TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Heleri Alles
Training course „I share, I care!“ was aimed for youth workers directly working with young people from different target groups or responsible for sharing and providing information about different opportunities (especially YiA programme) to young people, youth organizations, decision makers etc. Training course helped to develop competences which are essential for this kind of activity: working with different target groups, understanding the concept of intercultural learning, developing personal learning process (LLL & L2L) in the context of non-formal learning. In the first part of training course the opportunities of Youth in Action programme were introduced and participants’ knowledge of certain subprogrammes was developed, also Youthpass as a important tool of valuing non-formal learning process was examined and introduced (and practicezised). After that participants learned to analyze the needs of different target groups, how to motivate them and how to provide information (attractively) in way it would be useful for their target group. The training course also involved local specialists, multipliers and members of local youth organizations who had the chance to share experiences with seminar participants and make new contacts. In the end of training course participants had a chance to put their learning outcome into practice – they participated in providing information in different places (Valga gymnasium, Valga Russian Gymnasium, Otepää Gymnasium, Otepää Municipality, Pühajärve Secondary School, Tartu (public event)) to different target groups. This gave the participants a real experience how is to provide information in different cultural environment. After the training course participants carried out their own information sharing event in their local communities.
Training course „I share, I care!“ was aimed for youth workers and leaders directly working with young people from different target groups or responsible for sharing and providing information about different opportunities (especially YiA programme) to young people, youth organizations, decision makers etc. Training course took place near Otepää in village of Vidrike in South-Estonia in Valga county and involved 20 participants from 10 countries across Europe (Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey).
Team:
Heleri Alles - trainer & organizer (Estonia)
Dimitar Grudev - trainer (Bulgaria)
Jekaterina Agu - support staff (Estonia)
Riho Palis - support staff (Estonia)
Various methods were used as group discussion, group building activities, role-plays, innovative tasks, blog groups, reflection diary and learning buddy, practical task, artistic expression, work in pairs, debriefing sessions in cycle etc. For example, in group building tasks participants had to go to local village in intercultural groups and find answers to certain questions and try to provide local youth information about Youth in Action. Later results were shared in blog and discussed in big group. In practical task participants could go to local schools, municipalities and to a public event and try to forward information in attractive way at the same time acting as multipliers. In developing future project ideas participants could express themselves artistically by creating new clothes from second hand clothes with symbols to share their ideas in a different way. In learning buddy sessions participants shared their learning process every day with their fried (buddy) and wrote it down in diary in the framework of 8 key competences. On last day they filled in the Youthpass themselves with help of trainers.
Outcomes:
- participants know how to act as multipliers in their organizations/local communities and 10 follow-up activities were carried out in participating countries
- Participants are now aware of non-formal learning principles, have awareness of all 5 actions of Youth in Action programme
- Participants are able to introduce Youth in Action programme and do it also in intercultural environment
- Participants have improved their competences in working with youth with fewer opportunities and can include more young people in Youth in Action opportunities
- Participants are aware how to analyse the needs of young people, how to motivate them and give them right information in attractive way
- Participants are aware of their learning process and know how to use Youthpass as tool, process and certificate in non-formal learning
- Participants are connected in strong network of multipliers and are sharing their experience with each other
- About 350 young people got to know about Youth in Action programme in Estonia during the training course and also 20 municipality workers and 25 youth workers. In follow-up activities information about Youth in Action reached about 1000 young people.
- After the training course partners initiated about 15 different projects which has guaranteed multiplying effect of the training course
All information is available in the blog, written by participants: http://trainingestonia.blogspot.com/ (also available in Estonian).
I was the main organizer of the training course, I was involved in setting the aims and objectives, composing the team, fixing suitable methodology and doing the preparation. I was full-time trainer during the activities and I was engaged in evaluation and follow-up.