TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Joakim Arnøy
The aim is 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 will 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.
The target group was participants who are involved in youth work in neighbourhoods at-risk of radicalisation. We had participants from Spain, Cyprus, Slovakia, Norway and Poland, in addition to a team from Norway, Belgium and Slovakia.
We have conducted the training using non-formal methods in two ways. First, to deliver the training to the participants; and second, to coach our junior trainers.
Among the methods used were brainstormings, discussion groups, communication and mediation exercises, energisers, world café, and a few exercises on human rights education, teaching controversial issues, and awareness-raising around radicalisation.
Participants planned follow up activities of different types based on the differences in their experience and opportunities to implement them in their workplace or other project activities.
These included sharing with colleagues, implementing concrete exercises from the training with their youth groups, as well as a few ideas for more comprehensive projects between some of the participants.
I was one of 2 main trainers of this training. The two of us planned and prepared the programme of the training, and also prepared 3 junior trainers who were involved in the whole programme. I facilitated sessions, and coached during other sessions. In the end we were tasked with evaluating for the participants and the junior trainers, and report.