Pay it Forward through a Youth Exchange

Aims & objectives

Aim: To support youth workers in designing and implementing high-quality youth exchange projects across Europe.
Objectives:
• Train participants in participatory project planning and Erasmus+ project development.
• Foster intercultural learning and collaboration between youth workers from different countries.
• Increase competence in non-formal learning methods and youth engagement strategies.
• Build sustainable networks and partnerships for future youth exchange projects.

Target group & international/intercultural composition of the group & team

A Trainers’ team of 3 European trainers where each one of us had a specific role in 1)participatory project planning, 2) facilitation of intercultural learning sessions and facilitation of non formal learning methods. Combining these strength brought the success to the implementation of the project.

Target group: 30 youth leaders and peer educators from 14 European countries: Netherlands, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Poland, Romania, and Spain.

Training methods used & main activities

Methods: non-formal, participatory methods including interactive workshops, peer learning, role-playing, reflection circles, and group project design exercises.
Examples:
• Ladder of Participation exercises
• Peer-to-peer project planning and Erasmus+ proposal development
• Team-building and intercultural dialogue activities

Outcomes of the activity

• Participants were able to design high-quality youth exchange projects aligned with Erasmus+ priorities.
• Strengthened European youth networks and cross-cultural collaboration.
• Documented via EYCB / SALTO Activity Page and follow-up national initiatives.
• Positive evaluation showed participants’ readiness to implement youth exchanges in their countries.

Your tasks and responsibilities within the team

As one of the trainer I facilitated mainly the non-formal learning sessions, coached groups in project planning, and supported reflective learning, while other colleagues guided participants in practical Erasmus+ project design and local adaptation.
We had a shared responsibility for planning, delivering, and evaluating this training activity.

I worked on this training for 6 days as a full time trainer.