FOOD CHAlleNGE
Start date: Aug 1, 2015,
End date: Feb 29, 2016
PROJECT
FINISHED
In the current global food and environment crisis, we can make a difference through our food choices.
Since ages, our first concern as humans was to procure our food. Yet we are now living in times when one third of the world`s and half of Europe’s food production is thrown away without having been consumed, while still one in 9 people on Earth do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life. Not only that, but food production has one of the biggest impact on the quality of our environment, and in order to last longer and look better, it contains ever more chemical additives.
At the European level, increasingly more efforts are being put in raising the awareness of the public towards more healthy and sustainable consumption choices. Active groups around the world are coming up with alternatives. The Slow Food movement is but one of them, striving to unite the pleasure of food with responsibility, sustainability and harmony with nature.
The CHALLENGE is how to promote such healthy alternatives and make slow food more accessible and more desired in local communities? That’s how Food CHAlleNGE adventure started! With this question in mind!
We, as Food CHAlleNGE initiators, see the education of young people (in NGOs, schools, etc.) as being one of the most powerful tools for changing and improving food consumption habits in local communities. To do so, the role of youth workers is crucial. Yet as youth workers, we need to make sure we have the appropriate capacity to work with young people on topics such as healthy lifestyle, food choices, consumption preferences and other topics that build up such healthy concepts as slow food.
Having all these motivations in our souls and minds, through Food CHAlleNGE project we seek to improve the specific knowledge of youth workers about responsible consumption and develop their skills of using non-formal education tools in raising awareness and promoting among young people the consumption of healthy food that doesn’t have a negative impact on environment and supports social equity.
In the framework of Food CHAlleNGE youth mobility, 26 youngsters coming from Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Spain will gather at a training in Cluj county, the European Youth Capital in 2015, from 28 November until 5th of December. During 7 days, the european youth workers, will develop their knowledge regarding the environmental, social and economic impact of our food choices and also their skills in using specific non-formal education methods and games/tools when working with young people on topics related to responsible consumption of food. The training will facilitate the exchange of experiences and practices between youth workers in promoting responsible consumption habits among young people.
All activities will be based on non-formal methods of education. Inclusion with young people with fewer opportunities is targeted by involving participants coming from regions with high unemployment rates, remote rural areas, as well as areas facing economic difficulties. In addition, a big accent is put on the value of different cultures by providing an intercultural environment and activities to emphasise the marvel of the culture of each country.