Toolkit for youth workers, volunteer coordinators and trainers
“Free to be You and Me” (2019) is a toolkit for informal working methods for gender equality work. This is a short version of the toolkit translated into Bulgarian for youth workers, volunteer coordinators and trainers. Created as part of the project Gendered Realities, it is implemented by Service Civil International (SCI) in partnership with CVS Bulgaria.
“Free to Be You and Me” provides comprehensive information on gender and sexuality, as well as practical guidelines and easy-to-use tools aiming to help leaders to address the topic of gender and sexuality in their activities. The goal of the toolkit is to help in making activities safer and more inclusive for all, regardless of their gender identity or sexuality.
Gender inequality arises as a result of different treatment of people depending on their sexuality. The various forms of this inequality take place in economic, social and political institutions, which systematically reinforce inequalities of roles, rights and opportunities. In most societies, structural inequality leads to marginalization and discrimination from childhood for persons with gender and / or sexuality who are outside the norm. Gender and sexuality stereotypes and prejudices affect the daily experience of these individuals, often leading to their social exclusion. SCI defines this as violence and being an organization dedicated to peace, it seeks to solve the problem.
The Bulgarian version contains:
• clarifications of various terms in the work on gender equality;
• informal methodologies for conducting training sessions on this topic;
• at least 15 different tools for presenting the topic, tailored to different audiences and age groups;
• The main role is assigned to the creation of a protected space in organizing thematic events, trainings, seminars and work with volunteers.
The short versions in Bulgarian, Albanian, Serbian, Macedonian, French, Greek and English as well as the full versions in English and Spanish, are available online on links below.\
Sources:
• CVS Bulgaria. 2019. Handbook “Free to be You and Me”: http://cvs-bg.org/toolkit-free-to-be-you-and-me/
• CVS Bulgaria. 2019. Free to be You and Me. Handbook for youth workers, volunteer coordinators and trainers: https://www.ngobg.info/bg/documents/7154/2535ym_short_bg_web.pdf
• Service Civil International. 2019. Free to Be You and Me. Toolkit for youth workers, volunteer coordinators and trainers: https://sci.ngo/resource/free-to-be-you-and-me/