TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Adrià Sonet
With.In Nature - A training course for youth workers about finding their Inner Leadership and new ways of upgrading the quality of life” was a training course aiming on creating a space for youth workers to find their Inner Leadership and new ways of upgrading the quality of life.
The target group of this training course where 24 youth workers, project leaders or educators, including anyone who is actively involved in youth work. They will be coming from Denmark, UK,
Spain, Estonia, Malta, Czech Republic, Romania, Cyprus, Slovakia, Latvia, France and Belgium.
The training course was based on non-formal and informal education with a self-directed learning approach. That means that the participants were responsible for their own learning and the facilitators provided activities and guided the participants through their own learning process. The training course was characterised by being highly participatory, interactive and by using experiential methods. The activities included case studies, working in pairs and small groups, meditations, contemplations, team building activities, role plays (Theatre of Oppressed), outdoor education, discussions, and self-assessment. Some sessions was completed by theoretical inputs and all of them was followed by group reflection or self-reflection.
The training course was designed in order to increase different competences through various activities, preparation and informal time. As for the programme participants:
- learned about concepts such as: Inner leadership, sustainability, natural aptitudes, natural and human sources, potential, passion, trust, compassion, gratitude, flow, vulnerability, resilience, powerful communication, accountability, curiosity, gratitude, learning sharing (through theoretical input and exercises in all sessions)
- expanded their knowledge about concepts such as: creativity, talent development, surviving skills, learning mindset, self-assessment (through various activities specifically about creativity and learning mindset)
- improved their skills in: reflecting, evaluating, interviewing and asking questions, observing and listening, analysing, planning their personal learning process (through debriefings of each sessions, reflection groups, self-reflective activities, activity about accountability, evaluating the projects itself, methods such as: interviews, pair work, group work)
- became more aware and thus confident about their personal development, responsibility, sustainable attitude and passion through reflections on their own identity and their environment (through activities such as: River of Life, Passion, Element)
- became more aware of their learning process, more motivated to learn more and be creative within their learning (all sessions have led to that)
- became happier and more optimistic, open-minded (all sessions led to that)
Moreover, several partnerships were build after this experience and some of them cristalyzed into future projects.
Trainer.