TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Annamaria Papini
The training aimed at offering to EVS volunteers the necessary tools to evaluate their projects. Participants could reflect on their personal contribution and commitment, and to the strategies they could implement to profit the most from the whole experience. The activities perfectly complied with Cemea objectives to provide quality training to people who work in the social field.
The group included youth from various countries within Europe and beyond. In particular there were also participants from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus.
The whole initiative was based on non-formal learning methods, essential to support youth in their evaluation process. A learning by doing approach led all activities to allow participants to truly understand the offered stimuli and gain understanding of their present and future situations. For instance: participants were invited to work in small groups to creatively produce some videos to offer advice to future volunteers; in other sessions youth were invited to think of their own situations and present them to their fellow participants in the form of a tale, etc...
Due to the activities, participants achieved a deeper awareness of their possibilities within their projects. Moreover they gained insights about other EU opportunities and the next steps to undertake once they go back to their countries of origin.
As part of the team of trainers I participated in the definition of the activities to be proposed, and held workshops: I facilitated the establishment of a positive environment within participants, and promoted learning and personal development among volunteers.