"Baze" - from August 24 to September 1, we participated in the training of youth workers on

for European youth goals "Training of youth workers on youth goals" in North Macedonia,

in Ohrid. We discussed, worked in groups together with the study leaders Renos and Inga from Cyprus,

we created activities, improvised various situations in depth for six young people

goals - European Union connection with youth, mental health and well-being, inclusive

society, space and participation for all, youth organizations and European programmes,

sustainable green Europe.

“I appreciate the opportunity to create activities for youth goals with a real possibility of them

to "take" home and organize together with young people. I am glad for the experience and examples of

various topics shared by participants from Lithuania, Spain, North Macedonia, Cyprus,

Romania, Greece and Serbia. I am pleasantly surprised by the fun and cohesive team,

who could both joke and discuss serious topics. I have obtained and appreciated

information and knowledge about paralanguage, participation ladders, inclusion differences,

youth engagement with the EU, mental health and many other topics. I have acquired many

ideas that I hadn't thought of before - I brought them to Latvia to share with the youth.

My experience throughout the training period was one full of learning and discovering new information about the objectives of young people and the programs financed by the European Union. The course program was well structured with information but also with interesting group activities. I liked the group activities and the theater skits where each of the participants got involved and shared their creativity.

I learned about:

 Acquiring skills of communication with young people on topics relevant to these.

- RECONNECTING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE AND THEIR GOALS -

"I am a teacher and I have worked with young people for many years. I have always tried to design activities close to their interests but it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to do so, as if I no longer had anything in common with them.

Sharing these days with young people learning together has allowed me to reconnect with them.

It has been an exciting experience."

Attending the Erasmus Project "Training of youth workers on youth goals" was a great opportunity for my personal development. This was my first Erasmus Project and I am sure that it is a first step in what will come. The trainers revealed the objectives of the course and showed that working with young people is one of main priorities of UE. I learned each day a new goals from the 11 youth goals, attended in non formal activities and approached ways to work with young people of different ages. We found out that participanta from different countries have the same goals and we shared knowledge and experiences.Thank you, Reno and Inga for your patience for this opportunity. 

Since it was my first experience, I didn't know what to expect, but I certainly enjoyed it all and would like to do it again. 

When looking back I enjoyed more getting to know the participants from the different countries, as well as representing Macedonia, completing the activities together and hanging out after, getting closer.

As for the learning process, in some tasks I stood out, at some I didn't as much, depending on the activity, but more on the topic, how familiar I was with it or interested

"In this project I found a very familiar place far from home. I lived great learning experiences with people of all kinds that have changed my way of seeing the world. With activities that went beyond the obvious, thinking about the little things, that essence that is invisible to the eyes, but that changes the way in which teachers relate and connect with our students."

"I personally appreciate the opportunity to participate in these studies to gain a deeper understanding of

for youth goals, which will help to better guide and support young people in their development on a daily basis

in the process. The project provided knowledge on various tools to help young people nominate

your goals. Participation also gave international experience, getting to know different cultures and

understand the situation of young people in different countries. As well as various activities that improved

personal competencies such as self-confidence, adaptability and ability to work

in an international environment."

I am very happy to have had a very interesting and unique experience. The aim of this project was to deepen and understand the goals of EU youth. We reviewed the objectives using different learning tools. Personally, I really liked working in small groups. I think this is a great way of learning to involve all participants, because when discussing with all participants, not everyone joins the conversation. I also really liked the workshops being held. It was interesting to delve into the topic not only by the discussion method, but also by using other means of communication.

I am very happy with the current organizers and trainers of this project. They perfectly managed to interest and reveal the topic of this project. Using different learning methods, they involved all participants in the learning process, created a cozy environment to be and learn.

Since this is my first Erasmus+ project, I can say that these trainings left an indelible impression on me and made me even more interested in getting involved in this type of activities.

The experience of the Youth Training programme was new for me. I didn’t attend such programmes before and it gave me a new perspective for what it means to work with young people, not only to communicate with them, but also convey important topics for them in a manner that is effective.

I have to say that non-formal methods of learning seem to me as the best way to teach, understand and integrate information. Every person has its own way of grasping information and I believe that the non-formal approach reaches a lot more people than traditional methods.

The subject we talked about were relevant, interesting and in line with the European objectives, I feel. 

In conclusion, I can’t wait to share all the information learned during the programme

What am I left with after this course?

I understand that it is important:

- to connect to the reality of the problems faced by young people,

- to be more empathetic when we talk about combating social exclusion and discrimination,

- to help young people to be informed and to promote European values, 

- games can be successfully applied in classroom activities, solving the problem of learning.

- A different and very interesting journey in which we have not stopped learning -

"As a future youth worker, I needed this training on the different youth goals and how to develop and implement various activities for each objective.

I am returning home with a lot of new knowledge and tools that I hope to be able to put to the test very soon. I really want to thank you for the opportunity to have been able to participate in this training."

​

Like every Erasmus+ project, this one in North Macedonia, focused on youth goals and youth workers, left an indelible impression. It was the first time I participated in this type of training course, and I realized that every time I not only learn more and more information, but also realize how much I still don't know... Each of the nine days of the project, I felt that I improved and deepened my communication, project organization, psychological health , foreign cultures, activities carried out by the European Union, etc. knowledge. Fulfilled, reasonable, thoughtful, open - words that I associate with this unique experience.

It was useful to get to know the local North Macedonian culture in Ohrid. We visited local landmarks, the city center, and spent the evenings enjoying exceptional sunsets at one of the deepest and oldest lakes in Europe.

I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in training courses, to get to know especially wonderful people, culture and to grow as a person in every way.

During this week, I got a better grasp of the youth goals, And understood the process better by participating in activities and putting my input in each activity. The role plays also helped me to develop an understanding of mental health and well being, also about inclusion. I also learnt the meaning of people with fewer opportunities. Moreover i learnt about the opportunities erasmus and other organisation provides for the youth (e.g etwinning, discovering eu etc..). Additionally it was a new experience, creating an activity. Finally, this training helped me develop my social skills, understanding skills (which I'll need as a member of the youth). 

Diary entry form Irena Lozana

The training was awesome for me, the fact that we had so much experiential learning was of a great importance and value to me.

We have touched on important topics that I personally believe are very important for young people.

I would love to increase my knowledge even more as a youth worker so that I can have more impact on the young people in my country.

From the first day to the last day of this training about youth goals i felt very comfortable and could express all my thoughts and feelings freely. 

Throughout the project which lasted 7 days we had the chance to learn critical facts about the 11 youth goals in the first 5 days, which was mainly theoretical but packed with useful  workshops that helped us master them easier. 

On the last 2 days of the project it was time for the participants to put in their creativity and come up with products using the knowledge we had learnt in the first 5 days. 

The first product was to design and present some workshops about any one of the youth goals. We worked in groups of 4 or 5 to create the workshops and  presented them in to the rest. We all took feedbacks and ways of improving them from the participants and from the trainers and had the chance to improve our work before we sent the final product. 

On the final day we designed flyers about the whole project where we worked with our national team in our national language. 

In this Training course, 26 participants gathered from 7 different countries and received training on the 11 EU Youth Goals. Via various playful, interesting well-thought and well-designed activities we interacted with these goals in a non-formal way. We accumulated competences additional to learning about the Goals, like working as a part of a team, understanding one another, compromise, communication, etc

For me personally the main competence acquired was learning new non-formal activities that I can apply in my classroom as a School Teacher. This TC enriched my arsenal tremendously!! But, as in every Project under Erasmus+, the most important thing was interacting with a diverse group of people, getting involved with them and forming connections that hopefully will last…