Learning opportunities

Practicing Coaching & Guiding is an Erasmus+ Training Course that will take place in Ommen, the Netherlands, from 31 August to 6 September 2026 (with participants welcome to arrive on 30 August and depart on 7 September). The project brings together 33 participants from 11 European countries, creating an international learning environment where youth workers, peer educators, trainers, facilitators, and community leaders can strengthen their coaching and guiding competences through experiential learning, creativity, and nature-based approaches.

The training is designed around the belief that coaching is not only a set of techniques but also a creative process that emerges from authenticity, presence, curiosity, and meaningful human connection. Participants will explore how to guide individuals and groups more effectively by developing greater self-awareness, adaptability, confidence, and creativity in their practice. The programme encourages participants to connect with their strengths, let go of limiting expectations, and discover new ways to support learning and personal development in others.

Throughout the seven-day training, participants will engage in a dynamic learning process that combines coaching exercises, peer coaching sessions, outdoor learning activities, reflective practices, conversational techniques, diagnostic tools, reframing methods, artistic expression, and theatre-based techniques. Learning will take place both indoors and outdoors, making use of the natural surroundings of Ommen to create an inspiring environment for experimentation, reflection, and growth.

The educational programme explores coaching from multiple perspectives, allowing participants to experience the roles of coach, coachee, and observer. Through these experiences, they will gain practical insights into communication, relationship building, and learning facilitation. Particular attention will be given to state management, verbal and non-verbal communication, observation-based feedback, building rapport and connection through voice, body, and energy, structuring coaching sessions, establishing personal and professional boundaries, and designing learning spaces that foster engagement and transformation.

A central element of the training is the development of each participant's personal coaching approach. Through continuous practice and reflection, participants will identify their strengths, expand their facilitation repertoire, and create a personalized coaching toolkit that can be applied in youth work, mentoring, training, education, and community development contexts. The programme also encourages participants to experiment with creative methods and explore how coaching can support learning processes, wellbeing, participation, and personal empowerment.

The project extends beyond the residential training itself. Following the mobility, participants will be expected to transfer their learning into practice by organizing workshops or seminars in their local communities, facilitating coaching sessions with their target groups, creating dissemination materials such as articles, newsletters, and social media content, and contributing to the visibility and impact of the project. Partner organizations will support participants throughout this process and collaborate in dissemination and follow-up activities across Europe.

The project is funded through the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union and covers accommodation and meals during the training. For participants selected through Roes Cooperative (Greece), travel costs are reimbursed up to €395, according to Erasmus+ distance band regulations. Please note that Olde Vechte applies a participation fee of €75 for participants travelling with standard (non-green) transport, which has already been deducted from the maximum travel allowance. Participants choosing green travel are exempt from this fee, subject to the conditions set by the hosting organisation. Reimbursements are processed after the training upon submission of the required travel documents.