Back in October 2020 we launched #TrainerThursdays to highlight the journeys of EPTO trainers from across Europe. This week we featured our manager Cathy Del Rizzo! We took a couple of inspiring quotes for our social media posts but her answers were too good not to share in full! So, this #TrainerThursday we bring you Senior EPTO Trainer, Cathy!

Q1. Can you please share with us your name, where you are from, where you are living at the moment and what you do (work and passions)?

My name is Cathy. I am from Belgium, currently living in Brussels. I am EPTO manager, also working as a trainer and project coordinator. 
My passions are education and culture. I love designing and facilitating educational and transformative processes that support people to get a better understanding of themselves, their environment and the unique contribution they can make towards inclusion. Learning drives me and I am always eager to explore new territories, deepen my knowledge and expand my skills. 
During my free time, I also practice painting. I love arts and I am fascinated by the images and stories that weave culture and create meaning. Either when facilitating diversity trainings or moving brushes and colors on canvases, I love to wander amongst those stories to understand which ones are serving a just, inclusive and diverse world and which ones need our efforts and contribution to be dismantled and re-written. 

Q2. When and where did your EPTO training take place? How was it for you?

My EPTO training took place in Liège (BE) in 2012. I remember it as a powerful experience of self-awareness, deep sharing and transformation. This was also the moment I understood I wanted to be a trainer and hold spaces for others to explore identity, diversity and actions that can be undertaken to create more inclusive environments. What particularly impacted me was the  journey from inner exploration to standing up and taking action for what matters to me. The whole process was very empowering.

Q3. What level of EPTO certification do you have? And how have you used it since?

I am certified level 6 - senior trainer. I have been facilitating and designing multiple awareness and train-the-trainer trainings at both local and European levels. I consider myself very lucky to have a job that allows me to do that regularly :-) 

Q4. What advice would you give to anyone one their journey to become a Peer Trainer?

The advice I would give is to practice as much as you can. The actual experience of being trained is very rich and important. However, I believe that being a trainer requires competencies that can only be developed by practicing. How can we develop an openness and ability to respond to whatever will emerge from the group? There is no check list on how to do that. It is an on-going intention to seek, try and adjust. Embrace what you cannot plan and work with it. Also, I would advice to never stop checking your own thoughts, don't assume you have dismantled all of your bias. I believe it is a never-ending process and commitment as a diversity trainer to keep checking oneself as we go :-)