Last July Palermo was the venue for a
European Training Course that brought together 32 youth workers, youth leaders,
youth advisors & peer educators, staff of intermediary organizations and social
activists working with young people. Participants from 12 different European
countries took part in an 8-day training course that was based on the themes of
entrepreneurship, innovation, culture, creativity and the development of a “can-do”
attitude.
The basic rationale
behind the Training Course was that young human and social capital can be
enhanced by unfolding essential aspects of an entrepreneurial and innovative
culture, by developing a “can-do” attitude and applying creative methods to
attain this.
All TC activities were
carried out through non-formal and informal methodologies, such as the Reciprocal
Maieutic Approach (RMA) as well as creative thinking and learning approaches through
art. Apart from this, some theoretical sessions were integrated, in an
interactive mode. The main outcome can be described as an enhanced understanding
of European themes like youth unemployment in our knowledge-based society and
economy, human and social capital, sustainability and inclusion. But also a better understanding of how to
apply non-formal education methods with youngsters in developing a more
creative, innovative and entrepreneurial spirit leading to self-confidence and
a can-do attitude.
Apart from this, it must
be said that participation in European training courses like these generally tend to lead to a
better understanding of how other European countries struggle with similar
issues and tackle, in this case, youth unemployment. Acquiring broader perspectives on common European
issues is an important step towards more solidarity and inclusion in times like
these where Europe is faced with a number of difficult issues and has to
conquer numerous challenges.
Once again we saw two
participants (Amina and Nicky) returning home to our university of applied
sciences with fresh ideas and an enriching experience due to the CAN & DO
training course. For this we’d like to express our thanks here to the TC coordinator, Centro per lo Sviluppo Creativo
“Danilo Dolci” (Italy) as well as the other participants from Azerbaijan,
Georgia , Greece, Moldavia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey and Ukraine.
This TC was made possible
with funds from Erasmus+, KA1 : Learning Mobility of
Individuals, more specifically mobility of youth workers.
Here are some photos of the session where our 2 participants shared their experiences in the course and disseminated what they’d learned during the TC in Palermo.
