CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS

“MOVING BEYOND” – innovative learning tools for personal and

professional development of youth

DETAILED INFORMATION

The MOVING BEYOND TC is a long-term learning process which is part of the project “MOVING BEYOND” –

innovative learning tools for personal and professional development of youth – 2018-2-RO01-KA205-049977,

funded by the European Erasmus + Programme under Key action 2. The project is coordinated by Dreams for

Life (Romania), in partnership with allaZOYME (Cyprus) and Learning for Change (Bulgaria).

APPLICATION DEADLINE – 15.04.2019

MOVING BEYOND PROCESS Youth workers (participants) involvement – from April 2019 until June 2020

Online learning - April - June 2019

Residential trainings – June – November 2019

Follow-up (online learning, mentorship, practice) – January - June 2020

All expenses for participation in the training course (online learning, residential phase - transport,

accommodation, food, follow up materials etc.) are covered by project budget on 100%.

There is NO participation fee for the training.

PROJECT OVERVIEW “MOVING BEYOND - innovative learning tools for personal and professional development of youth” aim is

defined as:

"To foster quality and multidimensional improvements in youth work, in order to reach and empower

marginalized young people, thus supporting their transition from youth to adulthood, their integration into

the labour market and the chances for social inclusion and education."

The three main concepts used in this project are:

Developmental psychology;

Positive psychology;

Nature based learning.

These three concepts are in the basics of the innovative tools for personal development targeting

disadvantaged youth that will be developed and disseminated by the project. The participants in the project

will develop knowledge and skills in these three areas and will participate in direct implementation of tools to

young people.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT:

To increase the capacity of youth organizations in reaching out and empower marginalized youth;

To develop innovative effective tools and methods to be used by youth workers for Improving the access,

participation and learning outcomes of those in disadvantaged groups and reducing the disparities that

may arise between the results obtained by different groups;

To enhance the competencies of youth workers to be able to use innovative tools and methods for

improving the access, participation and learning outcomes of those in disadvantaged groups;

To disseminate and multiply the project tangible and intangible results and intellectual outputs for

allowing greater synergies across all fields of actions concerning youth;

To foster the inclusion and employability of youth with fewer opportunities (including NEETs), with

particular emphasis in youth at risk of marginalization.

INTELLECTUAL OUTPUTS OF THE PROJECT:

Educational Manual – handbook with tools base on Developmental psychology, Positive psychology and

Nature based learning;

Transformation pocketbook – printable tool for youth to be used by them directly or in mentorship

process;

Youth worker's intervention toolkit for transforming youth – literally a Backpack equipped with manuals,

materials, games and activities description to be used in Youth workers practice in the field;

Webinars – customized online learning opportunities addressing the implementation of Developmental

psychology, Positive psychology and Nature based learning with disadvantaged youth.

TRAINING OVERVIEW The project will include three residential trainings for youth workers preceded by online learning and followed

by a practical application of what has been learned. By organizing training courses, we plan to prepare a large

number of youth workers involved with disadvantaged young people (NEET, fewer opportunities, refugees and

migrants) in the skills to use innovative approaches based on Developmental Psychology, Positive psychology

and Nature based learning. This training will develop the competencies of youth workers to apply specific

methods and practices from these approaches, will give them the necessary knowledge of the Positive and

Developmental psychology and will involve them in the creation and adaptation of methods and sessions. The

practical application of these competences will influence the quality of inclusion and social work in all the

countries involved.

For each training the group will be composed by 22 youth workers (8 from Romania, 8 from Bulgaria, 6 from

Cyprus), 3 trainers/experts and 1 support person, all 26 persons in total. Duration of the activity is 7 full

training days plus 1 day for arrival and 1 day for departure.

The objectives of the training are:

• To develop understanding about the potential of using Developmental psychology, Positive psychology and

Nature based learning in the context of social inclusion of disadvantaged youth;

• To increase the knowledge of youth workers regarding young people’s developmental needs;

• To develop skills to use innovative practices and methods in direct work with disadvantaged youth;

• To demonstrate and experience tools based on Developmental psychology, Positive psychology and Nature

based learning;

• To practice methods for inclusion developed during the trailing with local youth;

• To develop follow-up activities targeting disadvantaged young people.

The profile of the participants is Youth workers (social workers, educators, councilors, therapists,

psychologists) involved with disadvantaged young people (NEET, fewer opportunities, refugees and migrants).

The participants will be selected based on their previous experience in social inclusion work with young people

and the motivation expressed.

During the training course the participants will be introduced to several intellectual outputs – the Educational

Manual, Transformation Pocket book and the Intervention Toolkit.

FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES Based on the theories and psychology of learning process every new competence has to be practiced in order

to become sustainable and useful. Social learning and support play major roles in the empowerment process

when new skills have to be implemented in practice. To provide this element we will create a support frame

based on mentorship, coaching and peer-to-peer learning. To ensure long-lasting results of learning in this

process the follow up will be implemented in two directions:

1. Ongoing learning process for the learners - to continue development of competencies:

Webinars - customized online learning opportunities addressing the implementation of Developmental

psychology, Positive psychology and Nature based learning with disadvantaged youth

Mentoring, coaching and support groups – continuous support for personal and professional development

by peers and trainers;

Impact assessment - filling in pre and post training questionnaires.

2. Practicing competences developed – to reinforce the acquired skills in a real environment:

Workshops - prepare and deliver 2 one day workshops for marginalized, disadvantaged youth in their

community in which they include at least 10 young people;

Multiplier’s events (conference) - take an active role in the implementation of final dissemination

conferences of the project;

Dissemination and visibility - take an active role in the visibility of the project, aiming to reach as many

youth workers as possible;

Youth exchange for disadvantaged youth - youth workers who have gone through training courses will be

invited as leaders for the Youth exchange.

The participants will have the following responsibilities:

Prepare and deliver 2 one day workshops;

Take an active role in the implementation of final dissemination Multiplier’s events (conference);

Take part in the Impact assessment;

Take part in the Webinars;

Take an active role in the Visibility of the project.

METHODS AND TOOLS The training methodology is based entirely on interactive learning and the principles of NFL. Behind the

methods selected for the training are the following principles:

Active involvement of the participants – stimulating their initiative;

Flexibility of the learning process – to meet their specific training needs;

Sharing best practices and experience;

Creating practical dimension of the learning process.

The principle of “Learning by doing” helps participants to develop and exercise real skills that will be useful to

them in the future.

All activities and working methods contribute to the process of non-formal learning and they are games,

debates, simulations, energizers, icebreakers, communication games, get to know each other activities, group

discussions, guided practice, coaching sessions, creativity activities, reflection activities, open space and many

more. The training is focused on the personal and professional development of the participants. The selected

activities and methods will empower the youth workers and make them more confident, more motivated and

more competent. Thus they will contribute to social development, by transferring the experiences and the

knowledge to their everyday work.

CONTACT PERSONS

Eleni Michail (Cyprus) - elenimichail1@gmail.com

Ognian Gadoularov (Bulgaria) – ogi@learningforchange.net

Bogdan Romanica (Romania) - romanica.bogdan@gmail.com

The project “MOVING BEYOND” – innovative learning tools for personal and professional development of

youth is funded by the Erasmus + Programme of the European Union through the Romanian National Agency

(ANPCDEFP) under KA2, Strategic Partnerships, with the number – 2018-2-RO01-KA205-049977.