Basic information

One of these long-term trends in youth work is experiential pedagogy. Our aim is to train youth workers and youth leaders in the preparation and implementation of experiential learning programmes that primarily influence the attitudes of participants. We want them to learn how to design, facilitate, and reflect on such programmes in the context of attitude formation and in connection with clearly defined educational goals.

We believe that experiential pedagogy is especially important in preventive programmes. Young people today are surrounded by a huge amount of information, warnings, and theoretical explanations, but information alone often does not lead to change. Real impact happens through personal experience, emotions, reflection, and meaningful interaction with others.

Experiential learning allows young people not only to understand a topic intellectually, but to personally experience its consequences, emotions, and challenges in a safe environment. Through activities, simulations, teamwork, and guided reflection, participants can better recognize manipulation, peer pressure, exclusion, violence, or risky behaviour patterns and become more aware of their own attitudes and decision-making.

This approach also strengthens empathy, critical thinking, communication, cooperation, and responsibility — all of which are essential protective factors in the prevention of risky behaviour and radicalization among young people.

Main objective

The main objective of the educational programme is to develop the competencies of youth workers and youth leaders so that they are able to implement experiential pedagogy programmes and create methodologies for short-term experiential learning activities.

The programme will cover the following topics: introduction to experiential pedagogy, working with educational objectives, searching for and selecting games and activities, dramaturgy of experiential educational activities, facilitating games, the role and presentation skills of the instructor, teamwork in the preparation, implementation, and evaluation of activities, working with participants and their motivation, group dynamics, leading reflections and debriefings, participant safety, working with challenging participants, preparation of experiential pedagogy programmes, practical facilitation of experiential activities, and evaluation of educational objectives and impact measurement.

Who can participate?

Youth workers active in church-based ministry

The training course is open to youth workers, priests, and volunteer leaders who are actively involved in working with young people and who have the potential to use experiential pedagogy in their practice. Active involvement in youth work is a mandatory requirement for participation. The selection of participants is the responsibility of the organisers.

Minimum age of participants: 18 years.

By submitting the application form, participants commit to:

• reading all important information related to the course,

• communicating with the organisers in a timely manner,

• paying any cancellation fee if applicable,

• preparing for the course according to the provided instructions,

• actively participating in the entire course from beginning to end,

• taking part in the evaluation process after the course,

• supporting the dissemination of the course results and outputs after its completion.

PROJECT PARTNERS

Country / Organisation /  Number of participants

• Slovakia / VIAC - Inštitút pre podporu a rozvoj mládeže / 10

• Czech Republic / Crex / 10

• Slovenia / Katoliška mladina / 10

For the reimbursement of travel expenses, participants will be required to provide the following documents:

• Original travel tickets showing the cost of transportation (e.g. train or bus tickets). If purchased online, an electronic ticket or receipt is sufficient.

• Original fuel receipts. Each receipt must be marked on the back with the name of the participant to whom it belongs.

• Proof of payment for motorway tolls or a motorway vignette, if applicable.

• A scanned copy of the vehicle registration certificate indicating the vehicle’s average fuel consumption rate.

Electronic travel tickets and a scanned copy of the vehicle registration certificate (for participants travelling by car) should be sent to: support@ ozviac.sk

Please use the following subject line for your email: Mobility Hope for Change.

Please note that travel costs will only be reimbursed to participants who:

• attend the entire training course from beginning to end,

• complete the Erasmus+ project evaluation questionnaire.

The cancellation deposit should be paid to the following bank account: SK61 7500 0000 0040 1397 5251

Name of account holder: VIAC - Inštitút pre podporu a rozvoj mládeže

Please include your full name in the payment reference/message for the recipient.

Variable symbol: 20260802 

Accommodation:

Trainig will be held in Zuberec in Tourists hostel Pod Grapou. 

Plan your trip so we can start with common dinner on Sunday, 23rd of August at 18:00

Training  will finish on Saturday, 29th of August 2026 o 13:00 

The training course will include several activities and games that may be physically or mentally demanding. We kindly ask you to inform us in advance about any health conditions, physical limitations, or other special needs that may affect your participation. This information will help us ensure your physical and psychological well-being and provide a safe learning environment for all participants throughout the programme.

The training programme will generally run each day from approximately 09:00 to 18:30, with a longer lunch break included.

Some evenings will feature special night games and experiential activities. On those days, the programme is expected to finish at around 22:30. Please take this into account when planning your participation.

What to bring:

To make the most of the training, please bring:

• comfortable clothing suitable for both indoor and outdoor activities (some experiential games will take place outdoors and in natural surroundings),

• indoor shoes/slippers,

• a water bottle,

• plenty of energy, openness to new experiences, and a positive attitude 😊,

• a small local snack, sweet, or specialty from your country that you would like to share with other participants.

Please note that this training course is strictly alcohol-free. We kindly ask all participants to respect this rule throughout the entire event.

Insurance

Participants from the Czech Republic and Slovenia are advised to bring their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). We also strongly recommend obtaining additional travel insurance for the duration of the training. Please note that the cost of insurance is the responsibility of the participants and will not be reimbursed by the organisers.