“Cherry on the cake” is a training course that aims to deepen the understanding of the potential and possibilities of a Youth Exchange as a tool for non-formal learning in long-term work with young people.

 The objectives of the training course are;

•        Explore the potential of Youth Exchanges for motivation, learning and empowerment in long-term work with young people;
•        Highlighting the importance of involving young people in all phases of a Youth Exchange and tailoring it according to their needs;
•        Increase the participant's understanding of the role of the youth leader in all phases of a Youth Exchange;
•        Develop participants’ competencies to recognise the potential for learning in all phases of a Youth Exchange and support the learning processes of those involved;
•        Identify the challenges brought by the international setting of a Youth Exchange and reflect on how to approach them;
•        Explore the usage of digital tools in different phases of a Youth Exchange.

 

 Our volunteer Erkin participated in 3 days training course on “Cherry on the cake” in Malmö, Sweden from 3-6 October. Application has been made through the National Agency and  project is financed by the Erasmus+: Youth in Action Programme.

 Erkin indicates;

 “As a youth worker, the training course “Cherry on the Cake”was an amazing opportunity and a great experience for me . I was a representer of Mreža udruga Zagor from Croatia. Including Croatia, there were six other participant countries; Slovenia, Italy, Albania, Sweden, Turkey, and Hungary. I met lovely people, and we had a chance to exchange ideas during the sections. We brainstormed, and mostly focused on the question: <<How can we collaborate in the future for great projects? And how can we involve young people?>>

 We also learnt a bunch of new energizers and digital tools. It was a very interactive training. We left the hotel to interview young people on the street. We asked them three questions to detect the needs of Swedish youth.

 

• What are the needs of the community/young people?
• What are the important topics for young people in Malmo?
• What is already there for young people; trends?

 

 After the interview, we had a great pool of answers. We had a brainstorm from the collected datas. Thus, we learnt how to use tools to detect the needs of the community/young people. We also went through the importance and recognition of YouthPass. 

 I learnt a lot during the training and made a network with great people. I came back to Croatia full of ideas, and I cannot wait to collaborate with other organisations to implement projects in the future!”