From the 13th to 20th of march, I had the opportunity to attend an Erasmus+ training course focusing on risk mitigation and project management in the city of Crotone, Calabria region, Italy. The course brought together skilled and experienced youth workers and participants from many different European countries (Portugal, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Latvia, Finland, Greece, Spain and of course Italy). The main goal of this project was to improve our management skills and learning effective strategies for identifying and managing risks in projects.
One of the things I enjoyed most about this training course was the variety of activities that kept us engaged throughout the week. Before almost any session, we took part in team-building activities and energizers, which helped us get to know each other better and created a friendly and comfortable atmosphere among participants.
A large part of the course was based on group discussions, where we had the chance to exchange ideas, experiences and different perspectives regarding volunteer work. Those
conversations, in my opinion, are always particularly interesting because everyone came from a different background and brought unique experiences and viewpoints to the table. We also participated in role-playing activities, including interview simulations, which were aimed to help our communication skills and to set example about how different situations can arise when working with volunteers.
One of the highlights of training was visiting a technical school, where we had the chance to represent our country and make open conversation about the opportunities offered by European youth programs. It is always a great experience to get other people engaged and informed with what you are doing and also the best encouragement for young people to get involved in international projects. Besides the educational activities, we also spent time on the beach participating in outdoor exercises and team activities. One I found very fun was when they assigned us to groups of 5 people and made us go around the city taking pictures of things that had to fit a description. It was both a great opportunity to explore the city, but also to interact with locals and have some fun. Most of the training sessions took place inside a catholic church located inside the amazing hostel that hosted us. It sure provided a unique and memorable setting for learning and collaboration.
Overall, the training course was a valuable learning experience that helped me develop practical project management skills while building meaningful connections with people from all over Europe. I am sure that what I got from this project, will follow me in my next projects and general development in terms of cooperation and management of projects.
Odysseas