TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Trisha Wilkinson
This training course was delivered in partnership with Youth Work Ireland Galway, under KA1 Youth Worker Mobility, Erasmus+ programme. Based on the needs of the youth work organisation, the following aims and objectives were agreed upon:
To explore the concept of empowerment as a learning process
To explore what the role of youth work & the role of the youth worker/youth leader is in the empowerment of young people
To discover the value of the Erasmus+/European Solidarity Corps youth programmes as tools for empowerment
To experience and exchange inspirational tools and methods which encourage empowerment that can be transferred to working reality
The need for training in the topic of empowerment and providing youth workers with skills and new knowledge both in the area of empowerment and the Erasmus+ programme had been identified by Youth Work Galway as an important topic. This project partnership wanted to develop the capacity of the youth workers they work with to adopt new methodologies when working with young people, to support young people to understand the value of what they learn in a non formal learning environment and to promote Erasmus+ as a tool for empowerment and positive change for both young people and those that work with them.
The final numbers to attend was 26 participants, representing 7 countries: Ireland, Italy, Romania, Croatia, Finland, Armenia and Georgia
The training course was targeted to youth workers and youth leaders working directly with young people. The profile of the participants that attended the training course was mixed in background and experience. There was a large variation in the experience participants had of Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps and some had experience within the other education and training programmes within Erasmus+. For a lot of participants this training course was their first experience of the programme. There was a very positive atmosphere of learning and supporting each other within the group.
The use of non-formal education methods and activities such as team challenges, brainstorming, reflection spaces, experiential learning, creativity based workshops, theatre performance and discussion, allowed participants to explore the meaning of empowerment, specifically non formal learning and to gain an understanding of some empowerment theories that exist. Time was also given to identify how the Erasmus + programme and the European Solidarity Corps activities can be used as a tool to support this non-formal reflective learning process, and engaging with Youthpass to reflect, record and communicate learning.
This training course provided the space for participants to practice tools and methods to support the process of empowerment. All of the activities used throughout the training course could be replicated by participants on their return home into their working reality. It was important that participants used this experience to explore how using non-formal learning activities can actively support young people to recognise the skills and knowledge that they can gain by being involved in non-formal education activities. It allowed for participants the possibility to discover meaningful roles and develop different tools in their work around youth projects. The course also provided space for participants to share their organisational profile and professional experiences. Time was allocated to using the open space methodology, to ensure that all participants gained what they required in terms of meeting their learning goals and need for this training course.
All the participants give high scores for the training course in terms of the programme and content meeting expectations.
They had mixed responses in relation to contribution, with the majority feeling they contributed to their best and others commenting that they would have liked to have shared their experience a bit more, and sometimes there were dominant conversations taking place that made it difficult for them to contribute. With a large number of Irish participants present with English as the native tongue it is something to be of aware of when working with large groups in the future.
I was the full time trainer for this event, co-training with Sanne de Kieveit. I was also the coordination contact between the organisation hosting the training course- Youth Work Ireland Galway and the trainer team of myself and Sanne.