Train-the-Trainer

From 23 to 27 January 2025, SAME brought together 21 young representatives from 14 European countries in Lübeck, Germany, for the Train-the-Trainer seminar. Participants came from diverse national and organizational backgrounds, creating a truly intercultural learning space in which different realities of youth work, participation, and solidarity could meet. This diversity was one of the strongest values of the seminar: young people were not only learning new methods but also discovering how similar challenges are approached in different parts of Europe. Through interactive sessions, peer exchange, and practical workshop design exercises, participants explored how non-formal education can support social justice, diversity, and youth participation. The seminar helped them strengthen first facilitation skills, improve their confidence in leading group processes, and better understand how to create learning spaces that are inclusive, participatory, and relevant for young people. The main output of the activity was a first set of workshop ideas, facilitation experiences, and peer-learning processes developed during the seminar itself. The key outcome was that participants returned home better prepared to take on the role of peer educators in their own organisations and communities. Beyond the sessions, the activity also helped build a cross-border network of young people who can continue learning from one another. This means that the seminar did not only strengthen individual participants but also contributed to a broader pool of young facilitators connected through shared values of solidarity and active participation. Many participants left with new tools, stronger motivation, and a clearer sense of how they can turn learning into action back home. In the second phase, the youngsters who got trained were in charge in one of the sessions. This activity was implemented by SAME – Solidarity Action Day Movement in Europe and financially supported through the 2025 Work Plan grant of the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe.