TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Corina Pintea
- reach a definition and common understanding of the mentoring role in the context of ESC volunteering projects
- exchange of expertise, investigating good practices, development of tools that will enhance the quality of ESC mentoring activities
-creating a space for learning and discovery in the mentoring process to actors affiliated with ESC organizations
Participants were youth workers, mentors, project coordinators and volunteers from: Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden.
The team was made up of:
Markus Rebitschek - Germany
Panayiotis Theodorou - Cyprus
Corina Pintea - Romania
Hanna Aheyeva - Belarus
Eleonora Chrysanthi - Cyprus
Non-formal learning methodology was intensively used during the training, and we adapted for the online event, using interactive tools such as Mural, Menti, Padlet, Zoom breakout rooms. We made use of both individual and group methods, taking into consideration participants’ learning needs. During the face to face event we looked for a creative and participative approach (working with play dough, role-plays, small groups, simulations, introspection).
It was a training that built upon previous experience in mentoring and ESC project improvement - we debated a lot about mentoring and participants developed a deeper understanding of the mentoring role, defining at the same time their own path in mentoring and identifying what they still need to develop to become even better mentors.
As the project had 2 training activities linked by a remote-working period - we empowered participants to work in small teams and develop resources, tools or activities related to mentoring and volunteering - that can be shared to other organizations. They focused on topics such as well-being of mentors, emotional problem solving, integration issues for volunteers or dealing with the effects of Corona-virus
I was a full-time trainer and co-designer of the concept (with my colleagues from Germany and Cyprus), involved both in the preparation of the trainings (topic, design of activities, flow, as well as organizational and administrative preparation) and the evaluation of the training and the entire project. At the same time, during the remote work period, I coached 2 of the teams that were working on specific topics of their choice (from the larger theme of Mentoring), so they could create concrete tools to share with the audience and their colleagues.