16/10/2022
Italy
participants
The purpose of the activity is to train local Board members or aspiring local Board members in order to give them more tools to manage their own Section, and allow them to work on transversal topic and acquire new skills that they can spend even in a future job.
This aim is pursued through more specific objectives represented by the various thematic areas in which participants are trained. Indeed, the agenda presents 3 tracks and was build around three main areas:
- “Planning”: project design & management, activities aimed at managing the Section over the medium to long term, ongoing training and personal development, partnership &,budgeting, advocacy and dissemination, etc;
- “Event Management:” medium- and large-scale events, appealing, but sustainable at 360° (economically, environmentally and socially);
“Your Impact in ESN: find your path inside and beyond” which was subdivided into: onboarding (soft & hard skills to find your place in the local Section and work in harmony; activities influencing the motivation of volunteers and their feeling part of a larger group or willing to grow within it and beyond) and civic engagement (activities and initiatives to become creators of a positive change in society and able, through skills that can be acquired also in ESN, to make a difference).
This event represents the training activity at the end of the annual training cycle developed by ESN Italy. Specifically and thanks to the support of the OC of the Section of ESN Modena, the activity took place from 14 to 16 October 2022 in the nice Reggio Emilia, namely the city were the Italian Flag was created, and specifically in the halls of University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.
The training was divided into three days during which there were a total of 26 sessions, diversified by topic, mode of execution, number of participants. The choice of the sessions responds to a need to ensure all participants the opportunity to follow a session of their taste and interest, indeed, there were 3 suggested tracks that each and evry participants could decide to follow.
The main theme of this year was “Capacity Building - the curriculum of the perfect ESNer, inside and outside ESN”, because the main target audience of the event are new or future members of the local boards, and the aim is to provide them with the tools and knowledge, both specific and transversal, to carry out our ordinary and extraordinary activities, already with an eye to the future and to the impact that their volunteering experience can have in society and on their real CV.
In order to make the connection between ESN and “real world” stronger, we invited trainers and experts from two partner organisations: Legambiente Italia (leading environmental NGOs in Italy) and Ashoka Italia (Italian branch of a Network of profit and non-profit realities promoting system change, youth empowerment, and social impact generation).
In addition, we planned the participation of international trainers, so as to allow our volunteers to participate in activities in a language other than their native one and to see a different style of approach to training than the one they usually experience in their own context.
The event also saw the holding of an opening conference entitled “Capacity Building in the Erasmus Generation” focusing on the same theme as the National Training Event. It was meant to inspire the volunteers and was attended by:
● Councillor Raffaella Curioni - Municipality of Reggio Emilia
● Prof. Alessandro Capra - UniMoRe;
● Barbara Finessi - Europe Direct Centre of Modena;
● Rosa Altamura - UniMoRe International Relations Office;
● Prof. Mauro Soldati - UniMoRe;
● Chiara Ferrari - Activity and Training Manager of ESN Italy;
● Carmen Malagisi - Legambiente;
● Luca Solesin - Ashoka Italia.
Conference moderator Gaia Tamasi - President ESN Modena 2021/22 and Skills and Employability Officer of ESN Italy 2022.
Obviously, the team building, game and relaxation side is of particular importance and therefore, in addition to the due and proper coffee breaks, we worked on the creation of a timing that would allow the full enjoyment of each session with a buffer of time without rushing between the various movements. The evening social programmes were organised by the volunteers from ESN Modena: a Karaoke night and a treasure hunt in which all participants took part.
