The Staff Training School

The Staff Training School is a three-year experiential education program aimed at teenagers aged 14-16. It consists of three training cycles focusing on collaboration, communication, individual roles within a team, decision-making, self-awareness, public speaking, leadership, social contribution, and volunteering. Through activities and games, teenagers are exposed to actions throughout the year where they are encouraged to develop these skills.

Specifically, the third training cycle aims to help children develop characteristics such as leadership, cooperation, responsibility, and trust, as well as to implement Youth events.

As part of this training, tools such as “projects” are used, including two short-duration projects of approximately 5 hours each and the main project of the year, a total of 4 weeks of preparation, called “Play – Act – MotiON.”

Play – Act – MotiON #vol.15

Be free, feel real!

Since 1990, YMCA Thessaloniki has been implementing an informal education program for all the teenagers in our city who would like to spend their free time differently. It is called the Department of Staff & New Volunteers Training – Staff School YMCA Thessaloniki and it involves 800 trainees and 100 trainers – volunteers annually. Through experiential learning, young people aged 14 to 16 are educated on topics such as cooperation, leadership, responsibility, initiative, and volunteering, “playing” team games and engaging in other experiential activities.

This year, as in the last 14 years, participants in the program, before completing their three-year training, will organize a social event titled “Play – Act – MotiON vol.15 – Be free, feel real!” applying all they have learned during their training. The focus for volunteers and trainees this year is on awareness, promotion, and implementation of activities aimed at showcasing the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals to the public in Thessaloniki. These goals were adopted at the 70th United Nations General Assembly on September 25, 2015, with a timeline for implementation until 2030.

These goals address joint solutions to environmental, social, and economic problems. This year’s “Play – Act – MotiON vol.15 – Be free, feel real!” with a central theme of human rights and freedom, will focus more on the social dimension of these goals.

We are dedicating all our efforts, attention, ideas, goodwill, and creativity to developing activities directly related to human rights and the concept of “freedom.” Freedom today is a multidimensional concept with many interpretations for everyone. Through this year’s “Play – Act – MotiON vol.15 – Be free, feel real!” we aim to highlight all these aspects that will lead everyone to feel, even if just a little, more real and free in relation to the people around them.

Through our event, we prioritize raising awareness and being sensitized, informing and being informed about issues of modern global reality such as poverty, hunger, health, social inequalities, and climate change, and then proposing some solutions at both individual and social levels, adopting a human- and environmentally friendly lifestyle, a phrase that is, after all, a “verbal” representation of YMCA Thessaloniki ‘s ideals.

We invite you to this year’s “Play – Act – MotiON vol.15 – Be free, feel real!” which will take place again this year at the New Waterfront of Thessaloniki, next to the White Tower on May 6, 2023, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The activities will have a strong social content while promoting the realization of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals with a positive approach to reality and never neglecting fun, as our department’s motto is “Learning to play, playing to learn.” Here are some of the activities our young volunteers will organize:

• Interactive quizzes aimed at informing about the protection of human rights.
• Debates on social issues.
• Collection of personal thoughts on freedom.
• Learning basic sign language movements.
• Experiential activities directly related to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals such as “Fishing for Trash,” “Memory,” “Recyclable Crafts.”
• Happenings such as face painting, “Twister,” “Relay Races,” “Mini Soccer,” etc.
• Music and dance events.
• Zero waste & Second-hand thrift shop.

We look forward to seeing you all!

Young and old!

Note:

The event is under the auspices of the Municipality of Thessaloniki.

Free admission for the public

More information:

Department of Staff & New Volunteers Training
Staff School YMCA Thessaloniki

Tel: 231 600 1000 ext.: 4 & 854

Emma Symeonidou

email : [email protected]

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