TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Joakim Arnøy
The aim was to train youth workers who wish to train others on how to build democratic competences through youth work, and how this could help to prevent violent radicalisation. The training sought to enable participants to:
1) Build educational concepts based on:
- human rights education and education for democratic competences;
- approaches to prevent violent radicalisation in different national/regional contexts;
- needs of youth workers in different types of youth work;
2) Utilise available educational resources developed by the Council of Europe and the European Commission in the field of human rights education;
3) Understand and consider the specific political and social realities of violent radicalization in their region to target the main factors influencing young people to enter radical groups;
4) Train youth workers in their country/region with the aim to raise the quality of youth work activities, prepare youth workers to build resilience to violent radicalization, foster democratic competences in individual youth and create a democratic culture in their communities.
We had 24 participants from a number of countries, as well as a team of 5 (including the coordinating staff).
Our participants came from Spain, Slovakia, Norway, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Iceland, Croatia and Czech Republic.
The team consisted of people from Norway, Slovakia and Belgium.
The training was conducted using non-formal learning methods. We did brainstorming and group work around terms and concepts, including 'violent radicalisation' and exploring human rights education. We also ran a number of learning exercises, including some from Compass, and other resources from either CoE or the EU Commission. We had lengthy sessions running a simulation exercise on radicalisation, mapping of our local communities, and world café methodology to share practices from our different work places.
Among the concrete outcomes are these:
- Joint project of slovak participants - PREVENTION OF EXTREMISM AND HATE CRIME as there were youth and social workers from different organisations present;
- Joint research project of participant from Slovenia and Hungary about right wing extremism.
- Erasmus+ project of participant from Austria on implementing outdoor activities as tools of prevention of extremism with youngsters in high school.
In addition to this, all participants formulated individual follow-up activities to do after returning home.
I was one of 2 trainers involved. My role included planning and preparing the programme, as well as facilitating sessions together with my co-trainer. After the training we were also tasked with following up on our participants and report on the training.