TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Silvia Crocitta
The project aimed at promoting creative methodologies of training for youth leaders, youth workers, future trainers, students and volunteers in the field of healthy lifestyles through environment and sport activities
considering them as the elements of active citizenship and building sociocultural bridges.
The main objectives of the training course were:
1. Underlining the view of health, environment and sports of local, regional or national cultural identity, thereby placing it at the centre of international exchanges of ideas, opinions and cultural expressions;
2. Exploring how large-scale such events can operate as tools for promoting European identity and youth participation through the use of best practices
in the described fields;
3. Encouraging the broadest possible participation of the affiliated members in healthy lifestyles through environment and sport ctivities within and outside their organisation for a better social cohesion;
4. Encouraging the broadest possible participation of the affiliated members
in sports and cultural activities within and outside their organisation.
5. Exchange the experiences of the participants and involve local, national and international stakeholders in the dynamics of the project in order to obtain a bigger visibility and result.
The project took place in Reggio Calabria most preferably from 25th April to 2nd May 2015 and it involved around 30 young participants coming from Italy, Poland, Georgia, Austria, Romania, Latvia, UK, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Armenia and Macedonia with high
profile or interest in healthy lifestyle, environment, sports and non-formal education.
The training course was based on the principle that taking health care through environment and sports is instrumental in strengthening and enhancing civic behavior and a feeling of belonging to a common European community which again leads to a reinforcement and empowerment of democracy in our civil society.
The training course was set up on the principles and practice of non-formal education and it was focused in a way to allow a learner-centered approach taking into account the needs, interests and the experiences of the participants.
Tools related to physical activities, creativity, healthy-food choices (and also a balanced diet during the training), sport and
Participants have been given the opportunity to share, discuss, learn about and develop new ideas within this field. Participants strongly encouraged to organize own projects after the training course as well as to transfer what they learned during the course to their respective groups/organisations.
The activities have been developed outdoors in order to allow a contact between participants and the environment; all the timetable was based on different settings and places such as city center, mountains and seaside in order to allow young people to play the different techniques and best practices and to provide a basis for any territorial situation and different groups.
I was covering the double role of Trainer of Youth as well as the tasks of Project Management for all the development of the project.