Y2Y Training Course

One of the pillars of Youth to Youth Initiative is skills-focused training opportunity for young activists, community leaders, youth workers and educators. Youth to Youth Initiative provides such opportunities at least twice a year. Training courses are focused on the topics within Y2Y’s working areas:

• Youth activism and sustainable development of communities
• Gender equality
• Social entrepreneurship and sustainable project management
• Digital technology and social innovations
• Peacebuilding through intercultural dialogue and non-formal education
• Combating extremism and youth deardicalization

Starting from 2016 Youth to Youth Initiative has organised following training courses:

“Extremism?!-No, thanks?”

15 different countries became partners to make this training truly international. Training Course aimed to empower youth workers and youth leaders with skills, knowledge and attitudes to play an active role towards an intercultural society. Recently the world has been reminded about the threat of extremism. This phenomenon is on the rise in Europe. Extremist movements, ideologies, parties and individuals present some of the most pressing challenges for European democracies. They continue to gain large levels of support from different segments of the society, even among some of the most economically secure and highly educated regions of Europe. Many young people are affected by populism and anti-immigration sentiments and fall into a very dangerous rhetoric. Taking this into account tit was considered highly important to gather active young people, youth workers and activists to discuss questions of multicultural society, inter-religious and intercultural dialogue as well as to think about some practical tools how to fight discrimination and combat extremism.

“Inclusive Europe”

The training was based on the partnerships of 16 EU and non-EU-countries. It was based on the need of empowering civil society organisations which are working with refugees and migrants so they could become stronger actors in the so called refugee crisis and support the EU and national policy making with valuable input. This was a reason to develop a 2 Stage Project — Training Course in Lithuania and a Study Visit to Armenia. The project gathered 36 youth workers and staff members of Civil Society organisations both from the EU (Lithuania, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden) and the Neighbouring partner countries (Armenia, Belarus, FYR Macedonia, Georgia, Moldova, Serbia, Ukraine). To ensure a long term impact the training’s activities involved all 36 youth workers in development and implementation of their own social projects.

“Extremeless Europe”

The training course was based under Erasmus+ framework and held in Lithuania in September 2018. It brought together 30 youth workers from Lithuania, Hungary, Germany, Sweden and Poland together. During the this training course we looked deeper into the issues of extremism, radicalism and the roots of these ideologies, nationalism, intolerance and intercultural misunderstandings, questions of the lost of identity and belonging to the society, migration, discrimination.

The training course was devoted to the skills of the youth works on the topics of prevention of radicalization of youth and refugees, how they can help people to disengage from radical and extremistic groups, how to challenge these ideologies and engage in a peaceful conversation with people who have racists views and prejudices, how to deal with extremism and hate speech online and how to empower communities that are targeted by extremists and radical and whom may feel powerless, fearful and hopeless.

“Life Lessons — Human Wisdom”

Training course on «LIFE LESSONS — HUMAN WISDOM» took place from 6th until 12th June 2019 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The aim of the project was to collect human lessons from a diverse group of people in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and document them. The documentation and designing of their life lessons as an interactive and performance-based model helped us to develop the art of seeing us as more alike than unalike. Someone has already lived the lesson before sharing it to enlighten, inspire and inform someone else in the world. It is real and raw.

Understanding any kind of wisdom through the lens of life lessons is significant because it eliminates the creation of stereotypes and transcends cultural context. It facilitates long term understanding and analysis of experiences to navigate through challenges; a more solution-oriented approach to living. It is also crucial in defining the statistically quantified character of the challenges.

“Road to happiness”

“The Road to Happiness” was a 8-day Youth Exchange in which 32 participants and 8 youth leaders from Italy, Sweden, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia & Netherlands came together in Agrigento, Italy and together found out what is the path to happiness, defined happiness, developed self-care practices, fostered the culture of wellbeing and organized & maintained a continuous focus on inner sustainability — their mental and physical wellbeing. Participants earnt how to refuel their energy reserves
without compromising their health. The program was aimed at encouraging participants to change their attitudes regarding a work/life balance and introduce ways of setting healthy boundaries to prevent burn-out and stress.

The project took place from 26 to 2nd November 2021.

“Journey to A Better Self”

Youth to Youth Initiative and Rubix Potential developed original author’s course of interpersonal development and self-awareness. The project is ongoing.

The purpose of this coaching is to support individuals on their journey to discover their true nature, inner purpose and give them the tools that can be easily tested, learned and applied in different life situations that could help to maintain a good life/work balance, manage stress, release blockages and energy drainers, understand inner wishes, connect them to life purpose and better communicate with the outside world.

The coaching combines multiple psychological, coaching and mindfulness methodologies and techniques blended in a unique way. It is built on an interactive basis and contained feedback sessions in order to receive a clear result of the effects.
The results of the coaching already have shown that the chosen methods and techniques have a powerful effect over motivation, image, growth, and understanding of one’s purpose of the participants.

“Seeds of connection”

Seeds of Connection is a Training Course that took place from 05 to 14 November, 2021 in Antaliepte, Lithuania.
The project was coordinated by Youth to Youth Initiative in partnership with Actions for Change organisation from Romania, Positive Youth from Sweden, Culture Clash 4U from The Netherlands, ReCreativity from Hungary, Young Agents of Change from Ukraine.

‘’Seeds of Connection’’ was a transformative, resource-focused program in which participants explored the resources of their wholeness, their innate human capacities which enable them to step into life more fully and more meaningfully.

The project hosted 30 leaders from Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Sweden, Ukraine and the Netherlands with the aim to discover how we can bring the aspect of personal development into our impact work and what we can learn from nature, which we can implement in our change making journeys.

“Route 2020: Highway to Inclusion”

«Route 2020 — Highway to Inclusion» is an Erasmus+ KA2 Strategic Partnerships supporting the exchange of good practices in the Youth field among Lithuania, Italy and Germany, that is lasting for 24 months. Route
2020 aims at contrasting discrimination against ethnic minorities by raising awareness among young people and educate them in order to foster respectful and inclusive behaviors.

Route 2020 project main objectives are:
— Promoting intercultural dialogue;
— Knowledge about acceptance of diversity and tolerance in society;
— Contrasting discrimination against ethnic minorities by raising awareness among young people and educate them in order to foster respectful and inclusive behaviors.

In order to achieve its goals, Route 2020 project is implement 3 Blended Mobilities of Young People per country.
Every mobility involve 15 young people aged 18-26 plus 3 accompanying persons. The programme aims to develop the knowledge, skills and competences of selected participants by employing selected
methodologies of Non-Formal Education in a joint learning process such as Forum Theatre, Education Through Sport and Digital Storytelling,
which possess specific features to approach the delicate topic and issues addressed by the present project.

Apply for the final mobility in Lithuania. Learn more and apply here: