TEAM FOR YOUTH ASSOCIATION Baia Mare 430213, Transilvaniei 8/17 Contact: 0751 105 501, team4uth@gmail.com, www.team4uth.blogspot.com
1.
Background of the TC
The project ReColoring YOUth Work was an event organized in the frame of Youth in Action Programme, coordinated and implemented by Team for Youth Association (T4UTH) Baia Mare, Romania, with the support of the National Agency in Romania. The training course supported participants from 6 different nations in Europe and neighboring countries: Romania, Italy, Georgia, Moldova, Bulgaria and Portugal. The project concentrated on consolidating youth work instruments regarding projects designed for inclusion. The event targeted participants that had little or no experience in writing and implementing projects that deal with socially discriminated categories, as, for example, Roma people. The activities were designed also with the purpose of rising awareness for the participants about the lifestyle of Roma groups in our area. WHy? The idea of the activity emerged from the experience each of the project team members have in working with marginalized groups of children and youngsters and also from the rich background that the coordinating organisation has in projects designed for inclusion. Even though each of the participant promoters had already developed different activities for disadvantaged youngsters, there was a need for a structure seminar meant to bring together ideas and strategies in dealing with people that are often excluded from society due to their difficult social, economical, ethnic, cultural background. WHat? The title ReColoring YOUth Work was created as a label of the diverse world we are living in. The main reason for chosing colors as the main word in the methodology and topic of the TC was the fact that in the grey filling of routine in everyday life, diversity gives a new colorful perspective to our world and should be regarded as an advantage, as a source of ideas, innitiatives and motivation and not rejected through discriminative behaviour. The methodology used meets the objectives and the main topic of the training course. Therefore, all activities concetrated on using colors and visual effects for emphasising the subject and for raising the impact of the information discussed. WHen? 25th of July – 31st of July (arrivals: 25th of July – departures 31st of July)
The dates were specifically chosen like this as the month of July is full of colors in the hosting city. It is a period of holidays when people are more relaxed and express their feelings and attitudes in a free way, without barriers. WHere? Venue: Baia Mare, Romania Few words about Baia Mare: Baia Mare is a medium sized city located in the north-western part of the country near the Hungarian and Ukrainian borders. The city has a population of 150,000 inhabitants including different ethnic and religious minorities: Romanians (82,85%), Rroma (5,3%), Hungarians (14,79%), Ukrainians (0,25%), Germans (0,35%), Jewish (0,04%). Situated in a mountainous region and surrounded by famous peaks creating a unique landscape, the small cities surrounding Baia Mare offer a great atmosphere for tourists, especially foreigners. MaramureĹ&#x; is also one of the most famous historical regions in Romania, where traditions are still followed by the people living in rural areas in the same way their ancestors used to do it. There are a lot of monuments and cultural attractions like: the merry cemetery of Sapanta, the wooden gates and churches, folklore customs. Despite the attractions it has to offer, the county is still struggling to promote its potential. There are little investments in the promotion of tourism in Maramures at the moment and that makes it difficult for people who live from agro-touristic activities to sustain their business. There is strong need for activities that strengthen the visibility of the area. WHo? The project addressed young youth workers from the participant countries that work directly with disadvantaged youngsters and are specifically involved or interested in implementing projects for youngsters that belong to marginalized groups due to some differences or difficult backgrounds.
2.
Day / Time
Provisional Schedule Breakfast
Morning
Lunch
10:00 – 11:30 Session 8:30 – 9:30
12:00 – 12:30 Coffee break
Afternoon
Dinner
Evening
15:00 – 16:30 Sssion 13:30 – 15:00
12:30 – 13:30 Session
16:30 – 17:00 Coffee break
18:00 – 19:00
17:00 – 18:00 Session 25.07.2010
Arrival
Youth Hostel
Sunday
26.07.2010 Monday
Baia Mare
Youth Hostel
Youth Hostel official greeting of the participants;
exchanging expections and proposals for the training;
Youth Hostel
Baia Mare Baia Mare
presentation of the programme of the training
İntegration, ice breaking games, getting to know each other workshops
Night out
Baia Mare
Training the others – workshop; project management – workshop
evalution of the day;
27.07.2010
Youth Hostel
Energizer;
Youth Hostel
Energizer
Youth Hostel
Presentation of Action 2 of the „Youth in Action“;
Baia Mare
Tuesday
Baia Mare
How to deal with different groups that come from difficult backgrounds
Baia Mare
Outdoors activity; Fire camp
„Youth in Action“Programme – Action 1, discussion about Action 1, presentation of projects within Action 1.1 and 1.2, Action 1.3,
Meeting with EVS volunteers
Evaluation of the day
28.07.2010
Youth Hostel
Wednesday
Youth Hostel experiencing voluntary work in special schools for Roma children and orphanages
Baia Mare
summary of the day „My encounter with the voluntary service“;
Youth Hostel
performance of a group of Roma dancers
Baia Mare Baia Mare Free time
29.07.2010
Youth Hostel
Thursday
Baia Mare
Energizer presentation of Action 4.3 of the „Youth in Action“ Programme. What is Youth Pass?
Youth Hostel
Baia Mare
Sighetu Marmatiei Travelling to Sighetu Marmatiei and visiting “The Pain Memorial” a former comunist prison
Reimbursement
Baia Mare
Developing ideas that include youngster with fewer opportunities 30.07.2010
Youth Hostel
Friday
Energizer
Youth Hostel
Creative thinking in organizing workshops Baia Mare
Baia Mare
Energizer Non-formal learning methodes in Youth exchanges and Training courses for inclusion
Final Evaluation
31.07.2010
Departure
Youth Hostel
Saturday
official final meeting,
Baia Mare
Traditional Romanian Evening
Goodbye Carnival
3. Aims and Objectives
All methods used during the training course meet the objectives and priorities of Youth in Action Programme. Therefore, the main aim of the project was to participate in the learning process of all participants involved towards raising their awareness about European citizenship and their rights and responsibilities as youth workers on an international level. Also, the project tried to educate the participants in the spirit of tolerance, active participation, democracy, the rule of law. Another important objective of the activity was to bring added value to the support structures for youngsters on a European level. All methods used are based on nonformal education principles. As a result, the main objectives settled by the project team were:  To participate in the improveing of project quality for activities that have as main
benefieries youngsters that come from disadvataged backgrounds and to develop the capacity of the partner organisations for implementing inclusion projects.  To identify, promote and consolidate the working instruments that meet in the best
way the needs of youngsters that belong to marginalized groups.
Other aims: o To activate a number of 12 participants for organizing and implementing projects for youngsters with special needs, by emphasizing the need for these type of activities and the impact that their actions can have on the professional and personal development of the beneficiaries. o To raise awareness in the local community regarding the needs and opportunities that youngsters from different ethnic groups can have, cultivating a tolerant attitude and understanding towards youngsters with fewer opportunities. o to encourage the 12 participant to reflect on the cultural values of each group, state or community by offering them the opportunity to present their own culture, by organizing intercultural evenings and by promoting Roma traditions. o To prepare and teach a number of 12 participants from different countries for project writing by involving them in an active learning process about Youth in Action, youth projects and opportunities, project management, inclusion and human rights, team work. o Supporting the activities of the other promoters, encouraging activities for inclusion by involving two youth workers from each NGO into an active learning process and preparation for including disadvantaged youngsters in different activities. o Promoting and facilitating the cooperation between different NGO’s on a European level.
4.
What we have learned …
“I really realized how hard is it-to be host team on project. For sure you know what I mean after the fourth day you are deadly tired,but you give all your energy to the people and trying to show your smile every time( when your legs hurt:) But anyway you feel the emotions of the people and it makes you feel stronger. Every time when we have some problems here( even it is not so big problem like that- is it possible to make breakfastin the last morning even it is not on the program and we don`t have enough money for that) I remember you and your team and it helps me a lot. I think your training course help me like very good example. “(Neda, Bulgaria)
“Ok.. my feelings didn't start in Romania but before that. They start in Portugal when Dani told me that he chose me to went to this Training Course. I was really excited because it was my first international project in Youth in Action and the first time that I leave my country. In the day of the departure I couldn't sleep because we had to be awake at 3 in the morning... It was a really long trip till Baia Mare (24 hours) but it was worth it. Baia Mare was a big surprise for me and I love that city since the first time. We (the portuguese guys) arrived at night and we didn't have any time to see the city... just sleep. In the 5 days after the arrival we had lots of fun, a really good project and a really good association. I learn a lot, and this training course also made me thing in a future EVS. The information that was given to us, was really helpful. Some weeks after the training course, I had a International Work Camp (Four Corners of the World from Os Quatro Cantos do Cisne), and that information was really really (but really) helpful. All the people was (and are) amazing and made all that week unforgettable. And like Tamta says, all unbearable persons. I would love a ton to go again to Baia Mare and meet all. And I can't forget yo say that Team for Youth Association is the best host ever. Thanks for that great experience!” (David, Portugal) “You know I miss all the moments that I spent in Romania, and all the group, I met there lots of amazing people that will stay forever in my heart!! you and all your crew did a great job, and teached me lots of new things that will be very important in my future life and projects, thanks to you I talked about subjects that i would never thought to talk and that make me see the life with other eyes and make me grow up like a human being. I didn't know many thinhs about evs, and now i understand much better this subject, and I'm wondering make evs some day.
I loved the voluntary work at the orphanages, but I think it was a bit unfair for us and for the childreen because we spent a short time with them, maybe next time instead you visit three orphanages in one day, maybe you should only visit one orphanage and spend there more time, Its only my opinion... the activities that we did and the energizers were great and create a big connection between all the members of the group!! I liked this learning proccess and you are a great leader and teacher, keep going with the good work, I'm sure that a future full of success is waiting for you... Congratulations I think we spent all a great time and we had lots of fun, the worst was the weather, always raining, but that was not our fault, we can't control the nature... :-) I only can say I LOVE ROMANIA!!!� (Catia, Portugal)
5. Daily
Programme
Day 1 (26th of July): Morning: The participants arrived the previous evening, also during the night. The activities started at 9:30 in the morning, therefore, most of them were tired and in need of energizing exercises.
The first activity was designed as a socializing cafĂŠ. The participants were invited in the meeting hall where the tables were arranged as in a coffee place and traditional cookies were served. They all received a folder that contained information about the participant countries, the aims of the project, the hosting city and the schedule. After sitting down at one of the tables they got discussion topics like: Your first love, Your biggest fear, One time you felt discriminated against, The biggest fight you ever had, The most embarrassing moment in your life. The
participants had to mix and discuss in different small groups the four topics. As a result, group cohesion was created. The second activity was an exercise for getting the participants closer to one another. Played as an energizer, the game had as a main objective to have the young participants lose fears and inhibitions and trust one another. I am colors is the name of the next let’s get to know each other exercise. Each participant was asked to draw something representative for him or herself on a piece of paper. The papers have been placed on the wall and all the others have had the opportunity to write observations and comments about those specific people on their papers.
Coffee break After the break, the activity started with two energizers, proposals from the participants. Involving the participants in taking initiatives in the activity schedule gives them more self confidence and encourages them to participate.
The activities in of the second part of the morning session concentrated on raising awareness on the learning process and the individual learning objectives of the participants. The activity was called the Learning Garden. The trainer asked the participants to close their eyes and to go back in time from the moment when they first find out about the project idea. Then they had to come closer to the present and recall all the feelings and impressions they had on the way. The debriefing questions were: What were your expectations in the beginning? What made you decide to participate? How do you plan to use this experience for your future? The answers were written down on small pieces of yellow paper and became the seeds of our Learning Garden. During the training days the participants fed
their seeds and grew a nice flower and tree garden.
Afternoon: The second part of the day continued with Fears and Expectations. In order to have the participants share their hopes and their fears the trainers used the Scarecrow exercise. In pair, the youngsters discussed their needs, their desires and things that they are afraid of and they wrote them down on post its. All post its were placed on a poster later and the advice of the trainer was: “please go back to them every day and find out where you were and where you are. Give feed back every evening about the activities connected to your initial expectations.� Coffee break: During the coffee break the participants had time to discuss more about their expectations, hopes, contributions that they can bring to the project.
For the second part of the day, the trainer prepared groups of youngsters
to work on short ideas for projects. The activity started with a short presentation of the project life cycle. The trainer used a poster with colorful papers on it in order to emphasize some main ideas of the seminar.
Roma children, and the third group for youngsters that live in orphanages. They had 40 minutes to prepare: a poster for the aims of the project, a short role play, a title, a motto and the activities.
All projects should have had one thing in common: the aim to train people with fewer opportunities for their personal and professional development. The groups were divided according to their usual beneficiaries. Therefore: one group decided to work for old homeless people, another group for
Finally, the projects were presented in the plenary room. The ideas were placed on the wall. And the other teams had the opportunity to questions each of presentations and the feasibility of the projects. The groups were very motivated to discuss and improve their own perspectives.
Day 2 (27th of July): Morning: The day started with filling in the blanks of the profile drawings on the wall and with feeding the seeds of the Learning Garden.
A short proposal of energizer from one of the participants was followed by the presentation: how to deal with different disadvantaged groups. For the activity, the trainer has chosen to motivate the youngsters to take part in a brainstorming activity regarding ways of motivating different categories of disadvantaged youngsters. The exercise started with the participants in a circle on their chairs. Each one of them was asked to think of the profile of one youngster, or child that comes from a difficult environment and keep the profile for him or herself. Taking turns we identified methods for motivating our beneficiary. If the methods identified by another person could apply also for the profile we had in mind we took one step towards the center of the circle with our chairs. The activity continued
until everyone was really close in the middle. The results were summarized on the poster. The main conclusion was that it is important to adapt methods of motivating the others to each profile and that it is important first to get to know the group with the needs that it has and then find the appropriate methods.
The next step was a power point presentation with the financing rules of Action 1.1, Action 1.2. and Action 1.3. The youngsters also discussed and comment different examples of projects for Action 1.
Coffee Break: After the break, we enter the process of Youth in Action Programme Learning. To apply the knowledge gained one day before and in the morning the trainer decided to present already opportunities for applying to different programmes, especially YiA. The presentation started with a short game that supposed identifying yourself and identifying the others. The participants had to look in two boxes and describe the people that were inside the box. One of the boxes had a mirror inside, the other one had a picture of a roma child.
Afternoon: The afternoon part was entirely dedicated to Action 2 of YiA, European Voluntary Service. After explaining and understanding the rules of the Action, the oungsters had the opportunity to meet part of the EVS volunteers in Baia Mare, ask them questions and discuss. The method chosen was simulation of a recruitment process. In groups (including the EVS volunteers) the participants took the profile of a
certain category: youth workers, mentally disabled people, socially disadvantaged youth. Three of them were the recruiters. They worked to convince the beneficiaries to take part in an EVS programme. The experience that some participants had already with European Voluntary Service was helpful in the process. In the end,
during the debriefing, all participants were able to identify the main methods for recruiting volunteers and dealing with the selection process and the preparation, according to the profile of the group. The main results were presented by the observers in each group in the plenary hall.
Day 3 (28th of July): Morning: To keep on with the tradition of the training course, the day started with filling in the profile of the others, writing down next to each drawing new things that they found out about their colleagues. Also, the participants continued with feeding the seeds of the Learning Garden according to their development process.
The morning was dedicated entirely to visiting EVS hosting projects in Baia Mare, projects designed especially for inclusion. Therefore, the young participants had as a task to come up with ideas for working with children in orphanages, especially dealing with Roma children. They were divided in small groups and, accompanied by local volunteers and EVS volunteers they visited the children in their home and discussed, played games, tried to integrate them in different activities. Unfortunately we cannot provide pictures as it is forbidden to take pictures of the children in orphanages. Afternoon: After lunch break the participants were invited inside for discussions, for evaluating their experience as volunteers. The discussion had the shape of a short debrief and
everybody participated with his or her opinion regarding the activity in the morning. The main ideas were: - In working with Roma children you need to get to know their culture better and to learn how to accept parts of their behavior; - Disadvantaged children tend to get attached fast and a youth worker should take this into account when designing an activity; - Language barrier can become a problem but also an advantaged as it a way of motivating them to learn a foreign language; - Some children don’t want to integrate and they should not be obliged or forced to do it, they need individual attention. Are ideas were also mentioned. In the end, the group was invited to release the energy that they received during the day with a relaxing origami exercise. Evening: For the evening activity the organizers had a special surprise for the group: a band of Roma dancers were invited for dinner and performed for our foreigners.
Day 4 (29th of July): Morning: The day had a special guest: a small kitten called “Pisuc�. She gave a lot of energy to the group that was already getting tired after three full days. As the participants were arriving one by one they started to feed their seeds and make the garden grow more and more. What really cheered up the atmosphere was the energizer: washing machine, television and Marlene Monroe!. It gave a new spirit to the environment and the participants enjoyed miming different characters or objects. It was also good for the group dynamics.
The participants were explained the fact that the project they are part of is a Training Course and that is one activity of the Action 4.3 of YiA. The rest of the activities have also been described using most of the experience and ideas that some of the youngsters in the group already had from their work in the organizations from their home countries. Then the trainer presented, step by step, the general objectives of a TC and what the results must be. This introduced the next part of the working day: Youth Pass presentation. The Youth Pass Guide was introduced to the participants, also for their own certificates, but mostly to practice writing a Youth Pass for their future beneficiaries. Each key competence was introduced and some helpful questions and examples in order to better understand. Coffee Break: During the break and 20 minutes after the participants discussed in pairs their key competences and how they developed in the project according to their learning objectives. The results of their discussions were used for filling in the Youth Pass certificates. Afternoon: The whole afternoon time was used for a trip in the historical areas of the region. The group had the chance to visit a former communist prison called The Pain Memorial and the village museum from Sighet. On the way they saw different areas, some of them very poor and traditional and some of them very rich. The contrast is one of the characteristics of our county.
Day 5 (30th of July): Morning:
group had to design a poem, a poster or a song that had as a main topic inclusion. Afternoon:
The last day was designed to creative thinking for inclusion projects, especially non-formal methods of education. In the first part of the day, after other proposals of energizing exercises, the trainer invited the participants to divide in small groups and work on some creative activities.
The exercise started with a short introduction on what non-formal learning is and continued with group work. Each
The facilitator led a short energizer based on trust and surprise. Afterwords, each group presented the results of their work in the morning. Based on the results of their work the trainer facilitated a short discussion, exchange of ideas and good practices when dealing with Roma groups. Each participant shared from his experience and also felt free to ask any questions connected to the topic. The atmosphere in the group, already united and coherent, helped the way the discussion developed. Final evaluation: all participants filled in forms evaluating their participation, the organizing team, the topic, the activities and the trainers. The average result of the training course in all was 8.5. There has been also a short evaluation in a nonformal way: the talking tulip (one of the origami objects designed one day before) went from person to person and
encouraged the free thoughts and opinions.
expression
of
Evening: The intercultural evening brought the group together for the last time. Each country had a presentation, gifts, pictures, a flag, food and drinks. The participants enjoyed also the traditional Romanian dancers and the costumes. They took pictures, danced, ate traditional food and sweets. The activity helped them better understand the colorful global world we are living in and
the need to get to know more, to lose stereotypes and to tolerate and integrate everybody regardless of their background.