The Young Volunteer Educators e-Learning Program (e-VELP) is an Erasmus+ European project, initiated by TeachSurfing, which started in 2019 to enable young migrants/refugees to offer high quality workshops and share their knowledge, skills, and culture with local communities and organizations in order to ease migrant/refugee youth integration in the society and job market.
Since the beginning of 2022 the online courses to become a Volunteer Educator or a Volunteer Educator Trainer opened up for a wider group of young people who are motivated to exchange cultures and explore the diversity of culture through knowledge sharing.
Courses & Roles:
e-VELP offers 2 online courses for two different types of participants who interact during the program.
- The course for Volunteer Educators (VE) enables young people to create and offer free workshops that tap into their talents.
- The course for Volunteer Educator Trainers (VE-T) is for youth workers and trainers who want to support the VEs throughout their journey to create and implement workshops.
In the end the VEs offer their workshops to the community of a Host Organization they choose during the course.
Who is a Volunteer Educator?
VEs can have a positive impact on society and the various groups within their community, allowing for an interchange of culture, skills and values.
What Values does a Volunteer Educator gain?
- Professional coaching on how to become self-conscious about their personal knowledge. The training includes online courses and international peer-to-peer sessions with their VE-Trainer
- Development of their presentation, moderation, and leadership skills
- Social status and recognition for their knowledge
- Networking and cross-cultural exchange
- Access to host organizations helps them expand their professional network
- A quality certificate, ECTS credits issued by Vilnius University and an Erasmus+ Youthpass certificate upon successful completion of the training
Who is a Volunteer Educator Trainer?
VE-Trainers are mostly young workers and trainers motivated to support young people with diverse cultural backgrounds throughout their journey to create and implement workshops. e-VELP offers online course for VE-Trainers to guide them on how they can support VEs with different coaching and support tools & methods.
What Values does a Volunteer Educator Trainer gain?
- Increase your capacity to offer peer support and sharpen your training skills.
- Become aware of the latest trends in your industry, changing best practices and new techniques.
- Broaden your knowledge, and gain experience and confidence.
- Gain fulfillment by creating an impact in the lives of migrants/refugees and contributing to the agenda of reduced social inequalities.
- Gain access to a network of EU organizations.
Who is a Host Organization?
Host Organizations get to work with VEs as quality trainers and enrich their educational offerings by hosting VE workshops for their members and the community.
What Values does a Host Organization gain?
- Qualitative workshops: access to free and valuable knowledge.
- Social impact: Increase social impact through workshops and our partnership and create social inclusion by getting in direct contact with and learning from representatives of other cultures
- Exposure: Promoting workshops increases visibility and exposure to new members
- Outreach: Increase global visibility through the e-VELP website. Selected host organizations will be invited to present their workshop experience in 5 e-VELP conferences taking place in Germany, Lithuania, Cyprus, Romania, and Italy in 2022
- Network: Get connected to motivated and qualified volunteers and organizations on a national and global level
- Support services: Support in planning, hosting, and promoting online/offline VE workshops and their outcomes