Association for education and training CET PLATFORMA Skopje is launching an open call for participants from Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkiye, Poland and Slovenia for an Erasmus+ training course “Comedy as a Tool – Enhancing Youth Engagement through Humor” that will be organized in Krushevo, N. Macedonia from 26th of October to 3rd of November 2023.
We have recognised that in our youth work, we are facing the problem of how to transfer important complex ideas and concepts to young people we work with in a simple, visual and easily comprehensible way. Many topics, workshops, and presentations are emotionally challenging for young people, because they are too serious for them to process and engage with. Some concepts, for example, the social inclusion of disadvantaged groups, are important for youngsters to grasp and understand, but they often seem too abstract for them. So, when activities on important topics are presented to young people, often they are not interested, or if they attend them, they are not paying full attention. That’s why, if we want to have high-quality workshops and impactful, effective activities, we must make those abstract ideas more visual, more fun, interesting and memorable for the young people attending them.
Here comes into play humor and how it is used in stand-up comedy storytelling. Humor is an amazing tool for creating a light-hearted, playful and relaxed atmosphere. Humor is a great way to break the ice with an audience, keep them interested, and ensure that the presentation is memorable. With humor, people are at ease, more open and energized to discussion and more willing to consider new ideas and perspectives. The idea of this project is not to make the youth workers professional stand-up comedians but to give them guidelines on how to cultivate their sense of humor, communicate better their ideas, explain easier complex concepts and how to create captivating activities for the young people they work with.
Therefore, the main aim of the project is to improve the competencies and quality of the youth work of 24 youth workers in the fields of communication, facilitation, and youth engagement by using non-formal educational methods and stand-up comedy techniques.
Conditions for participation:
- Older than 18 years old (preferably between 18 and 40 y.o.)
- Experienced with youth work, non-formal education and youth mobility projects
- Strong motivation for participation and open-minded attitude
- Able to comfortably communicate in English as its the working language
- Motivated and readiness to participate in all project activities (preparation, implementation and follow-up/dissemination)
- Readiness and commitment to organize follow-up activities after the training course in their local community
- Citizens or legal residents in Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkiye, Romania, Poland or Slovenia
All costs related to accommodation, food and work materials during the training course dates (26.10 – 03.11.2023) are fully covered by the hosting organization. The travel costs will be fully reimbursed by the hosting organization up to the travel limit per country per participant: North Macedonia (23€), Poland, Turkiye and Slovenia (275€), Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia (210€ Green travel) and Romania (320€ Green travel). Green travel means that participants can only travel by bus, train or car to the project. There is no participation fee!
You are allowed to stay maximum 4 days before OR after the training course (e.g. 2 day before and 2 day after). We cannot cover any of your expenses for staying extra days and they are totally on your own budget.
If you are interested to participate in our training course, then please first carefully read the project info-pack, and then fill out the application form. Please only fill out the application form if you are 100% sure that you are fully available to travel and participate in all project activities during its planned dates!
If you have any questions or doubts, please contact us at [email protected].
