Category Archive : autumn

Training Course „Hop On – The Train to Trainings“ – Klagenfurt/Austria

After I attended many Erasmus+ projects I thought it’s time for my first training course. And so I took the challenge and applied for the training Course “Hop On – The Train to Trainings” implemented by wEUnite and I was really happy when they accepted my application. I had big expectations for the project because I wanted to improve my skills as a facilitator and learn how to write and organize my own projects.

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Basic Training for Trainers – Lecce

From the 1st until 7th October wEUnite had the pleasure to prolong summer period by taking part in a training course entitled „B.T.T. – basic training for trainers“ in Lecce, Italy
Elisa, Manuel and Nina decided that this is their chance to start their career as trainers in the field of youth work and especially Erasmus+ projects. Having had a journey of approximately 24 hours all of them were happy when they finally arrived at the sunny venue and met the organizers and already some other participants.

Elisa, Manuel, Nina

Within those days we had around 60 hours of workshops, discussions, presentations and activities dealing with individual and group learning processes, needs assessment, learning styles, group dynamics, planning and implementing various activities and methods of non-formal education. 



Thinking back now, Elisa said that before coming to Lecce she was excited to learn what should be considered when designing a training and which are the concepts behind. Furthermore, she expected to find out about the tasks of a trainer and to get to know useful tools for being a trainer. And of course she was also looking forward to meeting a lot of interesting people. A tool that Elisa found very useful was working in the co-trainer support groups. It helped her to stay focused during the whole week and motivated her each day to work on her personal learning goals. In the evenings they met for reflection and talked about what has worked for everyone throughout the day and in which field they still want to improve. Having had this support system definitely boosted her motivation a lot.

What Manuel has learnt most from BTT is that imperfect action is better than perfect

inaction, especially when it comes to trying out something new or to step out of the comfort zone. One can’t plan everything, but it is good to be well prepared and to have a plan B in case things don’t work out as expected. Being good in improvising is a necessary skill for a trainer as well as letting participants decide by themselves how much they want to challenge themselves (challenge by choice). What he found surprising was that is it not as hard as it seems to facilitate a workshop because many things are repetitive and if one knows the basic concepts and methods the rest will just fall in place. But one shouldn’t forget that there is always more than meets the eye of a participant. There is a lot of work and preparation necessary in order to be successful in implementing activities.

After this week Elisa, Manuel and Nina know how to set SMART goals in order to be successful, how the circle of learning works and can be used, which phases groups usually go through, how to give and take feedback and how to implement activities by themselves, to mention a few.

Having taken a first step towards trainership (no it is not a ship with trainers on it), the Austrian participants also got valuable feedback on their own workshop sessions from other participants that they want to share here:


What makes Elisa a great trainer is that she always gives her best and can easily adapt to

Last evening – cheers to new trainers!

different situations. She is able to quickly find her place in a team, puts effort in setting goals and is a well-organized person that still stays flexible if needed. Her positive and supportive attitude are also appreciated qualities.

What makes Manuel a great trainer is that he is curious, creative and has a positive mindset. He asks whenever he isn’t sure about understanding things, creates a great atmosphere in a group and works hard in order to achieve goals. Manuel is also good in motivating people to give their best while giving everyone space to be part of a team.

What makes Nina a great trainer is that she explains things in a peaceful way, is good in accomplishing goals, knows how to organize herself and sessions and is supportive in every way. When leading a session she doesn’t lose control over it, she is consistent and combines learnings in a good way.


Thank you very much to L´Arca del Blues for organizing such an amazing project!  Your obviously tired and exhausted team Austria 🙂 





Desire To Inspire – Leadership training

Some week ago, from 15th until 22nd of September 23 people from Austria, Italy, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Macedonia and Malta gathered in Klagenfurt for the training course under the title “Desire To Inspire”. This training course was based on the importance of leadership in everyday life situations and even more on those appearing in youth work. The focus was put on methods and aspects for and about leading groups, but also on how to present oneself and behave in order to be respected.

In order to make this week as great as possible and a secure learning environment the first one and a half days were dedicated to the topic of getting-to-know each other and building a team out of this group of people. Having been blind-folded, for example, was part of a trust- and team building activity and from the trainer’s perspective definitely made those 20 participants an amazingly strong team for the upcoming days.

Each day had a different topic such as group dynamics, live action role play, myself as superhero and overall leadership. Aside from theory we tried to give the stage to participants and let them learn by putting into action their new knowledge and receiving feedback for further improvement. Everyone was so into the topic that even offered free time was used to keep on doing workshops and discussing topics of the sessions.

Together we all got new perspectives and a bigger understanding of leadership and its importance in youthwork. Having had the chance to discuss about and work on this topic intensively I can definitely say I’ve improved my skills and learnt from everyone of the 22 other people there.

Besides working there was also time for cultural exchange, game nights and story telling in the evenings.


And here are some impressions about Desire To Inspire:

Aleksandra, Macedonia

„The DTI was an unforgettable experience for me. Things that I have learned there about leadership, team work, trust and friendship were surprisingly amazing. The organization was perfect, the group was like one big hearted family and I can honestly and truly say that I had the time of my life, time filled with lots of fun,crazy games, laughter and inspiration. We were many deferences connected together in one perfectly big puzzle.“ 

Kristina, Slovakia

„Desire To Inspire was the first training course I participated in but given my previous experience with youth exchanges, I kept my expectations low. The projects I’ve been to before were great but their organisation was rather disappointing. That’s why I was so amazed when I saw all the effort wEUnite made to make sure everything is prepared and on point. We had all we needed (or even more) and we got the opportunity to improve our soft skills & leadership skills. The activities we did were always innovative and enriching so I really enjoyed each one of them. Besides that, I’ve also made many new friends and got to know myself better. Thank you for everything !“

Krzysztof B., Poland

„Desire to Inspire was quite a special training. Each activity and workshop managed to help the participants in learning something new about working with groups, about being a leader as well as what happens when there is no leader. IT was an amazing privilege to take part in it.“

Manuel G., Austria

„The training gave me a lot of opportunities to practice leadership, as well as being a follower and possibilities to support others. I put my focus also on communication with people in terms of helping them to see their potentials and how they can enable it. Furthermore, I took special opportunities from the organizers to facilitate and lead workshops which gave me the confidence to be able to perform on different stages in front of people in future and to create and facilitate activities and workshops for other people to help them to improve themselves. During this training I improved my skills to be in lead by being authentic, pro-active, open-minded, team-oriented and a role-model in order to successfully achieve goals. Thanks a lot to all organizers for realizing this great training! It was a pleasure to be part of it!“

Lucy, Czech Republic

„The training course DTI influenced my personality a lot. We were busy but as I am retrospecting, I am appreciating it at the same time. Now I believe in myself much more but what is more important, I met people who are like me and they are my friends now.“

Triinu, Estonia

„I went to training course with high hopes, and I was pretty surprised at the end of the week – my expectations weren’t just fulfilled, but exceeded. I learned so much in such a short period of time and I experienced so many things and feelings. All this thanks to the team and magical group of people that we had. <3 blockquote="">




A very big, big thank you from the whole team behind this training course! It was great to work together and we hope to see you soon in one place or another 🙂

Explore and show Vienna!


On tuesday, november 1st, 2016, Sigita, a new friend from Latvia had a stop in our beautiful capital Vienna on her way to the Youth Exchange „I feel good“ in Croatia. She started with a Free Walking Tour where I first met her. Not only for her, but also for me, it was nice to hear interesting and even unknown facts and stories about my home town. As many other people, I never did a tour in my own home town; I mean I did, but it was a long time ago, when I was still in school. Hence, I enjoyed getting my mind refreshed. After this tour we met Pato and Manuel and continued with a private tour of Schönbrunn. The weather was just perfect and we really had a great time. I am looking forward to show my beautiful city to many friends from abroad.

What Sigita said about her short cultural visit in Vienna:

I arrived in Vienna just after the Halloween evening and one of the first things that came down the street was literally – death. Ouh, welcome, welcome! 😀 But to be honest, I enjoyed the beautiful Vienna architecture, statues, fountains and fantastic autumn colors so much! After two more or less successful explanations on the phone, where I am, my first guide, Manuel, however managed to find me and later his friends joined us, at the end of a free tour. In the metro to Schönbrunn, they suddenly pulled out little notes with compliments and made lot of jokes, how to say non-compliments, it was very funny. At our destination, Schönbrunn Castle, they gave notes to people, it was very nice 🙂. 

Thank you guys for chestnuts experiment! This was the first time I ate them. Thanks for photo session with „rain“ of autumn leaves 😉 I enjoyed to see this little piece of Vienna together with you! Thank you for discussions about procrastination, old-new ruins and that you didn’t let me get lost in metro tunnels! 🙂


Thank you Sigita for visiting and exploring Vienna! It was a lot of fun with you:D


Yours,
Manuel G.