TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Marius POP
Organized as a study visit, having the main topic ÿouth centres" It`s not too late for you(th)have had 40 participants from 15 countries. It was the first study visit with this topic organizes in Romania. The main objective of the project was to create awarness among participants and officialities that youth centres are an important alternative for young people life and also for the communities.
Although the intercultural ënvironment"were so big, through specific methods, all the participans fitted in the program and the results were spectacular: a good practice handbook was created, a dvd with many materials, sharing experiences and a lot of fun. After a week, Solidaritee Jeunesse from France and YMCA Valletta started to work on the follow up and on 1st of june the subission for the next step are going to be applied from France.
In this event I was organizer and the facilitator. Even the idea of the study visit came from me and I took it as a challange from the beginning till the end: finding the partners, selection of the participants, programme, guests, facilities, accommodation, press conference.
The group was made out of 40 people from 15 countries. The team was composed of 6 people from 5 countries. The subject was related with development of "youth centres" runned by NGOs from various countries in Europe.
Our main method was experiential learning. The participants were guided, during a variate series of exercises, towards finding their own solutions and insights. The training was not based on identifying problems, as we already were aware of those, but on solutions and visual results. Therefor, during this 7-day experience were encouraged to learn, create, develop and bond by simply playing, acting and imagining.
The trianing has reached it's goal and since now, other two trainings on the same topic was organized in France and Holland. This team was born during our training, is constantly growing and implementing more and more international projects. They also have a big input in their community life as they design local projects, inspired from their neighbor countries and adapted to local cultures.
I was one of the initiators of this project. My vision was to connect alike organizations and joining resources to grow and develop in a homogeneous way. As head trainer, I held the main lectures and guided the practical activities related to them. As initiator of this project I was involved in preparing the project as well, having logistical responsibilities even though the event did not take place in my country.