TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Elena A. Russo
“Live the Other, Experience Yourself” is a training course aimed at improving peacebuilding attitudes and skills through a self-development process.
Specific objectives are providing participants with following tools they are going to use after the TC in their peacebuilding practice of youth work:
- empathic, honest and accountable communication,
- dynamics of conflict escalation, de-escalation and transformation.
! Conflicts are not faced or approached directly neither politically. Participants get some keys and are offered new perspectives with which to look and work on them, on their own, all lifelong.
24 youngsters from 6 different countries, affected, somehow, by historical, cultural, social and/or armed conflicts: Italy, Georgia, Spain, Germany, Armenia, Azerbaijan.
6 participants from Rondine joined the team for specific activities (i.e. Living library) and they were from: Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, South Sudan, Sudan and Serbia.
The whole staff of the TC was made of 3 Italians, 1 English, 1 Lebanese, 1 Lithuanian and 2 Georgians. Co-training team was composed by 2 Italians, 1 Lithuanian and 1 Georgian.
Trainers worked according to the Learning by doing methodology, based on the concepts of developing and challenging individuals and groups through a creative stimulation that connects objective contents with personal experience and internalization. Learning by doing refers to the process of making meanings from direct experience. This strategy has recently been implemented by the concepts of 'learning by thinking, and learning by loving'. Learning by thinking denotes the action of reflecting on the process going on, in order to get knowledge from it. Finally, learning by loving expresses the importance given to motivation and passion that enrich the learning experience.
During the training participants are provided with frames and tools, that they can use first of all for their personal development, and secondly to improve their social work and engagement. A particular focus is set on communication and dynamic of conflict and its transformation through empathic, honest and accountable communication.
There is an added value: 'learning from stories of life'. The seldom presence of members and former members of Rondine (permanent peacebuilding community made of youth coming from war-torn lands) in our activities gives to personal experience and witness a special importance. Through the words of those that are dedicating or have dedicated an entire part of their life to conflict resolution, participants will get extremely useful instruments of challenges and achievements in peacebuilding.
Participants are intellectually, emotionally, socially, politically, spiritually, and physically engaged in the training process. Self-awareness and interaction are the dimensions in which trainers lead participants to improve, empower and expand social leadership in peacebuilding.
I was project writer (including the project agenda), coordinator and 1of the 4 trainers (specifically in charge of delivering intercultural & creative sessions).