TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Inese Minsi
Goal of this training course was to encourage entrepreneurial attitudes and iniative among young Europeans and to promote social and cultural entrepreneurship as means of personal and community development. One of the main objectives of the course was to consolidate experiences from various fields, methodologies, organizations and individuals and explore different approaches to learning and teaching entrepreneurship. Special focus was putted on embodied learning and how it can help to develop entrepreneurial mindset and habits. More specific learning objectives:
- To improve participants' understanding about initiative and entrepreneurship as life-long learning competence and about aims, objectives and principles of the entrepreneurship education;
- To gather knowledge about body based learning methods and techniques with potential to develop initiative and entrepreneurship of the young people;
- To create space and support for development of new international cooperation networks and projects aimed at expanding youth employability, encouraging initiative and supporting social and cultural entrepreneurship of the young people;
- To promote use of innovative learning approaches in European youth work and non-formal education;
- To develop long-term cooperation strategy of the promoters and individual participants aimed at building awareness of social and cultural entrepreneurship as means to foster inclusive growth.
Training course gathered 22 youth workers and educators from Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain and France, Germany, Turkey, Greece, Lithuania, Estonia and Bulgaria.
Contact improvisation, acrobatic yoga, meditation, self-awareness and self-reflection exercises, high ropes, adventure drama, visual expression, group work and discussions.
During the course participants explored the ways in which the body is directly concerned with learning, what practices positively shape the learning experience and how body-based learning can be useful in empowering young people to be the agents of change in their lives.
Training course contributed also to the personal growth of the participants, increasing their knowledge and understanding of themselves and promoting healthier habits and ways of working and living:
"Competencies that I gained during the training course have helped me a lot, indeed. Mainly I have fixed all my issues I had in life, found an inner peace, and set a goals to achieve and now I'm working to reach them. I have learned more about yoga, energy, and healthy way of life. In a few months after the project I lost 12 kg of fat simply by starting to think what I'm eating." - Ritvars, Latvia
"I'm implementing in my work several games and exercises that I learned in the training course. I'm working with pupils with emotional and social problems. Some of the skills I learned also help me to keep calm in difficult situations. I'm more aware of my body and it became easier to listen to my body." - Tanja, Germany.
Participants' and partners' needs assessment, formulating learning objectives, designing program, preparing grant application, facilitating sessions in cooperation with one other trainer and several guest speakers, evaluating activities and outcomes, overal management of the project.