We gathered 20 civil society activists as our multipliers group. These are young people with a background in non-formal education and civil society experts – local activists, people who work with democracy and inclusion issues, climate change activists and others, who feel a strong need for new solutions when it comes to youth work. Together with them, we had two trainings of trainers – one online and one offline.
We started ToT1 with reflecting on participants’ experience as both educators and learners and what they could take from each role. Then we shifted to participation processes in regards of youth in general and in Moldova specifically. Our in-depth analysis of local needs included the topics of the voices of youth in decision-making processes, as well as current challenges and existing formal and informal mechanisms. Here we used experience of our multipliers in civic activism, and they also reached out to young people from their communities to ask about kid’s perception of the situation.
During the ToT2 in Molovata Noua, Moldova we introduced multipliers to the simulation game method. First, we conducted our simulation game “Kodori” so that the group could get hands-on experience of the method. Participants were very engaged in the processes of the game and found it beneficial to have gotten an opportunity to step into the roles that sometimes have different values and attitudes from those of the multipliers.
This was followed by the development of a new simulation game that would serve as a laboratory to develop initiatives for promotion of youth participation on a local level. Here the results of the needs analysis helped us identify the exact issues and main conflict lines that should have been included into the game. Our multipliers team was very excited when they saw that their initial thoughts and ideas have transformed into a strong and interesting simulation game, and were very eager to conduct it during the Summer Academy with Moldovan teenagers.
The final day was devoted to the program preparation for the Summer Academy and everyone left with a lot of energy and enthusiasm for the upcoming event with the youth!
