Youth workers’ and educators’ training “Make gender equity reality!” blog by Merith

This was my first Erasmus+ training and it was a great week which was full of wonderful experiences and lessons I will remember for a long time. We had various educational activities everyday, excluding one day where we received an island tour and were able to take in the beautiful nature and sights of this unique island. The different lessons and activities took various forms, although they all involved group work, some were focused on solving puzzles, like the ‘Gender Escape Room’, whereas others involved creating dramatic scenes, like ‘Theatre of the Oppressed’.

There was also a challenging final activity where in large groups we had to create a 30 minute exercise of our own, including a warm up for all the other participants to do, an activity they had to complete/participate in, and a debriefing discussion afterwards.

The experiences, conversations and activities I participated in taught me many things personally, and also many things that are necessary for me as a youth worker.

I learned some important lessons in intercultural communication, as many countries and backgrounds were represented by the participants and many of them approached tasks and problems differently to me. Even when I disagreed with people’s decisions and views when working on problems and activities together, the open and honest communication that all participants had has helped me to understand these issues can be approached in many ways.

As a youth worker I have learned a number of useful exercises to implement that can educate young people on issues of gender inequality very effectively. On top of this I have learned important skills when organising activities, and understanding what works and what doesn’t, that can be applied when organising education and activities for young people on many issues.

Now that the training has finished, I remember the time spent enjoying the nature of the island with my fellow participants and also the moments when we were at our accommodation together getting to know each other. The activities we participated in have also made a strong impression on me, both because some of them were fun and engaging and because others were very thought-provoking and gave me a lot to think about since the training finished.