TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Branimira Penic
The seminar aimed to deepen participants’ understanding of the recognition of youth work and non-formal and informal learning and support them in developing concrete strategies to strengthen recognition in their own contexts.
The programme focused on key recognition concepts, European and national policy developments, inspiring practices, challenges to recognition, and practical ways youth organisations can contribute to change at local, national and organisational levels.
The seminar brought together 23 participants from 14 countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Türkiye and Serbia.
Participants were youth workers, youth leaders and youth project managers with experience in grassroots youth work and a strong interest in strengthening the recognition of youth work and non-formal learning.
The diversity of national and organisational contexts enabled substantial peer learning around different recognition systems, policy realities, challenges and practices across Europe and the Western Balkans.
The training team consisted of three trainers from Croatia, Serbia and Austria, supported by representatives of SALTO Training and Cooperation and SALTO South East Europe.
The seminar used non-formal education, peer learning and participatory methods, including group discussions, mapping exercises, exchange of practices, reflection, case analysis and strategy development.
A central part of the programme was the work in small “recognition teams”, in which participants analysed their own contexts, identified challenges and stakeholders, and developed practical action plans or strategies for improving the recognition of youth work and non-formal learning.
Participants strengthened their understanding of recognition-related concepts, policies and approaches and developed concrete strategies for advancing the recognition of youth work and non-formal learning in their own contexts.
A key outcome of the seminar was that participants developed their own recognition plans, identifying the changes they wanted to achieve, relevant stakeholders, possible actions and next steps for improving recognition within their organisations, communities or national contexts.
The seminar also created opportunities for networking and peer support between participants working on similar recognition challenges. Follow-up support was built into the process through the recognition teams and a joint online follow-up meeting.
I worked as a full-time trainer as part of an international team of three trainers.
I contributed to the preparation and design of the seminar programme, developed and facilitated sessions, supported peer-learning processes, and worked with participants on analysing recognition challenges and developing concrete recognition strategies and action plans.
I also worked directly with the panelists, supporting the preparation and coordination of their contributions to the programme and helping connect their inputs with the learning objectives and participants’ needs.