TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Teodora Panuş
The seminar opened JEF Europe's 2023 Work Plan REVIVE — Revitalising Voices of Youth in Europe — built around the Council of Europe Recommendation on protecting youth civil society. Participants analysed the Recommendation, developed competences in civic activism and safeguarding civic space, and drafted local advocacy action plans to carry forward in regional follow-up seminars. The activity drew youth activists from across CoE member states, with a focus on countries facing democratic backsliding.
Around 20 youth activists from at least 7 Council of Europe member states, including Hungary, Slovakia, France, Luxembourg, and Germany. The trainer team brought together three trainers from Moldova, Hungary, and the UK, alongside JEF Europe secretariat staff from Germany, Spain, Poland, and France.
The five-day programme used non-formal education throughout: team-building and expectation-setting on day one, expert input from CoE Advisory Council on Youth representatives, simulation exercises on activist competencies, fishbowl discussions, small-group action plan development, and a live street action in Budapest as part of JEF's Democracy under Pressure 2023 campaign. Daily reflection used various formats, including Start/Stop/Continue and small-group peer sharing.
Participants left with action plans for local civic space work, which were later further developed in regional seminars across Central/Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans. The group ran a public advocacy action in Budapest. JEF national sections in approximately 15 countries supported follow-up at the local level.
Teodora was one of three non-formal education trainers across all five days. She co-designed and co-facilitated sessions including simulation exercises, group work, and debriefs. She worked in a mixed senior/junior trainer team, sharing collective responsibility for the programme's learning outcomes.