Between 22nd and 28th November 2017 a Training of Trainers “Global Responsibility Education” was held at the hotel complex “Berkut”, village of Brestnik, Plovdiv Region, Bulgaria and CEUD as the partner organisation participated with 3 representatives. It is the first activity from the project “Global Responsibility Education”, funded by KA1 of the Erasmus + program and implemented by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bulgaria Association.
36 trainers from 11 countries took part in the activity – Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Turkey, Serbia, Macedonia, Poland, Lithuania, Georgia, Italy and Egypt. The second activity from the project is due to happen in March 2018 and it will be a youth exchange with 6 of the fore-mentioned countries as the participants will be chosen amongst youngsters who will have already been part of local Global Responsibility activities by the time.
The training was lead by two trainers – Mrs. Lena Karnalova – Executive Director of the Association and Mr. Talmud Bah – London-based international consultant, trainer and facilitator. During the first day the participants got to know each other and shared their expectation and fears from the project. They also took part in team-building activities. For the first intercultural night the participants were given the task to present their own countries as a TV advertisement, not being allowed to use music, Internet or presentations during the performance.
The second day was dedicated to the history of human rights, an introduction of the notion for Global Responsibility, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and what they stand for. Later, the organizations presented themselves as they shared more about their activities and projects. The second intercultural night was held and all the countries presented their foods, drinks, traditional dances and music.
The next two days and a half were lead by Mr. Talmud Bah. The third day was about the so called Peer Pressure and the participants discussed in the group what it means. Later, they were separated into teams and they had the task to perform in a speechless way an example of Peer Pressure and to find a solution for the problems caused by it.
On the fourth day methods related to Global Goal 4 – Quality Education were tested. The participants debated about the importance of the education compared to the experience, and also shared information about the quality of the education in the countries they come from. Later in the afternoon they had a trip to Plovdiv and got to know more about the cultural and historical specifics of the city.
Methods related to the Global Goal 10 –Reduce Inequalities were tested among the participants on the last full day of the training. They had to work in groups and create their own “Equality land”. They figured out what the reality is and what obstacles to achieving equality are. Their next task was to come up with an action plan on how to disseminate and test tools related to the Global Goals among youngsters when they come back to their counties. The youngsters who take part in the local Global Responsibility activities, organized by the participants in the training, will be prioritized when choosing the participants for the youth exchange.