Training course "Young activists for democracy"

Aims & objectives

The training course aims to develop the competences of participants as activists for democracy and youth participation, motivating and supporting them to take part in the project.

Objectives:

- To learn about democracy and human rights and the Council of Europe standards and relevant work;
- To explore the causes and effects of democratic decline in Europe today and the role that young people can play in revitalising democracy;
- To develop their competences in activism and mobilisation of young people and youth civil society with a view to uphold democratic values, including advocacy for the objectives identified by the partners involved in the project, strategies, tactics and tools for action offline and online;
- To familiarise the activists with the Call for Action and the project Youth revitalising democracy;
- To develop plans for the involvement of the activists in the project activities, notably the Common Action Days and actions at national level.

Target group & international/intercultural composition of the group & team

32 young activists from 22 Council of Europe member states countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Lithuania, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom).

Training methods used & main activities

The training course is based on blended learning, combining a residential training seminar with
distance online learning. The training seminar is based on principles of non-formal education,
being learner-centred and highly participatory. The overall course will give participants the
opportunity to experience, reflect and discuss issues related with democracy and human rights,
particularly the role of young people and youth participation. The entire course is designed as
a mutual learning situation in which, with use of diverse methods, participants can compare
their approaches and ways of action.

Outcomes of the activity

A group that further supports advocacy actions at
European and national level has been created. Activists improved their competencies in preparing and running human rights campaigns, they developed ideas to contribute to the Action Month plan.

Your tasks and responsibilities within the team

1.Participate in the preparatory meetings agreed with other trainers and the Secretariat.
2. Support the preparation of participants online before the training course.
3. Prepare sessions outlines detailing programme elements in agreement with the rest of the team and the Council of Europe Secretariat, particularly sessions concerning Youth participation and teambuilding.
4. Facilitate workshops and working groups in the programme as agreed within the team.
5. Support the work of senior trainers and of the Secretariat, and supported participants learning.
6. Apply the educational approaches, methodology and contents of the programme according to the quality criteria for non-formal education activities of the Council of Europe’s Youth Department.
7. Develop, implement and evaluate online learning sessions for the follow-up of the training course in agreement with other trainers and the Secretariat.
8. Contribute to the evaluation of the training course by providing a compilation of session outlines and completing a trainer evaluation form

I worked on this training for 7 days as a full time trainer.