ACON's Facilitator Training 2024
Young Gay, Bi+, Queer Men (Ages 18-26)
ACON’s facilitator training is back for 2024!
ACON’s Young Gay, Bi+, Queer Men’s Project (SPARK) is designed for and by young gay, bi+, queer men (trans and cis) ages 18-26.
The project’s goal is to support our community’s sexual health and wellbeing, and it’s through the incredible support of passionate and dedicated volunteers that we can run a range of free community workshops, forums, and events for our community throughout the year.
Our volunteer facilitators are the life of the SPARK Project, who support us by taking on the role of ‘facilitator’ in our community-created workshops. Facilitators create a safe and supportive space for our community to share their thoughts, experiences and ideas, and support our community to access tailored, non-judgement sexual health information.
SPARK’s facilitators are a community of passionate and committed young gay, bi+, queer men who help us to make a real difference in the lives of our community.
So, if you love meeting new people, are keen to give back to your community, and want to learn important skills to support your personal and professional development, please register below as we would love to connect with you!
What is Facilitator Training?
Our facilitator training brings together a group of around 25-30 passionate people to train in the art of facilitation and community empowerment.
Our training will provide you with:
Advanced facilitation skills – This includes active listening, non-judgemental communication, managing complex group dynamics, ways to empower community to make informed decisions about their health and wellbeing, as well as much more!
New knowledge and experiences – Our training brings together incredible speakers from a range of lived and professional experiences as we explore important subjects such as sexual health, living with HIV, racism and cultural safety, trans health and wellbeing, alcohol and other drugs, as well as many other topics relevant to our community.
Make new gay, bi+ and queer friends and join a community of care! – Facilitator training is an incredible way to meet, socialise, and connect with like-minded guys and make lifelong friends.
The opportunity to share and learn about the lived experiences of yourself and others – At the core of being a facilitator is being able to connect with others through our shared lived experiences. Our facilitator training provides a unique opportunity to connect with your community at a deeper level.
Registration is essential to attend our facilitator training, so don’t forget to sign up below!
What happens after training?
After completing our training and being signed off as ready to facilitate, you will be an official ACON peer facilitator! (Yay!)
Our volunteer facilitators support our project by:
Being responsible for collaborating with SPARK’s fellow facilitators to run community-designed workshops and sessions that explore topics such as identity, sexuality, consent, sexual health and wellbeing, and other topics that are important to our communities.
Supporting ACON’s SPARK Project to design, run and improve the workshops and forums we run throughout the year.
Facilitating at least one workshop in a calendar year. (A workshop runs for 3-4 hours on a weeknight, once a week for four weeks).
Experiencing ongoing support to run fun, sex-positive and community-centred workshops.
Training Dates:*
Sunday 22 September 2024, 10am – 5pm,
Saturday 28 September 2024, 10am – 5pm,
Sunday 29 September 2024, 10am – 5pm,
Saturday 5 October 2024, 10am – 5pm,
Sunday 6 October 2024, 10am – 5pm.
*Please note that for us to be able to train you, you must be able to attend all training dates.
Where: Western Sydney University Parramatta City Campus. 161-169 Macquarie St, Parramatta NSW 2150 (2 minutes’ walk from Parramatta Station).
Cost: FREE! Lunch is included on all training dates.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our team at youth@acon.org.au.