TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Sofya Piradyan
Aim of the project was to empower and train youth workers, unemployed people and young leaders, to develop their skills, to learn how to manage, work and be leader with young people in local and international level and to realize youth projects within the framework of the European program Youth in Action. The project was let the young people to know that we work together and learn from each other. Supporting interaction among peers can foster some of the most fruitful learning because peers often share a deep understanding of each others’ common challenges, experiences, and practices, and have developed valuable expertise in their fields.
Objectives of the project are:
Exchange of experience and developing skills for young people and youth workers from 6 European and non European countries for carrying out activities to work with youth.
To learn about Youth in Action program.
To gain project management skills in general for making a project and work with young people.
To gain project management skills specific applicable for youth projects (to understand how it is going (or should be) in the reality, such as procedures in reality, communication with participants, partners, preparation.
To increase skills on methodology of the youth project and youth work (to learn how to make a plan of activities, how to put a logical flow in activities, how to put methodology in educational activities in a local or international project.
To learn about youth pass in international projects.
To meet people from Europe and EECA to share and exchange experiences in youth work.
During this training course countries, which have been involved:
Romania, Georgia, Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Armenia
There were 3 main sets of activities within the project conducted using non-formal methods of education:
- Firstly, in preparation of the training course, there was an inventorying activity of the youth development mechanisms.
Secondly, during the training days, workshops were organized to aim at learning to use the tools used in the project. Participants had the possibility provided tools of youth development , mechanism and methodology of project management to improve their ability to use them, and create their first outputs.
- Thirdly, after the training, on their return home, participants continued to improve their skills using the newly acquired tools, by producing at least one material on the topic they work with using any/each of the preferred tools that they will include in an awareness raising/education campaign. The preparation for this started during the last days of the training course. After the campaign they made an assessment of receptivity and understanding of this message by young people.
The participating Youth workers through the training were change their attitudes: a) they became more motivated to concentrate on supporting the community youngsters to build their professional and personal development path; youngsters supported by the youth workers to prepare for their entering into youth field were contribute to building more sustainable community were the environment will become much better for all community members; b)have been fostered the youth workers creativity to find out and apply different tools about how to involve youngsters into self development trainings / session (into non-formal learning); c) the self-confidence of the youth workers were supported as they have been equipped with new skills that they could use to assist the youngsters;
The participating Youth Workers were acquired the knowledge: a) about local youth and the challenges as well as its oportunities; b) how to use existing local resources in terms of supporting the youngsters c) about the usage of social media in searching for a job; d) about experiences and best practices of different countries to learn identify (personal weaknesses and strenghts that need to be highlighted );
The participating Youth workers were improve the following skills: a) job searching; b) mentorship; c) putting gained knowledge into practice.
The project and action promoters, partners are working with interest on this project. They all are from different countries and cultures. The common interest and the action itself was enrich the promoters and thus were provided certain competences in youth field. All the promoters agree to be entitled to a certificate stating the competences acquired during the action and during preparation, implementation, evaluation and reporting of it.
The project promoters worked on the follow-up of this action (in frame of the Youth in Action programme; if possible other programmes) in the same domain seeking to add to this toolkit
Full time trainer