🇵🇹 Erasmus+ Seminar in Portugal 🌿 Holistic Trainer Lab — Wellbeing, Creativity & Community for Youth Work Trainers in Arrábida 🎨

This one isn’t for participants. It’s for the people who run the room. The Holistic Trainer Lab is an Erasmus+ KA2 seminar organised by the International Youth Work Trainers Guild — a dedicated space for trainers and facilitators active in the European youth field to explore their own wellbeing, test support materials, and strengthen the professional community they belong to.

🎯 About the Holistic Trainer Lab

The Lab is part of the “Holistic Trainer 2.0” project, co-funded by the German National Agency. It takes place in Arrábida, Portugal — one of the most naturally stunning coastal regions in Southern Europe — and brings together 24 trainers and facilitators from across Europe for a week of peer learning, collaborative production, and professional reflection.

⚠️ This is not a training course. It is a production and testing environment — a space where experienced and emerging trainers come together to actively shape, test, and improve support materials developed within the Holistic Trainer 2.0 project.

📋 Main Topics

🧘 Holistic Strategies — approaches to sustainable, whole-person practice in training

🎨 Creativity — creative methodologies and their role in trainer development

🤝 Community — building and sustaining meaningful professional networks

💡 Values and Activism — the ethical and political dimensions of youth work training

🏅 Recognition — acknowledging trainer expertise and professional growth

📚 Continuous Learning and Personal Growth — lifelong development as a core trainer value

🛠️ Methodology

The Lab uses collaborative and participative learning methods rooted in non-formal education — exchange, practice, reflection, discussion, and networking. Participants co-create, give feedback, and test materials in a dynamic peer environment. The Lab will also serve as a space to review recent developments within the Guild’s Trainers’ Forum and Trainers’ Community Lab.

🎯 Objectives

🌱 Foster peer learning, personal and professional development, and a supportive international community of practice

🔍 Gather feedback from trainer peers to improve the support materials developed in the Holistic Trainer 2.0 project

📌 Identify additional needs related to the six main topics

📝 Review the draft mentoring guidelines and collect recommendations from experienced fellow trainers

👤 Participant Profile

The Lab is looking for 24 trainers and facilitators who match the following profile:

💼 Working full-time, part-time, voluntarily, or as freelance professionals within the European youth field — including those leading international training courses, youth exchanges, or local educational activities

🎓 Training practitioners at any level — from junior trainers just starting out to highly experienced experts with specialised backgrounds

🌍 Trainers involved or previously involved with the Council of Europe, Youth Partnership, Erasmus+ Youth, and/or ESC programmes who want to contribute to shaping the future of the profession

⭐ Preferably members of established trainer pools such as those managed by SALTO Resource Centres, Erasmus+ National Agencies, or regional and international NGOs

✅ Eligibility Criteria

🔞 Minimum age: 18 years

🗣️ Good working knowledge of English

📍 Must reside in one of the eligible countries

📅 Must be available for the entire duration of the Lab — partial attendance is not accepted

✈️ Travel Reimbursement

Travel costs are reimbursed according to actual expenses within the following maximum lump sums:

💶 10–99 km — €28 (€56 with green travel)

💶 100–499 km — €211 (€285 with green travel)

💶 500–1,999 km — €309 (€417 with green travel)

💶 2,000–2,999 km — €395 (€535 with green travel)

⚠️ Do not purchase tickets before receiving official approval by email. Only pre-approved tickets are eligible for reimbursement. Any costs exceeding the limits above must be covered by the participant or their sending organisation.

🌍 Eligible Countries

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇬🇷 Greece 🇪🇸 Spain 🇫🇷 France 🇱🇹 Lithuania 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇷🇴 Romania 🇸🇮 Slovenia 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇩🇪 Germany 🇪🇪 Estonia 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇭🇷 Croatia 🇮🇹 Italy 🇨🇾 Cyprus 🇱🇻 Latvia 🇲🇹 Malta 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇦🇹 Austria 🇵🇱 Poland 🇸🇰 Slovakia 🇫🇮 Finland 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇲🇰 North Macedonia 🇷🇸 Serbia 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇳🇴 Norway 🇨🇭 Switzerland

📅 Activity Dates

🗓️ 20 — 27 September 2026

🛬 Arrival: 20 September | 🛫 Departure: 27 September

📍 Arrábida, Portugal

💡 Want to understand the broader Erasmus+ landscape your work sits within? A clear and complete overview of the programme is right here: https://youthworkshub.org/15096/

⏰ Deadline

4 May 2026

📬 How to Apply

📝 Application Form: https://forms.gle/apRrK1y6YuLcq39e8

📎 Infopack: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bRtp_7Jd6tReN2rTDiSAIWZ9oMB0J9C1/view?usp=drivesdk

✋Important Notice

Youth Works Hub does not represent or act on behalf of any organization listed on this platform. All project details are sourced directly from official ESC and Erasmus+ databases. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, always refer to the official project page or contact the hosting organization directly. Youth Works Hub is not responsible for any changes made to project details after publication.