Training of Facilitators
Mobility 1 – Training of Facilitators – Better Facilitators, better Youth Exchanges
The Training of Facilitators represented the first mobility implemented within the Erasmus+ Youth Accreditation Year 5 of Youth on the Move Association. This mobility was conceived as a foundational capacity-building activity, designed to strengthen the professional competences of trainers, facilitators, and youth workers involved in non-formal education processes at local, national, and international level.
As the opening activity of the accreditation cycle, the training set both the pedagogical tone and the quality standards for future mobilities, placing strong emphasis on reflective practice, ethical facilitation, and learner-centered approaches.
Why a Training of Facilitators?
In an increasingly complex educational and social context, facilitators are expected to go beyond delivering activities. They are required to:
- design meaningful learning processes;
- adapt methods to diverse groups and learning needs;
- manage group dynamics and challenging situations;
- ensure inclusion, safety, and active participation;
- translate learning into real-life impact.
The Training of Facilitators was developed in response to these needs, offering participants a structured learning environment where they could question, refine, and strengthen their facilitation practice.
Learning Objectives and Focus Areas
The training aimed to equip participants with practical tools and conceptual clarity related to the facilitator’s role. The main learning objectives included:
- deepening understanding of facilitation within non-formal education;
- strengthening communication, active listening, and feedback skills;
- improving group management and decision-making competences;
- enhancing self-awareness and reflective practice as facilitators;
- exploring ethical responsibility and power dynamics in facilitation.
Rather than treating facilitation as a set of techniques, the program approached it as a professional mindset grounded in values, intentionality, and continuous learning.
Erasmus+ · Youth Exchange
Active Voices: Young Europeans and Democracy in the Digital Age
An Erasmus+ youth exchange held in Băile Govora, 1–10 February 2026
What does it mean to be an active citizen in a world where information travels faster than ever, and the line between truth and manipulation grows harder to draw? This was the question that brought together 25 young people and 2 facilitators from several European countries for ten days, in the quiet of the Băile Govora spa town, as part of the youth exchange “Active Voices – Youth Participation in a Digital Democracy.”
The project, funded through the Erasmus+ programme (reference 2025-1-RO01-KA151-YOU-000299376), grew out of a reality we all experience: young people across Europe are exposed daily to an increasingly complex political, social, and digital environment. Disinformation, declining trust in institutions, polarization, and withdrawal from civic life are real challenges. “Active Voices” was our response to them — a space where democratic participation, critical thinking, and media literacy met through non-formal education methods.
A journey from ideas to action
The ten days were designed as a meaningful journey. After the first days dedicated to getting to know one another and building a strong group, participants explored the project’s core themes step by step.
We began by understanding what democratic participation really means — at the local, national, and European levels — and how a young person can make their voice heard beyond the moment of casting a vote. Together we discovered the EU Youth Goals and their relevance to everyday life, turning documents that once seemed abstract into practical points of reference.
What followed sparked the liveliest discussions: critical thinking and media literacy. Participants learned to recognize cognitive biases, the mechanisms of manipulation in public discourse, and the techniques used to build and spread fake news and disinformation. In an increasingly digital democracy, the ability to critically assess information is no longer a luxury — it is a basic skill.
The final days shifted the focus from learning to action: the young people developed their own ideas for civic initiatives, connected to the EU Youth Goals, which they will now carry forward into their own communities.
Recognized learning, friendships across borders
Everything that happened at “Active Voices” was rooted in non-formal education — energizers, interactive workshops, debates, and work in international teams. The learning process was assessed and recognized through the Youthpass certificate, which documents the key competences each participant gained.
Beyond themes and skills, the exchange was also a genuine intercultural experience. The intercultural evenings, in which each delegation presented its country, turned a diverse group into a community that learned to cooperate, to listen, and to discover European values not as concepts, but as something lived.
About the host: Băile Govora
The activities took place in Băile Govora, a spa town in Vâlcea County, Romania, known for its therapeutic mineral waters and tranquil atmosphere. Surrounded by hills and forests, with architecture that blends the neo-Romanian and Art Nouveau styles of the Belle Époque era, the town offered the perfect setting for reflection, dialogue, and relaxation between sessions.
What we carry forward
“Active Voices” has come to an end, but its effects are only beginning. Each participant returns home with concrete tools to be a more informed, more critical, and more engaged citizen — and with the responsibility to share what they have learned with other young people in their community.
We believe democracy does not happen only in polling stations or institutions, but in every small act of involvement, in every question we ask of a piece of information before believing it, and in every voice that chooses not to stay silent. That is precisely why this project was named Active Voices.
Project funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ programme. For more information about our youth mobility projects, you can reach us at yotmromania@gmail.com.