Czech Participants at Visual Vibes: Learning That Will Strengthen Cefig’s Work

09/08/2025 – 17/08/2025 · Osieck (ca. 40 km from Warsaw), Poland

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At the beginning of August, our participants joined the international training course Visual Vibes – Training Course on Visual Facilitation, held in the inspiring environment of Osieck, Poland and hosted by our partner YoWo Poland.

As a partner organisation, we had the opportunity to send Czech participants to this project, which brought together more than twenty people from across Europe (Czechia, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Malta, Greece, and Spain.) The course focused on graphic facilitation and visual thinking – methods that use simple drawings, symbols, and structures to support learning, communication, and group processes.

Trainers from Czechia met with other youthworkers. The programme focused on graphic facilitation, graphic recording, and visual communication in education and youth work. The training team:

What did participants learn?

Throughout the week, participants not only explored the basics of drawing and visual tools but, most importantly, applied them in practice:

• Foundations: shared definitions, core principles (preparation, simplification, visibility, cultural sensitivity, clear message, learning from mistakes).
• Essentials: colours (colour wheel & combinations), shapes, simple characters and emotions, lettering/typography, frames and connectors; creating a visual vocabulary.
• Practice under pressure: presenting a self-chosen topic while drawing live on a vertical flipchart; self-directed learning space with skills drills, an art corner, and digital tools.
• Graphic recording: capturing a TED Talk and a live discussion in real time; “swan metaphor” (calm on the surface, fast decision-making underneath) to support confidence and flow.
• Wrap-up: networking among organisations, opportunities within Erasmus+, final evaluation and goodbyes.

(Programme summary based on participant experience, aligned with training focus from the infopack.)

The training was led by experienced trainers Helena Leszczyńska-Podlesakova and Urszula Leszczyńska, who provided not only methodological guidance but also a safe space for experimenting and sharing. The training would not be the same without an amazing organiser Amelia Rosiak.

Why does it matter to us? By sending our participants, we are bringing new know-how into our organisation. One of our trainers has advanced her skills in visual facilitation thanks to this experience and is already planning how to integrate these methods into our own workshops. This means that participants of Cefig’s courses can look forward to even more engaging, interactive, and visually rich learning.

What’s next?

Visual Vibes was not only about drawing. It was about connecting people, exchanging practices across countries, and finding new ways to make learning more attractive. And that’s exactly where we see great value – not only in supporting our participants but also in strengthening ourselves as an organisation.

Partners: YoWo Poland (host); CEFIG International (CZ), Loud and Clear, EUnexus (EE), Malta UNESCO Youth Association (MT), Be Visible Be YOU (GR), YEuropa! Project (ES).

Article by Veronika Batelková (website, LinkedIn) participant of an Erasmus+ Training Course “Visual Vibes”

🌎 Erasmus+ Training Course “Visual Vibes” is funded by the Erasmus+ Programme.