TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Inese Minsi
Construction of gender relationships, norms and roles is one of the deepest characteristics of culture. Expectations about attributes and behaviours appropriate to women or men and about the relations between women and men are shaped by culture. Gender identities and gender relations are critical aspects of culture because they shape the way daily life is lived in the family, but also in the wider community and the workplace. Exercises, games and discussions related to gender roles and behaviour norms and social construction of female and male sexuality in different countries can be an interesting and attractive way how to learn about cultural differences and cultural diversity. With this training and help of all its participants we elaborated new activities and learning games that focus on gender issues and could be implemented in various non-formal learning projects for purposes of intercultural learning. The learning program was designed with following objectives:
- To raise intercultural competence among the
participants;
- To improve participants' knowledge about principles of non-formal education and intercultural learning;
- To enhance facilitation, leadership and teamwork skills;
- To give the participants knowledge about social construction of gender and impacts of culture on understandings about gender roles and norms - to explore relationship between gender and culture;
- To develop new non-formal learning tools and methods that can be used in intercultural learning programs;
- To strengthen collaboration of involved promoters and to develop new projects concerning gender issues within framework of Youth in Action Programme.
The training gathered 28 non-formal education practitioners and experts from Portugal, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, Spain, Turkey, Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Kosovo and Croatia.
Simulations, role plays, discussions, team-building exercises and energizers, reflection groups, group work, feedback exercises, theoretic inputs about gender and culture.
During the training participants learnt about construction of gender and sexuality - about social and cultural impacts on understandings about what male and female is - and explored how learning about perceptions of gender roles and behaviour norms in different cultures can be used to foster intercultural learning process. Participants developed new nonformal learning tools that aim to raise intercultural competence and understanding of cultural differences through exploring gender norms and roles in different countries and cultures. Participants improved also their leadership, facilitation and teamwork skills, intercultural competences and knowledge about planning non-formal learning activities.
"I learned about stereotypes and behaviors in different countries, more about gender classifications, but I think that most of all I learned how to react with different kind of cultures and characters. This course has changed or influenced me in a way of accepting different cultures and particularly different characters." - Victor, participant from Macedonia.
Needs assessment, designing learning program and elaborating concept of the training course, facilitating and evaluating learning activities, adjusting program.