TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Annamaria Papini
Towards a Nonviolent World (ToNoWo) was a Training Course that aimed at offering youth workers knowledge and professional skills on nonviolence and peace-building through personal reflection, exercises on conflict resolution and nonviolent communication, workshops on campaigning. Our communities are permeated with violence (media, economic system, institutions, and political structures): this training addressed the need to stimulate people to become agents of change and counter this trend. Nonviolence and peace building are the foundation of the applicant organisation, which is active since the '60s aiming at promoting such values and working methods.
Partners were The Netherlands, Turkey, and Italy and the target groups included youth workers, group leaders and activists who wanted to include Nonviolence and Peacebuilding their professional practice. Trainers were a Nina from the Netherlands, and me, who at the time I was representative for the Italian organisation.
The training team used non-formal learning methods alternating exercises, theoretical inputs, and discussions to stimulate all participants and their various learning styles. We proposed creative activities to allow full expression of one's point of view and workshops in small or bigger groups to allow exchange and interaction among all.
Participants gained knowledge on Nonviolence as a tool to promote a culture of peace, and insights on the role they can play as youth workers within their communities and in Europe. Trainees practiced methods of nonviolent communication and conflict resolution; they learned how to cooperate with each other overcoming differences in culture, social background, or age. Participants also gained experience on non-formal education methods ad were able to transfer their learning outcomes to the target-groups in their countries of origin.
The training was a success according to the evaluation we performed: in particular, questionnaires given at the beginning and at the end of the activity showed participants' progresses in the understanding of the deepened topics and in their commitment to apply their learning to their professional practices.
https://towardsanonviolentworld.wordpress.com/
I supported my co-trainer, who was from the applicant organisation, in the ideation of the TC and in the definition of the programme: in particular I offered my expertise in the non-formal education methods. During the TC we shared all the duties and responsibilities towards participants and the smooth implementation of the programme.