Engaging young people

This project provides innovative tried and tested tools and methods for youth workers, trainers and facilitators in international youth work, equipping you to run anti-racism sensitisation and empowerment workshops as part of your youth work activities. They have been developed by practitioners for practitioners.

Thanks to a wide variety of methods, we believe that you will find something which, with little adaptation, will be useful for your own activities.

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We recommend that you look through all the methods available before deciding which to use. We’ve also provided some guidance below.

How big should the group be?

The average age group for the activities of our organisations is from 18 to 35 years old and

the average group size is ten to 30 participants. However, we also included methods that are for very small groups of fewer than five participants and for large groups of 50+.

How do I choose which method to use?

There are seven discussion-based methods, five simulations, three dramas and one drawing method. Your choice depends on the needs of your target group, the time you have available, the number of participants and their level of existing knowledge.

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For instance, when preparing participants before voluntary service abroad, it is important to explore any prejudices they might carry with them at a personal level. However, the same method may be used in a different way for an evaluation seminar or follow-up meeting, which may focus on participants’ experience of racist behaviour and/or who are motivated to take a more active stand against discrimination in their respective society.

What do the different categories mean?

There are five different categories against which each method has been assessed:

  1. Number of participants
  2. Theme
  3. Duration
  4. Difficulty for participants
  5. Difficulty for instructor

You can use these to determine which method, or methods would be best for the group with which you’re working.

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Should I start with an icebreaker?

Yes. An icebreaker after or during a session can be helpful to loosen up the atmosphere; however, it is important that the icebreaker is still related to the topic.

What does the ‘Follow up’ section mean?

Every method has suggested ‘Follow up Activities’, which includes recommendations of other methods from this handbook that you could use in succession.

There’s a word or phrase that I don’t understand

We’ve provided a Glossary to explain different words and concepts you may not be familiar with.

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> Download the full training handbook (PDF)


We love feedback!

If you would like to give your feedback on specific methods, please use the comment section available. Or if you would like to give us your thoughts on the project as a whole contact us.