TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Inemarie Dekker
Trained facilitators (community coaches) on Gender Equality through Sports.
Egyptian, Malian, Mozambican, Dutch
And in the latest programme we just started: British, Danish and Belgian
- Addressing life skills through sports: learning by doing
- Reflect, Connect, Apply - a reflection method to be used before, during or after each play or sport activity.
- Observe, Inform, Refer; coaches have basic info on sexual health, gender based violence etc and know when and where to refer to in their community.
In the training on life skills and gender equality, we aim that coaches learned the following:
• To understand the importance of working on gender equality for girls, boys and society – through games, stories you share in the group and some theory – and to form your own opinion about it.
• To understand which life skills we can address in play and sports, that work towards gender equality on the field – so that you are able to teach life skills to youth on the field, so they can also use it off the field, in daily life.
• To know how to use the method of Reflect, Connect, Apply.
• To know how you can create a safe space for your youth, how you can support them and when, and where to refer them to for professional help.
• To have developed an action plan for at least 4 life skills in 16 (bi)weekly sports activities for your youth, addressing life skills (that is: 4 lessons per life skill).
• To have practiced organising a community sports event.
After the training coaches will practice leading sports activities that addresses life skills (minimum 16 lessons). Meanwhile, they will keep reflecting on your lessons (that is: what was good and what can be better?) through self-reflection, peer-reflection and through coaching-on-the-job.
After this period of practice, coaches have gained the following skills:
• Understand the social issues affecting the young people you work with and how it appears in their community (and specifically, understand gender and how it looks like in their lives and communities).
• Address life skills in sports and play: You are able to design and implement sport activities linked to life skills that are relevant to your target group. And facilitate discussions and dialogue on sensitive topics such as gender roles, sexuality or harassment.
• Support youth by observing their needs, informing them and referring them to professional help (i.e. Observe, Inform, Refer).
Results: I developed the curriculum and handbook on Gender Equality through Sports (2016); 1 one-week Gender Equality through Sports training to 30 coaches in Mozambique (2019); 2 one-week Gender Equality through Sports trainings of 2x35 community sports coaches in Mali (2016); 2 one-week trainings of 25 community coaches in Egypt (2015) - all trainings I conducted with a co-trainer from the home country.