Call for participants — It starts with us
A training course on building the resilience of youth workers
🌍 We are looking for 25 participants from Poland, Spain, Greece, Germany, Italy, and Cyprus.
🌳⛰️ Venue: Pullach (Munich), Germany
🗓️ Dates: Arrival on October 10th and departure on October 16th 2025
⏳Deadline for application: July 15th 2025
⌨️ Link to apply → Apply here
LET US TELL YOU ABOUT THIS PROJECT
Are you a peacebuilder? Or a youth worker engaged in peacebuilding or the human rights field? And the world feels overwhelming these days? Maybe this is a space for you :).
Within YPAN, we understand that we need more ways of coming together and supporting each other in a trauma-informed way, especially for people who work in challenging, high-stress environments, such as youth workers and peacebuilders.
We believe that by starting from ourselves and strengthening our inner capacities, we can create a more sustainable and effective foundation for promoting peace on a wider scale.
Incorporating a holistic approach, this training course integrates mind, body and nature. We introduce inter- and intrapersonal tools that support both personal and professional development.
AIM
The aim of the “It starts with us” project is to develop the competences of 25 youth workers to establish a system of support for their practice in conflict transformation through building skills of trauma-informed practice and resilience, so that they can translate them in their local context.
OBJECTIVES 📚
What you will take away from this:
- To find common ground in the understanding of youth work in transforming conflicts and challenges in this field;
- To develop participants understanding of trauma-informed and conflict sensitivity practice in youth work, its role, and
boundaries required to effectively support young people; - To help participants reflect on their inner value systems and sense of purpose to deepen their self-awareness and enable them to support youth.
- To strengthen resilience skills through tools for self-care and self-awareness, including somatic awareness and emotional self- and co-regulation;
- To create space for peer learning about tools for supporting young people in building resilience, with focus on emotional literacy, connection with nature and resonant healing;
- To develop a practical system of support among participants based on empathy groups;
- To plan at least 5 follow-up projects where participants apply the tools and practices learned in their local community and act as multipliers of resilience-building methods.
PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS 🤩
- Youth workers involved in youth work activities and in other NGOs concerned with human rights education and peacebuilding, community leaders, and active multipliers at the local/regional/national levels.
- People working in the youth field and taking an important role as leaders in various youth activities and programs of their organizations and beyond.
- Young people who have interests and experiences in peace, peacebuilding, human rights education, conflict resolution, and
would like to explore topics such as emotional literacy and building resilience. - Youth worker, trainer, educator, facilitator, activist.
Also, you are …
- living in one of these countries: Poland, Spain, Greece, Germany, Italy, Cyprus (you don’t need to hold a passport from those countries, you need to live and travel from there);
- 18–35 year old (if you are a youth worker — apply regardless of your age range);
- able to communicate in English (this is the language of the training).
HOW WE WORK 🤝🏻
The training courses will be based on the principles of non-formal education.
We will implement the basic elements of the non-formal education, such as the education being voluntary, organised with educational objectives, participatory and learner-centred, about learning life skills and preparing for active citizenship, based on involving both individual and group learning with a collective approach, holistic and process-oriented, as well as based on experience and action (we will plan the follow-up activities) and starts from the needs of the participants. We will use working methods, such as working in small groups, role plays, buzz groups, energisers, presentations and more of participatory activities.
Basically is a peer-to-peer (you teach & learn from others) approach :)
COSTS — LET’S TALK ABOUT THE 💰
We believe in one thing, the power of peace education and the right for all to have an opportunity. That is why, thanks to the ERASMUS+ scheme, we are able to provide this training for you for FREE.
The accommodation and meals will be arranged by us, and we will be able to reimburse you for your travel to Munich with a limit of:
- Germany — from 58 to 285 euros, depending on the distance (green travel required: train, bus);
- Poland, Spain, Greece — 309 euros;
- Cyprus — 395 euros;
- Italy — 211 euros.
Just keep in mind that all reimbursements are done after the training and once you submit all your travel tickets.
And a bit about ourselves 🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳
Youth Peace Ambassadors Network
The Youth Peace Ambassadors Network (YPAN) is an informal network of 150 young peacebuilders from across Europe who work with and in conflict-affected communities.
Our Mission: The YPA Network wants to develop a culture of peace by empowering young people, and promoting human rights, dignity, equality, and respect for diversity through education, advocacy, and other non-violent actions through projects at the local and international levels.
Follow us on 👉 INSTAGRAM👈
Peace Up! — Verein für Friedenspädagogik und gewaltfreier Konflikttransformation
Peace Up! is an organization established in 2020, with objectives to promote the theory and practice of peace education, non-violent conflict transformation and reconciliation work at the local, national, and international level, and to raise public awareness of the ideas of peace work and non-violence. Peace Up! is engaged in organising and implementing seminars, workshops, training courses and further education and scientific papers and cultural products in the theory and practice of peace education, youth work, non-violent conflict transformation and reconciliation work.
Our partners
The training is implemented by Peace Up! and the Youth Peace Ambassadors Network within the support of the Germany National Agency of the Erasmus+ Programme. Our partners are: Co.Wonders (ES), Iasmos Collective (GR), Hade (CYP), Centro Studi Sereno Regis (IT), Peace Ambassadors Poland (PL).
DEADLINE — July 15th 2025
🔎Click here to apply🔎
Contact:
Write to this e-mail with the Subject: “It Starts with us” —
peaceuptrainings@gmail.com
“It starts with us” is a project financed by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Programme, Jugend für Europa, Erasmus + National Agency of Germany. Learn more about Erasmus+ here.
