HAY rural youth work

Aims & objectives

The OBJECTIVES of the project focusing at rural and small town youth work are to:

- develop participants professional competencies,
- exchange practices and experiences,
- network for future youth projects,
- discover rural and small town youth work and communities in Armenia.

Target group & international/intercultural composition of the group & team

International GROUP: the project targeted youth workers, youth leaders and projects coordinators involved in rural youth work in their countries. There was a balanced group of 22 participants, including countries from Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.
Team: I and A co-trainer Jonas Sylvester Kaspersen from Denmark. Additionally the team was composed of representative from Salto Tomek Szopa and Romanian NA officer accompanying online. During different visits in Armenia, the team was reinforced by the local logistic person(s).

Training methods used & main activities

Non-formal methods:
- team-building and group-building;
- rural youth work festival created commonly with participants;
- experiential methods;
- outdoor methods, including space as a place for learning and holistic approach;
- body-movement and non-verbal communication;
- group discussions,
- a diversity of reflection methods like journaling, talking, photoshooting, moving, observing, putting puzzles together;
- some exercises from Forum theatre;
- world cafe;
- Peer-to-Peer Speed Networking;
- Interactive Dialogue with LAG Representatives;
- Field Task – “Community Map”;
- Partnership Building Workshop;
- Evaluation Tools.

Outcomes of the activity

Overall Outcomes of the Experience:

1) Personal Growth: Participants explored values, skills, and learning styles, enhancing their ability to reflect and adapt.

2) Networking and Partnerships: New international and local connections formed, with clusters around shared themes.

3) Project Development: At least 4–5 concrete Erasmus+ project ideas drafted, focusing on rural youth challenges (e.g., digital literacy, participation, entrepreneurship, rural revitalisation).

4) Reflection and Learning: Participants learned diverse reflection tools (journals, art, movement, world café), making their learning more tangible.

5) Action Orientation: Through the “3 Actions” commitment, participants linked insights to practical follow-up within 3 months.

6) Empowerment: The programme gave youth workers confidence to engage in cross-border rural projects, and clarity on both opportunities and barriers in their contexts.

Your tasks and responsibilities within the team

- PREPARATION FOR THE online webinar before the Study Visit and its implementation and facilitation online;
- facilitation of all the non-formal sessions in Armenia together with my co-trainer to unite the group, set the tone for learning, reflect on the experience and build-up on it; supporting all 7 days throughout the whole job-shadowing and LAG experiences;
- working during sessions using holistic approach and reinforcing the competences of the participants;
- writing the report and evaluating the project together with the team-online.

I worked on this training for 7 days as a full time trainer.