Dates of activities: 08.11.2015-13.11.2015 (07.11 – arrival day, 14.07 – departure day)
Venue: Tallinn, Estonia
Countries: 11 countries (Spain, Ukraine, Estonia, Poland, Germany, Norway, Hungary, Armenia, Georgia, Czech Republic, Belarus)
Summary:
Training Course for ‘Step into the dialogue – training on Alternative Dispute Resolutions’ will gather 33 youth workers aged 18-35 from 11 countries who are willing to act as youth leaders, professionals or mediators in conflicts resolving on intercultural background. Too often the everyday need of confrontation, rivalry and persisting stereotypes create a barrier that makes any dialogue or cooperation despite different interests impossible. Especially now, when the majority of communication is delivered in different types of short messages, shortcuts and media flashbacks – it is hard for young receivers to decode the true intent and meaning of the message that leads to conflicts and seemingly unresolvable misunderstandings.
In response to that, the main objectives of the project are:
– To introduce the concept of alternative methods of resolving conflicts and then train youth workers in professional use of those tools
– To explore the topic of multiculturalism and intercultural dialogue;
– To underpin the importance of decoding messages and intents arising on different cultural backgrounds;
– To learn about origins of different types of conflicts and methods of solving them;
– To promote and explain Alternative Dispute Resolutions;
– To teach in practice skills relevant to effective negotiation and mediation’
– To promote active participation of youth in civil society;
The project will be based on a constant field game that will enable the participants to identify with one of the six islands in the game world, build its culture and then represent and defend it while negotiating and mediating with other islands. They will also decide the faith of seventh island that is willing to coexist in the game universe. Thanks to that methodology, participants will be able to check, practice and improve their skills in negotiation, mediation and general communication. They will also experience on themselves different procedures issues that arise in the union of several countries – similarly to European Union and the process of integration with a new country.
As the result participants will gain new competences in the field of conflict management, multiculturalism, dialogue and building negotiation and mediation strategies. The training will improve their sensitivity towards people from different social and cultural backgrounds and encourage them to take active part in civil society. The long-term benefits include development of individuals that are aware of the need for effective dialogue, which in the long run can serve to disseminate knowledge on multiculturalism and effective conflict resolutions. Due to the project the chances of fair representation of interests of local communities on national and international level will increase, which can lead to a significant impact on the improvement of the situation in the region.
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