INTRODUCTION: Decolonise. Now!  

High time to critically look at International Voluntary Service (IVS) and work on the necessary changes inside and outside our volunteer organisations to make IVS more inclusive and equitable. That is what Decolonise Now! Is all about.  

Check out www.ccivs.org/decolonise to see how IVS organisations over the last few years have been trying to critically reflect on colonial legacies and existing solidarity mechanisms in the organisations and networks that promote IVS. 

Now it’s time to support and accelerate the common efforts. Over the course of the project, the partnering organisations worked on various tools to create debate and question existing practices and mindsets. This Tool Fair and Training of Trainers wants to bring together committed volunteers and staff from International Voluntary Service Organisations who are eager to bring this “Decolonise!” debate to their organisations.

Do you have a genuine interest in creating change in your organisation or network from a decolonised perspective? Did your organisation create tools that would contribute to the decolonising process? Are you eager to dive into the decolonise topic, learn from others and upskill your facilitation skills? Then this training is for you!  

ABOUT THE TRAINING: 

a combination of ToT and Tool Fair

The training focuses on educational tools that can be used to reflect with volunteers and staff on existing inequalities in International Voluntary Service. At the same time these tools should create space for possible new ways of working, encouraging participants to work on change in their own lives, their organisations and the ecosystems we all are part of. 

The participants are encouraged to develop their educational competences so that they can accompany these reflection processes in a responsible and constructive way as these conversations can be uncomfortable. This training, apart from emphasising on exploring new tools, will also work on the development of facilitation skills so that these tools can be used in a safe space creating new insights. 

The Decolonise Tools developed so far include: 

  • Decolonise Card Game: “Reverse Injustice” 
  • Decolonise Self Assessment Tool
  • MOOC focusing on preparation of volunteers from a decolonised perspective
  • Guidebook for Participatory Action Research

Apart from these specific tools, there is a huge collection of material available on topics very closely related to this Decolonising process: anti-racism toolkits, gender toolkits, global education toolkits, etc…
How we can combine a Tool Fair and a ToT?

By planning a Tool Fair we aim to bring together these resources and encourage participants to try-out some of these existing materials. Combining it with a ToT we will create a space for the participants to learn how to adapt and apply them in their daily professional work as youth workers, trainers, educators. 

Together we will offer a programme that will lead the participants to engage in the decolonisation process by working on participatory and liberating facilitation skills while using the tools developed and collected in the Decolonise. Now! Project. 

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN? 

During the event you will have the possibility to:

  • get insights on the topic of decolonisation
  • learn different facilitation techniques
  • explore a variety of methods and learn how to choose the appropriate ones for your activities
  • experiment with the Decolonise tools and use them in your organisations
  • collectively reflect on the use of Decolonise tools in your organisations, adapt them to your local context and initiate new decolonise activities 
  • engage in a wider debate on the decolonisation process in the IVS movement and propose follow-up activities based on the learnings and needs 
  • create new synergies with IVS members and like-minded organisations to strengthen the common work on decolonisation. 

WHO IS THIS TRAINING FOR?

The Tool Fair and Training of Trainers wants to create a learning community which can support the pedagogical work linked to the Decolonise. Now!  project. Therefore we are looking for 

Volunteers, activists, trainers (to-be), youth workers, educators who: 

  • have an interest in International Voluntary Service and the topic of decolonisation 
  • have experience in organising educational activities
  • have motivation and interest in developing as trainers and educators
  • are active in an organisation, OR a youth group, OR have a background in volunteering or activism
  • can communicate in English
  • Mainly come from different European countries (check if your country is eligible here: Council of Europe countries) but there are also a few places reserved for non-European countries.   

The selection will take into consideration inclusiveness principles such as gender balance (including + groups), accessibility for people with disabilities and ensuring geographical, ethnic and socio-cultural diversity. 

Although the project is open to all, since part of this project is funded by the Council of Europe, 60% of the participants need to be 18-30 years old.

The learning journey 

  • Online preparation session – mid-July 2024
  • On-site training in Bulgaria – 7-13 August 2024
  • Remote work (follow-ups) in small teams – September – December 2024
  • Online evaluation meeting – beginning December 20

PRACTICAL INFO 

Thanks to the funding of the Erasmus+ programme and the EYF of the Council of Europe, this training has no extra participation fee. Travel will be reimbursed up to the established travel platform upon completion of the training and providing all the necessary travel documents. 

Where Eco-hotel Imenieto, Emen village, Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

When From 7th August (arrival) till 13th August (departure) 

Accommodation The accommodation will be organized in double or triple rooms (in small family houses) which have a private bathroom, bed-linens and towels, and free Wi-Fi. There are many possibilities to enjoy the free time in the place – table tennis, swimming pool, volleyball, walk in nature or just relax in the green garden. 

Food The food we are going to provide will be vegetarian with vegan options. This is not just a practical decision, but also our suggestion on how to contribute to a more peaceful planet. 

Travel Participants will buy their travel tickets following the information provided in the info pack and will get travel reimbursed up to the budget limit and up to 1 month after providing all necessary travel documents. 

Visa Visa costs will be reimbursed if duly justified

More information and draft program you can find in the detailed Call for Participants

HOW TO APPLY

Fill in the ONLINE APPLICATION FORM as soon as possible and the latest by May 31st 2024.  In case of participants who require visas to travel to Bulgaria, you will receive a confirmation by June 5th 2024, so we can immediately initiate the visa application process required by the Bulgarian authorities.

All applicants will be informed about the final selection results by 18th June 2024. 

MORE QUESTIONS?

For any questions or clarifications, please contact us at projects@cvs-bg.org.

The prep team,

Ingrid, Kat, and Natalie 🙂

This training is part of the CCIVS 2024 work plan “Decolonise. Now!” supported by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe and builds on the work done in the past years by CCIVS and its members on biases and power relations within the IVS movement. www.ccivs.org/decolonise

While CCIVS is coordinating the overall project, CVS-Bulgaria is the local host for this activity and will support this training. Thus the training is also a part of the Erasmus+ accreditation plan of CVS-Bulgaria for 2023 and co-funded by the European Union (From Well-being to Well-doing // 2023-1-BG01-KA151-YOU-000139334). 

 Posted by Rian Hulscher at 18:25

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