First Trainers' Weekend with the JOVD

At the beginning of May, we organised our first trainers' weekend together with the JOVD – an important step towards building a long-term internal training programme at JUNOS.

The JOVD, the liberal youth organisation of the Netherlands, offers a wide range of training courses covering political philosophy, public speaking, political skills, and organisational know-how. Rather than relying on external trainers, the JOVD has built a strong internal network of trained volunteers who deliver these sessions. To support this, the organisation has developed its own train-the-trainer programme, creating a sustainable system for passing on knowledge and experience.

That is why we invited the JOVD to share its expertise with us and help us establish a similar model within JUNOS. At the beginning of May, a team of experienced JOVD trainers travelled with us to Neuberg an der Mürz to train the first generation of JUNOS trainers.

Through practical workshops, constructive feedback, and final assessment sessions, six JUNOS members successfully completed the programme and became certified trainers: Julian Fritsch, Silvio Junger, Kathrin Kaindl, Marcus Lieder, Gregor Stadler, and Lorenz Unger. After the assessments, we celebrated together in true international spirit – with Dutch jenever, Austrian schnapps, and guitar music around the campfire.

The JOVD did more than train our first group of trainers. They also shared their experience of how to build and sustain a comprehensive liberal training programme over the long term. Our newly certified trainers are now working on developing the first training sessions and a long-term training concept for JUNOS.

We would like to thank our friends at the JOVD for sharing their experience and supporting us throughout the weekend. It was a great example of how international cooperation can strengthen the liberal movement in practice.