TC “Quality Measures in European Solidarity Corps”
I spent nine days in Kysak, Slovakia from 4th to 13th of November, to educate myself about using coaching tools in youth work and to get familiarized with the concept of Solidarity Projects. I have to admit that I had only a slight idea of what I had signed up for and very few existing experiences with any kind of coaching. But unexpectedly, the time in Kysak opened my eyes to a completely new way of practicing youth work and connecting to people.
During the first days of the project, we talked about several coaching methods that could be used in various contexts of working with people and could help approach sensitive topics without pressuring people to reveal too much and help them reach an answer for themselves. Surprisingly, we lingered for a long time on the concept of coaching itself, because it’s not necessarily as straight-forward as it seams. Coaching, put into the simplest terms, means asking the right questions at the right time, without intruding in someone else’s ability to make decisions for themselves. Seems easy, right? As it turned out, it’s a difficult art to master and demands a lot of thought and empathy for others.
One of our trainers, Lorezo Nava, is practicing eco-coaching and gave us tools to use nature as a medium for guiding people in their decisions. One of my own favourite workshops was called The Hero’s Journey, which uses metaphors to reach into our past and overcome obstacles we might be facing. The exercise itself consisted of everyone wandering in the forest in pairs and supporting each other in conquering our struggles. It gave me a lot of clarity in how to put my own ideas and understanding to the side and focus on my partner’s journey. At the same time it also gave me a great experience of seeing how a right companion can be a necessary part of me resolving my own shortcomings. By the way, the supportive person does not have to say much, it is even more about knowing when to not talk and just listen.
Our other trainer, Petra Papiernikova, is also a practicing coach, who taught us more about the coaching flow and forming effective questions to help the growth of the coachee. We got to apply all of our new knowledge to practice, when conducting our first coaching session with one of the other participants.
Apart from giving us the base for using coaching methods, the more concrete goal for the training was to promote local youth initiatives through Solidarity Projects and us as the youth workers to become more qualified to support youngsters in bringing their ideas to life. Solidarity Project is a way to get funding from the European Commission for developing local life and to give an opportunity for the young people to take action in their community. At the training, we were given a lot of insight about the project management and we got to practice though writing our own solidarity project and getting feedback from a representative from Slovak National Agency, who are in charge of approving the funding for the projects in their country.
The whole training was probably the most eye-opening Erasmus experiences I’ve had. Not only was the topic very close to my heart and helpful for my own development, but the group of people with whom I got to experience it all, consisted of exactly the right people at the right place. It was incredible to see different people becoming so close with each other in such a small amount of time and showing so much compassion and understanding for everyone. Thank you for your dedication, all of my fellow participants and our trainers Petra, Lorenzo, MarCus and Evelyn. I’m so grateful for getting to have a part in this Erasmus community and I’d recommend anyone who is in search of new adventures, to look into the opportunities these kinds of projects offer.
- Kirke
