The Swapping Cultures Champions Training Programme aims to develop Champions for Community Cohesion who are skilled and confident to lead sessions with their peers. It is open to anyone wishing to make a difference in their workplace, school, college or community and it is designed to suit young people and professionals alike.

We aim to help people develop confidence to become effective activists, motivators and change-makers within a wide range of settings. The training will equip them with everything needed to lead Swapping Cultures training sessions. This includes all resources, organisational advice and workshop planning guidance.

Many people enter the programme with previous professional experience of group leadership and training whilst others are at the early stages of such a career or they simply want to volunteer to help run a session. The training programme can accommodate all levels of experience. We are keen to work with partner organisations to adapt the training to make best use of the pre-existing skills and experience of the groups we work with

Activist Level
The minimum briefing required to lead or help to lead Swapping Cultures workshops. This usually requires one day’s training

Motivator Level
This is suitable for people with some experience of training and leadership, including those who have been through the Activist Stage. This develops confidence to take greater responsibility, lead in organisation and delivery of Swapping Cultures workshops and understand how to motivate others to ensure the necessary quality of experience for the people taking part.

Change Maker Level
For those with wider experience of community initiatives and group leadership, this stage provides training in the use, evaluation and refinement of the application of Swapping Cultures in a wide range of community or education settings. It explores different ways to become more effective through networking, identifying sources of power and resources, and using communications to promote and publicise relevant events. It develops confidence and capacity to bring about change in the community through practical community-based projects and opportunities to co-lead MoE events.

All three stages will result in the following learning outcomes:

• Increased awareness of own strengths and weaknesses in group leadership
• Development of a ‘can do’ positive attitude to active citizenship
• A personal action plan for further learning to build skills and capability
• Knowledge of the Swapping Cultures training process, its aims and methods
• Ability to use the resource materials and adapt them to suit different groups
• Increased understanding of community cohesion issues and some theories, ideas and strategies for bringing different groups together for meaningful communication