The training is organized and fully funded by the International Needs Foundation.
At the beginning of September, a two-day gathering of lecturers was traditionally held for “our” lecturers of the Healthy Youth program, lecturers supported by the F-Foundation (which partially participated in the program) and other partners or supporters of this lecture work. A total of 52 of us met at the Immanuel Conference Center.
After a brief introduction of all participants, we threw ourselves into popular thematic panel discussions.
We discussed the experience from the beginning of the teaching work (“greenhorn for the first time in the prairie”) and then the proven teaching techniques of the more experienced. For all participants, there are always current questions such as: how to get to schools, how to start lecturing, how to handle a discussion, what to do with disturbing children and many others that were discussed live.
Experiences from subsequent work with young people came to the fore in the late afternoon. Five people talked about the different forms of follow-up work they run and work for them – Peer programs, the Fusion music club, a successful leisure club in Letovice, weekends for children from Varnsdorf and Alfa courses for young people.
After dinner, we discussed the topic “Personal fundraising or how to get a donor for your job.” Petr Horáček prepared an introduction to “fundraising in the Bible” and entertained tired listeners by incorporating modern concepts of the non-profit sector into the stories of Nehemiah and John the Baptist. This was followed by the experience of three lecturers and again a debate.
After the official end of the evening, a voluntary additional program was held, which was prepared on its own initiative by lecturers from the Liberec Maják o.p.s. – Patrik Müller and Jan Molnár. It was information about certifications (lectures or organizations), which are newly launched, and Maják o.p.s. he has valuable experience with them.
The next day we started with the introduction of five different lecture programs to schools. These work mostly on the principle of creating materials, which can then be obtained and used by lecturers for their lectures under certain conditions.
The programs offered by ACET ČR, o.s., ICEJ (International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem) and the National Initiative for Life, o.p.s. (prevention of unplanned pregnancies and abortions), the Ethical Education for Schools program (an initiative connected with a network of Christian teachers) and finally discussions about the Bible by Eliška Krmelová (on the occasion of the anniversary of the Kralická Bible).
After the break, a rare guest, prof. Jan Sokol, Ph.D., CSc. Before lunch, he spoke very interestingly about human freedom and its principles in society. After lunch, he analyzed the “three layers of morality” – how and why a person behaves in society, how children learn this behavior. Prof. Sokol brought us encouragement on how to encourage teenagers to find the best.
It was two days really full of information and sharing about the experience of this work.
In the words of one of the participants: “I was very encouraged by the talk of zelená greenhorns’ about their beginnings, I was very enriched by the talk of follow-up service – it motivated me and led me to new ideas on how to start this service. Prof. Sokol also said very interesting things that helped me think about the topic of morality and human behavior in general … even mine. ”
