CALL FOR
UNDERSTANDING EUROPE TRAINERS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Understanding Europe
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Message from Peer Educators
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Message from Project Coordinator
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Practical Information
UNDERSTANDING
EUROPE IDEA The participation of young electorates at the age of 18-24 for the European elections in 2009 was only at 27%. Hence, prior to the European elections 2014 the Schwarzkopf Foundation Young Europe initiated a series of events called Understanding Europe. This includes a series of EU Crash Courses which each take four hours and aim at imparting a basic knowledge about European politics to pupils interactively and strengthen their political participation in Europe. With the support of the European Youth Parliament we offer the EU Crash Courses in other European countries as well, among others Italy, Ukraine, Hungary, Czech Republic, Azerbaijan and Belgium.
Why does the EU exist? – Milestones of European History Who is the EU? – Actors of the EU How do I have a say in Europe? Participation of the Youth in European decision- making What is security and what does it mean to me? - Journey through different aspects of security EU Asylum Policy & Talk-show – Introduction to the European asylum system The participants of each group will then present what they have learnt to the classmates. Finally, the discussion time gives them the opportunity to ask all the questions they have about European topics and debate them with the others.
CONTENT The four-hour EU Crash Courses is meant for pupils of secondary schools across Belgium, from 4th grade onwards. It aims at engaging pupils in an open discussion about current European topics and imparts basic knowledge about the European Union in an interactive way. It includes a quiz, Q&A-round, presentations, workshops, debates and work group. The course focuses on four main topics:
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TRAINERS The project is built upon a peer-to-peer approach and voluntary youth participation. Young seminar trainers are trained to conduct the EU Crash Course directly in schools. They collaborate with pupils of similar age based on a spirit of partnership and mutual understanding. The peer-topeer-relationship provides the floor to express fears and criticism openly. The peer trainers support the independent work of the young participants in small groups and they can tend to different needs in the classroom through an interactive mix of methods in the course material.
AIMS We want that one single Understanding Europe Crash course breaks down the structure of the EU, the consequences of its existence and its main actors. Ideally, the students will interest themselves in European affairs more than usual. This is our ultimate goal; that each one gets informed constantly and fulfils its duty as a European citizen.
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MESSAGE FROM
PEER EDUCATORS Dear future Understanding Europe trainer, Have you ever asked yourself why active citizenship is not usually learnt at school? Is it because there is no time? No room in the curricula? Because teachers do not want to teach it to their pupils? Or that they wouldn’t know how to do it? What does it even mean actually? The answer we found is that active citizenship is not learnt at school, because it can not truly be taught, only experienced. With Understanding Europe, we do not claim to give young people a full picture of what active citizenship really is. However, we aim at sparking their interest in current issues and encouraging them to take an active role in shaping our society. We do so by providing them with tools to develop critical and independent thinking through non-formal educational methods and peerto-peer learning. After one UE Crash Course, high school pupils will not have become experts in EU affairs, nor will we. But if they leave the classroom with one question in mind they want to do research on, one new idea they will discuss with their friends or one piece of knowledge they will explain to their parents, our goal has been achieved. And in the process, we will have learnt as well, perhaps even more than the pupils we were intending to teach.
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Our mission is thus to provide a basic understanding of European politics to pupils and strengthen their political participation in Europe. We offer a space where pupils can question what they have heard in the news and debate with their classmates in an open, unbiased, safe and welcoming environment. We then aim to help them form an opinion of their own and empower them to make their voices heard. Being a programme organised for youth by youth, UE naturally finds the right balance between fun and academics. As peertrainers, we don’t enter the classroom as EU experts nor teachers, we come as ourselves and as their peers. We are simply young people who want to share our knowledge and passion about the EU in an interactive and interesting way. Our role is to facilitate their learning, unlock their potential, and guide them through their questions. We have to learn to leave our own biases, our own political opinions and judgements behind us and welcome whatever is waiting for us behind that classroom door. It is therefore first and foremost, for us trainers a learning experience and a lesson of humility. Then, being part of the UE team also means that you join a community of passionate and caring young people who are eager to challenge themselves, try and fail and try again, support each other and of course, have a blast!
As Peer Educators, our role is to support the trainers in their learning journey. First, by creating, planning and delivering the workshops at the initial Train-the-Trainer event. This will serve as an introduction to the project and equip you with the methods and tools needed to start conducting the Crash Courses in schools. And then, by being present throughout the year to share our experiences and answer any doubts you might have. We promise to try our best to become aware of your needs as trainers, to be creative and share our knowledge by taking into consideration multiple intelligences and interests. We also hope to instill these values among the trainers’ team, as they are essential to conduct the Crash Courses. Together, we have a total of 12 years of experience within the UE project, and we are now excited to share it with you, and hopefully inspire you to continue in this adventure. Thank you for considering applying for this position. We are looking forward to getting to know you and learning together.
Kind regards, Diana, Queenstar and Catarina
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MESSAGE FROM
When you become the Understanding Europe trainer, I will invite you to participate in day-to-day management of the project. This will equip you with valuable experience and skills which are so desired in the job market.
Dear Prospective Trainer,
As a project coordinator, I will support you so that you can participate in the project to the fullest extent. My main goal is to ensure sustainability within the project team. As a trainer, you should feel safe, confident and motivated, while supporting and cooperating with others. I want to focus on ensuring proper workload and well-being of trainers and provide you with a unique learning and self-improvement opportunity.
PROJECT COORDINATOR
I cannot be more honoured to invite you to join our project and set off on a great journey with us! There are many aspects that make Understanding Europe a unique project but surely the most crucial are the people who make it up. We’re all team players, we don’t hesitate to support each other, we devote our time and energy to foster the project, we believe in its aims and we realize the mission of European education. Now, we’re looking for someone alike to join our family. We’re looking for you. Understanding Europe is growing and evolving very fast and with the health crisis still looming over us the innovation is only accelerating. It is a truly international and educational project with all its opportunities and challenges. It requires us to think fast, build relationships, be professional and constantly evaluate what we do.
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By reading this document you are now very near to becoming the Understanding Europe trainer. I encourage you to take one more step forward and fill in the application form. When you do, we may welcome you on our team to which I’m already looking forward! All the best! Mateusz Wiza Understanding Europe Belgium Coordinator
PRACTICAL INFORMATION What prior knowledge do you expect from me? We don’t require any specific knowledge - only motivation to learn and to change the world! We will organise a training weekend for you in October and teach you everything you need to know. Interest in European news, politics and history, as well as experience in teaching or facilitating discussions will be a great plus. What languages do I need to speak? Most of UE Crash Courses are conducted in English, so is the training in the beginning and the communication within the project team. You should comfortably speak in English so that you can conduct workshops and facilitate discussions in it. Similar level of proficiency in official languages of Belgium (Dutch, French, German) will be beneficial because we sometimes conduct Crash Courses in them, but it’s not a requirement. Any other requirements? You should be between 17 and 25 years old so that highschool students can truly benefit from the peer-to-peer approach. You should also reside in Belgium for majority of the upcoming school year. If you reside elsewhere, you can still apply for Understanding Europe in your country, get in touch with us and we’ll direct you. How time consuming is participation in the project? First of all, you should be available to participate in the training weekend on 10-11 October 2020. After that, you are qualified to conduct Crash Courses in schools, but it’s not very time consuming. Experience from the previous years shows that each trainer will conduct, on average, 3-4 Crash Courses in a year. Note that most Crash Courses are scheduled in school hours (8:00-16:00), take 3-4 hours and you may need time to get to the location.
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PRACTICAL INFORMATION When scheduling the Crash Courses we always take into consideration your availability. Aside from Crash Courses, you will also be asked to assist us in project management, but that should be limited to small tasks which shouldn’t take more than 1 hour per week (unless you volunteer to help more). We will also try to organise team meetings on weekends a few times per year but these will not be compulsory and will be planned with your availability in mind! What are the benefits of becoming a trainer? Most importantly, you learn a lot. You develop both hard and soft skills such as communication in English, teaching, discussions facilitation, project management, team work, time management and much more! Role of an Understanding Europe trainer is valuable on a CV and we are an international and well-recognized project. Furthermore, participation in the project allows you to build relations and contacts, and via membership in European Youth Parliament, gives you access to huge and diverse network of young people with similar values and experiences. Will I get paid for being a trainer? In Understanding Europe we are all volunteers and being a trainer is also a voluntary role for which you won’t be given a salary. However, we will cover all costs such as travel, food and accomodation related to your participation in the training in October, Crash Courses and team meetings. We will also provide you with all the materials you will need for conducting Crash Courses. Don’t hesitate to contact us via understandingeurope@eyp.be for more information and apply through clicking here!
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