Baku, Azerbaijan, 19 - 25 June, 2008 Deadline: 27^th of May 2008

Date and venue:

19 - 25 June, 2008 – Baku, Azerbaijan

Description of the International Training Course “Youth Bridge to Europe via Intercultural Learning”

The Training Course will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan and include workshops and simulations giving the participants opportunities to work with concrete themes in the area of youth projects and European youth policy in order to promote intercultural awareness, create mutual understanding and confidence for different living conditions in different areas of Europe.

Aims and objectives of the Training

· To experience other cultures to increase tolerance as well as to strengthen inter-cultural dialogue.

· Creating an atmosphere of common understanding between people representing different cultures, working styles, etc.

·Providing knowledge about the possibilities of cooperation in different youth fields with Caucasus countries

· To create atmosphere of common understanding between people representing different cultures, working styles, etc

· To sustain and widen existing networks of youth workers and youth leaders; to promote the understanding of and respect for cultural diversity and intercultural co-operation.

The working approach

The training will respect European non-formal education principles: learner-centeredness, cooperative learning, voluntary participation, interactive methods, balance between theory and practice.

The basis of this seminar will be situated learning, which means that rather than working with exercises from manuals and simulation games, we will incorporate cases of the participants and discuss the issues in relation to their reality. This requires a very active participation from the participants. If you are interested in participating you should therefore be willing to share and work on challenges from your own organizational work in small groups (e.g. challenges you are meeting when managing a youth project or mentoring volunteers).

Participants profile

Applicants must be from Europe (COE countries, Belarus and Montenegro). Participation from Easter/South-Eastern Europe and Baltic is especially encouraged. 24 youth workers (aged between 18 and 35), who are already involved and active in local and national associations, community organisations, youth clubs, youth councils and youth initiatives. Youth workers, youth leaders, trainers and multipliers with certain experience in Youth Activities and a strong wish to improve the quality of their ongoing or future project

The participants have to:

- Be aged between 18 and 35

- Be from COE countries, priority countries: Czech Republic, Georgia, France, Italy, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Turkey, Russian Federation, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Azerbaijan

- Be highly motivated to work in intercultural surrounding and learn from it and in it

- Already working with the European Youth Foundation Projects and have a certain experience in the field

- Have proven personal and organizational interest in this training

- Be in position of multiplying the outcomes of training

- Be willing to participate actively – including carrying out preparation work prior to the training

- Be available to participate in all days

- Be able to work in English.

Formal conditions

Time of training: June 19 – 25, 2008,

Location: Baku, Azerbaijan

Financial Information: Travel costs and visa costs of all participants will be reimbursed at 70% based on the original tickets, invoices and all travel related tickets. The 70% of reimbursement should not exceed:

230 Euros for other COE countries

230 Euros for Danimark, Italy, France, Germany, Bosnia, Romania

190 Euros for Turkey, Moldova, Latvia, Belarus, Russia and Ukraine

30 Euros for Georgia

There is no reimbursement for the local participants coming from different regions of Azerbaijan.

Due to a low budget for transport, we encourage participants that come from a range of 1000 km to use bus or train as means of transport.

Before purchasing your tickets, please consult with the organizers upon the travel costs.

The meeting can take place when participants make an effort to contribute financially to their travel costs. Therefore, we kindly ask you to use any alternative possibilities of funding that can cover travel costs. Sometimes your sending organizations or structures would effort to cover the travel costs or you may identify small local grants to contribute for the travel cost. We would appreciate very much your help.

Application Procedure and Selection of Participants:

All those interested in attending must return the application form to the team by e-mail latest by 27^th May 2008.

The preparatory team will select 24 participants on the basis of the profile outlined above and ensuring a balanced group (gender, geographical regions, different types of experiences, cultural backgrounds and organisations). The participant selection process will be based on a detailed questionnaire and rec ommendation letters from sending organisations.

Please return the application form duly completed to the address below, if you require further information, please contact us at:

Contact details:

Bridge to Europe for Modern Youth Organization

Contact Person:

Emil Esedov

E-mail: esedovemil@yahoo.com

Mobile Number: +994 55 715 20 10

Deadline for submitting the Application form is

27^th of May 2008

E-mail: bemy_ngo@yahoo.com