Voice and Action 3.0 - Training Course

Aims & objectives

- Improve the competences of youth workers in promoting youth participation by exchanging efficient
tools, successful stories and attractive programs.
- Promote active citizenship and youth participation among local youngsters by developing catchy raise awareness campaigns and empowerment programs.
- Enhancing the capacity of NGOs to empower youth in becoming active citizens in their local communities by developing common campaigns and international projects.

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

The project gathered 26 participants from 13 European Union countries. The training course specifically targeted youth workers (long-term volunteers, social workers, educators, social pedagogues, community development facilitators, counsellors, trainers, facilitators, and other related staff implementing non-formal activities), who are actively involved in promoting active citizenship among youth. By composing such an international group, the project created a space for intercultural dialogue and mutual learning, promoting the exchange of innovative practices, and strengthening professional networks.

Training methods used & main activities

To achieve its goals and objectives, the training course used non‑formal education methods. Our daily program was divided in four 1,5 hours sessions, 1 hours reflection/evaluation and inter-cultural evenings. In terms of NFE methods (indoor-outdoor), we have used it in a holistic approach, including:
- Energisers before each session;
- Plenary inputs by trainers/experts;
- Guest speakers/study visits - opportunity to listen and observe how ‘others do it’;
- Presentations of participants;
- Digital content creation sessions (videos, posters, e-guide);
- Topic-related board games;
- Team-building, ice-breaking activities;
- One-to-one, group work based on discussion, debates, brainstorming, sharing ideas;
- Learning by doing - especially when testing the tools and undertaking practical exercises;
- Role-play, world-café, forum theater;
- Study cases, problem solving scenarios;
- Cultural awareness activities;
- Open spaces sessions where participants choose their topics of interests;
- Thematic board games;
- Daily reflection/evaluations of the learning process.

Outcomes of the activity

Through this mobility, participants strengthened key competences promoted by Erasmus+, including collaboration, communication, intercultural sensitivity, networking, advocacy, and the ability to design impactful programs and campaigns. As a concrete outcome of the training course, they produced five campaign videos encouraging youth participation in democratic processes. The campaign videos were further shared on the social media channels of sending organizations (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rcc3CLeq5gML6N8ecYKVMuFyVkeO3iK0). To further document the learning process, the project also maintained its own Facebook page, capturing the experiences of the participants (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61580398477139).

Your tasks and responsibilities within the team

Within the team, my responsibilities included co‑creating the program and co‑facilitating non‑formal learning sessions addressing active citizenship and youth participation in democratic processes. In addition to the educational components, I also contributed to the facilitation of energizers, ice‑breaking activities, team‑building exercises, and intercultural evenings. Furthermore, I was responsible for ensuring the comfort of participants by welcoming them at the venue, providing assistance, and maintaining a safe and inclusive space throughout the training. Lastly, I was responsible for the administrative aspects of the project, including creating the Code of Conduct and Participant List, generating Youthpasses, and completing the Beneficiary Module.

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