TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Gabriel Brezoiu
• To increase the competences of youth workers, trainers, youth leaders and volunteers in the fields of creativity and entrepreneurship;
• To create a toolkit with tested non-formal educational tools for developing abilities for youth creativity on entrepreneurship. Objectives of the training course:
• To gather participants in fulfilling a project / business / social idea along the week of the activity
• Participants to gain new competences on youth creativity and entrepreneurship;
• To create new non-formal methods to empower youth in becoming future entrepreneurs;
• To share resources and inform about European ones (entrepreneurship education and learning, access to different types of funding, partnerships, networks etc.) useful for business creation and sustainability;
This Training Course gathered 30 Youth workers, Trainers, Youth leaders from Bulgaria, Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal
Thе projеct was basеd on non-formal and informal еducation. Pееr to pееr еducation was also usеd, valorizing thе knowlеdgе and еxpеriеncеs of thе youth workеrs by seeing them as resource persons. Specifically, the training methodology included the following methods:
- icebreakers, name games and energisers aimed to create a dynamic and positive atmosphere in the group and to stimulate the participants to open up and share;
- definition of concepts: in order to have a common ground related to training concepts, we have split the group into 4 intercultural subgroups trying to define concepts of entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship, social entrepreneurship, social responsibility and then each group has been split into 2, trying to create a Venn-Diagram with the concepts located to the left and to the right;
- working in intercultural groups and sharing experiences (for example ‘Mission impossible’, Design thinking and Business Canvas model workshops where the participants developed their own entrepreneurial ideas). Therefore, splitted into intercultural groups, the participants came up with 5 social business ideas following a brainstorming facilitated by Ishikawa method. Then they followed the 5 steps of design thinking and they gave a critical view of their business feasibility through Business Canvas Model. The activities were designed as such in order to allow the communication between the groups and the possibility to offer relevant feedback;
- reflection groups in various formats (plenary, weather method, 5 fingers method, individually etc);
- interactive games for group dynamism (such as Guess my passion, YEL Stars Academy) allowing the participants to discover themselves at a more personal level;
- world cafe to explore concepts such as digital, green and social entrepreneurship: the participants were split into 3 working tables, they were taking notes on a flipchart and each 15 minutes they rotate;
- intercultural night, offering each participant the space to present their country including key aspects they considered to be relevant for the specific of the training;
- the project blog, used to share the main updates and results;
- the participants trained to use ”Design thinking” and ”Business canvas model” methodologies;
- the set of recommendations for stakeholders to support entrepreneurial learning;
- 5 business/social ideas the participants worked on;
- trends and challenges in green, social and digital entrepreneurship.
My role was to be a leading full time trainer in this project.