TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Kathrin Hölscher
The training was a reflection seminar for an inclusive group of volunteers who were deployed in Ghana and Togo. The volunteers were aged between 18 and 27. The purpose of the training was for the volunteers to reflect on their time in the field so far. It was also about having a deeper conversation about inclusion and racial assumptions, especially with regard to their own behaviour and ways of thinking. After the training, the volunteers should be able to better understand their own patterns of thinking and acting and be able to implement them in the further course of their voluntary service. In addition to all aspects of content, the seminar was characterised by methodological diversity and inclusive approaches.
The training was a reflection seminar in Kumasi/Ghana within the german international volunatry service weltwärts.The volunteers were young adults from Germany, some with a migration history and/or disability. The training included exchange moments with people from Ghana for deeper reflection. For example, a cocoa farm and a "Kente" weaving mill were visited to exchange with the people about working conditions and culture in Ghana.
Non-formal training methods used in the seminar: Open Space Day, Collegial Consultation in the group of volunteers, Chocolate Tasting as an introduction to the conversation about fair trade, Energizers and methods for group dynamics All the methods were inclusive. The energizers were developed to fit the group.
The seminar served to enable the participants to reflect on themselves and their volunteer work in Ghana and to move forward positively into further implementation. In addition to methodological tools, they took away a network of contacts that should support them.
As a rule, the results of the training were not published. However, a lot can be found on the Internet on the blogs of the volunteers. One example, even with photos of the seminar group and the activities is this one:
https://ghanikablog.wordpress.com/2017/03/07/e-in-den-sueden-und-nach-kumasi/
I was one of two co-trainer.