TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Asier Carrasco González
The aim of this training course was to empower youth workers, youth leaders, and educators
new to the Erasmus+ Youth in Action to grow the participation of young people with fewer opportunities within the Programme.
Objectives:
• To explore the challenges of participation for young people with fewer opportunities in European activities.
• To look at the difficulties that inclusion workers face in engaging young people with fewer opportunities in international projects.
• To promote the potential of the Erasmus + Youth in Action programme as a tool to promote the social inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities.
• To offer a space to generate future action.
The target group was:
- Youth workers, youth leaders and educators who are involved in inclusion projects and are interested in applying within the framework of the Erasmus+ Youth in Action programme
- Newcomers/first applicants in the Erasmus+ Youth in Action programme
- Over 18 years old
- Able to communicate in English.
Altogether 22 participants from Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Malta, Portugal, Poland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Lithuania and Slovak Republic took part in this training course.
The course methodology in this training was based on experiential learning and non-formal education, in an atmosphere where participants could learn from each other (peer learning) and feel empowered to initiate their projects.
More specifically the activities involved:
-Group Dynamics to get to know each other but also to create a comfortable and supporting learning environment.
-Creative presentation to support participants in further understanding the Erasmus+ Youth in Action Programme and tailor-made sessions according to the participants needs.
-Using graphic facilitation tools to create a stimulating and inspiring environment around the framework of the training course.
-Creative dynamics for networking and project creation through exchange of experiences, knowledge and ideas.
According to the report of the activity, participants valued the training very highly in the different evaluations and there have been comments on the social media looking for partners to apply for projects. Participants also reported that they felt confident in understanding the general framework of the E+ Programme, how inclusion and diversity are framed within it and within international Youth Work and in how to apply for the Programme.
In this training, I have the roles of the designer and implementer, as well as an expert in the field (Non-Formal Education and Inclusion). I share these roles with the rest of the members on the team. I took a more leading role in the evaluation and reporting of the training alongside with the Portuguese colleague.