TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Maria Larisa Giangkambozidou
The idea of the project is based on the concepts of self-improvement and human connection. We aspired through our project to manifest the importance of loving and accepting yourself and the keys to emotional healing. The Mind-Body-Spirit connection was fundamental to our approach, as we wanted to give young people the chance to build their inner leadership
and express themselves deeply. The COVID-19 pandemic is transforming humans and their relationships with others at multiple levels and across a wide range of contexts. Research initiated by Richard B. Slatcher, professor of Psychology at the University of Georgia, aiming to determine how the COVID-19 outbreak is impacting people’s relationships, shows that social relationships are profoundly affected. The study focuses on how people’s connection with others can affect their well-being and health and our project is aiming at giving young people tools and inspiration for self-acceptance and connection with their inner self, helping youth workers to help facilitate young people in making a choice and believing that their choices and actions matter.
The research mentioned above seeks to assess how relationships, in addition to social factors and individual differences, influence people’s experiences during this stressful time. Prior research has shown that social isolation negatively affects an individual's mental and physical health and general well-being.
Our project stressed the significance of the relationship with yourself on how effectively you can cope with any stressful situation. It is a mission to give young people the chance to explore their inner environment
and their connection with their senses and emotions, as well as with their surroundings more deeply and profoundly.
The objectives of this project were:
O1) To support youth workers to become more aware of themselves, thus enabling them to make conscious choices and decisions that fit with the core of their identity and their goals
O2) To provide youth workers with tools to support a deep connection with young people they work with through a similar process.
O3) To self-heal and be honest and vulnerable after an emotional rollercoaster from the pandemic consequences.
O4) To reflect on their own learning process by using the Key Competences from the Youth Pass and give the opportunity for capacity building in the context of the Erasmus+ Program.
Adding to the objectives, the project will Nourish and embrace honest expression, authenticity, and the art of loving, having as a starting and reference point themselves; Strengthen young people’s inner leadership through art exploration and honest expression; Enhance the international dimension of youth activities based on emotional and personal development aspects.
The project created a safe space for open and honest dialogue. It aimed to give a socially-support framework that helps them combat feelings of isolation and frustration induced by the pandemic. In doing so, participants explored the problem through active discussions and brainstorming sessions.
The target groups of our project are mainly youth workers and group leaders in smaller or bigger groups, people who work and lead within teams and want to inspire and give motivation back to their teams. Our participants will be youth workers, educators, or young leaders who dedicate their careers to coordinating and managing teams and have a strong motivation to explore new possibilities in expression and develop their inner leadership.
VulnerAbility – Training Course organized by MIHI Latvia. The project had 30 participants from 9 countries: Latvia, Egypt, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Romania, Greece and Georgia. Project co-funded by the European Union programme
The project idea and writing started with the non-formal education and approach; thus, the tools and methods used for the activities and bonding of the team are all based on a non-formal education approach. The trainer of the project is highly advocating the benefits of the learning process and trusting in the blended aspect as some themes and topics can be handled differently and more effectively with other various educational systems. Society and reality give many opportunities
for formal education and hard skills development. We will focus mainly on non-formal education, informal communication, and learning to bond with the group.
More specifically, in the non-formal education aspect, we have included activities and sessions where participants work primarily in groups and learn from each other. There is no wrong or correct answer to the approach; moreover, they intend to cooperate with groups and reach a more profound understanding through meaningful dialogues. Much inspirational content
will take place in the sessions, and they will be interactive and thoughtful. Also, activities that involve role-playing and case studies so participants will learn through experience. And we will ensure that this experience is holistic by understanding the case study or the role, integrating into it, getting out of it by derolling and detaching, and lastly, debriefing about the experience by looking at it in the third person.
Participants:
1- Improved teamwork and group dynamic skills;
2- Developed methods of personal development and aspiring new opportunities;
3- Experienced different ways of learning, exploring their expression through the truth of their bodies;
4- Learned new techniques of relaxation, having as an only tool their breath and their body in the here and now;
5- Boosted their potential and their value through personal growth and acceptance;
6- Learned to apply their learning outcomes in their personal and professional life, in other words, to sustain the outcomes of the project;
7- Improved the ability to express themselves in a foreign language and their skill to communicate their ideas verbally;
8- Developed self-confidence and improve behavioural, cultural, technical, and contextual skills through activities;
9- Got to know more about the other cultures and expand their vision about European citizenship;
10-Interacted and communicated with people from different backgrounds and built trust and understanding;
11-Got out of their comfort zone by being part of a multicultural team, working and presenting ideas, and getting inspiration for future creative ideas;
12-Gained acquaintance with reflection and evaluation methods;
All the publications that MIHI, host organisation will make will be visible here. https://lv.mihiyouth.org/projects-and-events/
The video is not ready yet but I have the testimonials of the participants in my Youtube channel herehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k__mYJcp6ag
I contributed in writing the project and having the initial idea of the concept. I worked on elaborating the activities and creating the flow of the weekly activity. Moreover I implemented and facilitated all the workshops and worked afterwards in the reporting and dissemination.
Maria was an exceptional trainer during this training course. She guided the participants to go into the depths of themselves with safety and precaution, making the space for everyone not only to be vulnerable but to come out of it and see it as a tool for growth. Every session was planned in detail and with flow, creating a continuity in the process of the TC.