of disadvantaged young people. The activity involved an international group of participants and trainers from Italy, Greece, France, Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Belgium. The organizations selected participants who were motivated to grow personally and professionally and who were willing to act as ambassadors for the practices learned in their home communities
The training activity used a variety of non-formal learning methods. The core of the approach was experiential learning in nature, a methodology that engages participants on physical, emotional, and cognitive levels. The project also focused on reflective practices to help participants integrate their learning. Examples of methods include dynamic activities for team building and collaboration, problem-solving tasks in a forest using ropes and compasses, and peer coaching within national groups. The activity was designed to move from individual and group processes to a meta-reflection on how to transfer the learnings into professional contexts.
The training activity aimed to achieve several key outcomes. Participants acquired the competencies needed to plan and run nature-based experiential activities and to use reflective practices for long-term learning. The organizations benefit from the professional development of their youth workers, enabling them to promote psycho-socio-emotional well-being and inclusion in their social and educational work. Success was measured through the participants' ability to design and run follow-up activities in their home contexts, supported by the trainer of the mobility (several follow-up coaching session).
My role in the trainers' team was to be a full-time trainer and facilitator. I was one of two trainers for the activity. My responsibilities included introducing participants to the methodology and theoretical framework, as well as providing logistical information. I also supported the transnational teams in organizing their own experiential learning activities for the group. Following the training course, I was responsible for coaching the participants online as they designed and implemented their follow-up activities in their working contexts.
Marcovalerio (known to all as Bigio) is one of the strongest and most efficient trainers I have had the pleasure of working with in my career.