Michele Di Paola

About:

it's all about putting people together!

You can find me hangin' out at the crossing of liberal arts and digital technologies.

That's my spot, where I enjoy working, learning and having fun using all kinds of human experiences, (video)games, stories and rituals from past and present times, while working in training, intercultural learning, non-formal activities - with a touch of technology: mastering computers, mobile, apps, socialmedia and web. Someone calls it digital youth work, do you?

Michele Di Paola has 7 references for past work as a trainer.

Michele Di Paola

Contact details

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Trainer connections

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  • Rosario Rossi
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  • Mafalda Morganti
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  • Monika Novosadova
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  • Árpád Bárnai
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  • Paul Kloosterman
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  • Salvi Greco
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  • Elias Mastoras
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  • Laris Guerri
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  • Emiliano Iannone
    Emiliano Iannone
  • Réka Széplaki
    Réka Széplaki
  • Enrico Elefante
    Enrico Elefante
  • Panagiota Adamidou
    Panagiota Adamidou
  • ARGYRIS CHOULIAS
    ARGYRIS CHOULIAS
  • Dorit Machell (Fauck)
    Dorit Machell (Fauck)
  • Zsiday Kriszta
    Zsiday Kriszta
  • Asier Carrasco González
    Asier Carrasco González
  • Gergely Kiss
    Gergely Kiss
  • Simona Simulyte
    Simona Simulyte
  • Bo Maria Daskalova
    Bo Maria Daskalova
  • Mehmet Burak Demircan
    Mehmet Burak Demircan
  • Joanna Hoffman
    Joanna Hoffman
  • Aliaksej Burnosenka
    Aliaksej Burnosenka
  • Evelina Kvartunaite
    Evelina Kvartunaite
  • Martin Fischer
    Martin Fischer
  • Laura Pierfelici
    Laura Pierfelici
  • Cristina Di Ponzio
    Cristina Di Ponzio
  • Javi Quilez Peña
    Javi Quilez Peña
  • Alexandro Jan Lai
    Alexandro Jan Lai
  • Melih Özkardes
    Melih Özkardes
  • Maryam Majidova
    Maryam Majidova
  • Corina Pintea
    Corina Pintea
  • Alessandra Coppola
    Alessandra Coppola
  • Spela Gorjan
    Spela Gorjan

Current occupation

trainer - media educator - innovation developer - youth worker with SpazioGiovani and as freelance.

Work experience

I am active as a freelance trainer, focused on digital youth work and digitalization of youth work practices. I am passionate about (video)games and gamification, digital tools in outdoors activities, (digital) storytelling.

I have a great competence in the field of digital creativity: I designed with my team the first training course about digital youth work, DIG IT UP!, then adopted by TCA, and then I have been part of the process of digitalisation of many elements of youth work, as for instance the digital dimension of ETS competence model.

Since 10 years I run workshops based on non formal education approaches on coding, creating video games, robots, digital and transmedia storytelling (with Minecraft) etc to kids and boys / girls aged 10 to 16 years old.

I am the "champion" of my local coderdojo group in Monza - if you wonder what it is: www.coderdojo.com

I have been a youth worker for Spazio Giovani (www.spaziogiovani.it) since the late 90s, coming from a long experience of volunteering for different organisations. Within this organisation I am in charge of a Eurodesk local office (IT103) and I am working in several projects of youth/local communities empowerment., and I am in charge of the activities regarding Digital media education and Responsible use of technology with youngsters and in schools.

I also work in the TEC cycle for Italian NA, delivering On Arrival Trainings and Mid Term Evaluation meetings for Solidarity Corps volunteers being hosted in Italy, and I contributed in re-designing the activities in an online format.

Educational pathway

My formal education was in the fields of literature and arts: I graduated in Classical Studies highschool (arts, Latin, ancient Greek, Italian literature...) meanwhile I was teaching myself a lot on computers and technology in the roaring years of BBSs and the upcoming of the Internet, plus I almost got a degree in Literature at university, stopping 4 exams before... because I started working in non-formal education and youth work, and this involved me fully ;)

My first approach with nonformal education was a 10-years experience inside a local scout group, since the age of 10. This was the starting point for some European experiences *before* the birth of European Youth programmes, including inter-rail travelling, volunteering and doing cultural exchanges with some Eastern countries (former Cechoslovakia, former Yugoslavia, Poland etc) just after the fall of Berlin Wall and the Balkan wars.

This first experiences were the basis for a large part of my youth work, including the work in the Italian Eurodesk network, which offered me continuous updates with 2 national seminars every year, international seminars, etc.

I put a lot of effort in keeping up to date with all the possible educational uses of technology, doing a lot of research on the field, taking courses and seminars (including online ones) and studying the topic continuously.

I have learned something in every nonformal education experience in which I was involved, either as a participant or trainer, and I really look forward to learning more!

Fields of training expertise

  • (advanced) Animation
  • (intermediate) Bullying & Harassment
  • (expert) Campaigning & Awareness Raising
  • (advanced) Change Management
  • (expert) Citizenship Education
  • (advanced) Coaching & Mentoring
  • (expert) Communication Skills
  • (beginner) Conflict Management & Mediation
  • (expert) Creativity & Art
  • (intermediate) Crisis Management
  • (intermediate) Diversity & Anti-Racism
  • (beginner) Drama & Theatre
  • (intermediate) Environment & Ecology
  • (advanced) Entrepreneurship (Social)
  • (intermediate) Equal Opportunities
  • (intermediate) Evaluation & Assessment
  • (advanced) Event Management
  • (advanced) Financial Management
  • (advanced) Fundraising
  • (intermediate) Gender Awareness & Mainstreaming
  • (expert) Global Education
  • (expert) Group Dynamics & Motivation
  • (advanced) Health & Prevention
  • (advanced) Human Rights
  • (expert) Intercultural Learning
  • (expert) International Youth Work
  • (beginner) Labour Rights & Employment
  • (intermediate) Leadership Development
  • (intermediate) Lobbying & Advocacy
  • (expert) New Information Technologies
  • (advanced) Open Space Technology
  • (intermediate) Organizational Management
  • (advanced) Outdoor & Experiential Training
  • (intermediate) Peace Education
  • (intermediate) People Management & Cooperation
  • (intermediate) Personal Development & Empowerment
  • (expert) Project Management
  • (advanced) Public Relations & Marketing
  • (expert) Public Speaking
  • (advanced) Recognition of NFLearning
  • (advanced) Social Inclusion & Exclusion
  • (expert) Social Media
  • (advanced) Storytelling & Humour
  • (intermediate) Time Management
  • (advanced) Training of Trainers
  • (advanced) Valorisation of Projects (DEOR)
  • (expert) Volunteer Programmes
  • (expert) Youth Exchanges
  • (expert) Youth Information Work
  • (expert) Youth Participation & Initiatives
  • (expert) Youth Policy
  • (beginner) Youth Violence & Criminality
  • (expert) Youth Worker Training

Knowledge about institutions and programmes

  • (expert) Erasmus+ (KA1) Youth Exchanges
  • (expert) Erasmus+ (KA1) Training & Networking
  • (advanced) Erasmus+ (KA2) Transnational Youth Initiatives
  • (intermediate) Erasmus+ (KA2) Strategic Partnerships
  • (beginner) Erasmus+ (KA2) Capacity Building (other countries in the World)
  • (advanced) Erasmus+ (KA3) Youth Policy Meetings
  • (expert) European Solidarity Corps Volunteering
  • (intermediate) Erasmus+ (lifelong learning, non-youth)
  • (intermediate) European Youth Centres (CoE)
  • (intermediate) European Youth Foundation (CoE)
  • (beginner) Solidarity Fund for Youth Mobility (CoE)
  • (advanced) European Institutions
  • (advanced) Youth Partnership CoE-COM
  • (intermediate) International Youth Structures
  • (advanced) Private Foundations
  • (beginner) United Nations

Working with specific target groups

  • (advanced) Children
  • (intermediate) Families
  • (expert) Intercultural Teams
  • (intermediate) Marginalized & Excluded Youth
  • (beginner) Men's Issues & Groups
  • (intermediate) Minorities
  • (advanced) Religious Youth Groups
  • (beginner) Women's Issues & Groups
  • (beginner) Young People in/from Conflict Areas
  • (beginner) Young People with a Physical Disability
  • (beginner) Young People with a Sensory Disability

Experience with specific geographical regions

  • (beginner) Africa
  • (beginner) Asia
  • (intermediate) Eastern Europe and Caucasus
  • (intermediate) Euro-Mediterranean Co-operation
  • (expert) European Cooperation
  • (expert) Global Cooperation
  • (intermediate) Latin America
  • (expert) North-North Cooperation
  • (intermediate) North-South Co-operation
  • (beginner) South East Europe

Language Skills

  • (fluent) English
  • (beginner) Spanish

Other languages

Italian (mothertongue)

Trainer references

  • UEb 2.0

    Awaiting validation (requested 2017-07-17)
    The training activity took place
    in Monte Barro - Galbiate (LC) - Italy
    organised by Municipality of Cinisello Balsamo
    October 25th to 31th, 2014
  • DIG-IT up! digital tools for non formal education in open air

    Awaiting validation (requested 2018-03-13)
    The training activity took place
    in Rome, Italy
    organised by Agenzia Nazionale Giovani - Italian national agency for Erasmus + Youth in Action
    April 30th to May 7th, 2015
  • Get STORIED! (STORYtelling & EDucation)

    Awaiting validation (requested 2017-08-22)
    The training activity took place
    in Sermugnano, Italy
    organised by cooperativa sociale Muovimente
    20th to 29th, August 2015
  • Share The Right Story

    Awaiting validation (requested 2018-03-16)
    The training activity took place
    in Sluňákov, Olomouc, Czech Republic
    organised by Act In Ostrava
    8th - 16th August 2016
  • DIG-IT up! Training course on including digital tools in Youth work, the basics of digital youth work

    Awaiting validation (requested 2019-04-20)
    The training activity took place
    in Rome, Italy
    organised by Agenzia Nazionale Giovani - Italian national agency for Erasmus + Youth in Action
    20-25 March 2017
  • Exploring the digital dimension - Conference

    Awaiting validation (requested 2021-04-23)
    The training activity took place
    in Wien, Austria
    organised by OeAD nationale Agentur für Erasmus+ und ESK - Austrian NA
    24-27/02/2020
  • Citizenship Reloaded

    Awaiting validation (requested 2023-04-24)
    The training activity took place
    in online
    organised by Agenzia Nazionale Giovani - Italian national agency for Erasmus + Youth in Action
    14-19/12/2020

This profile was last modified on 2021-04-23

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