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Naturally Empowered, Naturally Active
Naturally Empowered, Naturally Active
Start date: Apr 1, 2015,
End date: Oct 31, 2015
PROJECT
FINISHED
The “Naturally Empowered, Naturally Active” training course gathers together 24 young people from 8 different countries. The project focuses on the use of outdoor and nature-based training elements as educational tools to tackle the issue of youth empowerment and active participation. With this training course we seek to improve the level of key competences and skills of youth workers to use outdoor & nature-based training methods, approaches and experiential training elements as tools for youth empowerment in order to improve the quality of the work of youth organisations and to reach further into the European dimension of youth work. Through this TC we also aim to develop the quality of youth work across Europe.
It is clear that nowadays one of the biggest challenges of our societies faced all across Europe is the passive generation of young people. They need to be empowered to be able to turn their ideas into actions, to strive to realise their dreams and to engage with and play an active part within their communities and societies.
Youth workers, volunteers, trainers and all those who work with young people need more creative, innovative and effective methods and techniques both to engage young people and to give them the tools to empower themselves. Through this non-formal education project we target this group and provide some solutions to this problem.
The training course was designed according to the following objectives:
- To improve knowledge of the theoretical and pedagogical background of outdoor & nature-based education and experiential learning methods
- To introduce outdoor/nature-based and experiential training methods and understand their effectiveness as tools for youth empowerment and active participation
- To explore, understand, analyse and improve the quality of experiential learning and outdoor tools as educational methods
- To provide space for participants for discussion, sharing best practices and to develop their training skills and competences
- To improve knowledge about the Erasmus+ Youth Programme as a tool for improving the quality and enhancing the international dimension of youth work through outdoor & nature-based activities
- To improve ability to transfer outdoor education, nature-based methods and experiential learning concepts into youth work practice and projects in the Erasmus+ Youth Programme
We believe that international cooperations in the youth field are very important for this and promote the mobility possibilities the Erasmus+ Programme offers to young people across Europe and aim to enhance transnational cooperations by giving the possibility to participants to develop their own project ideas.
At the end of the training course, our participants will be motivated to participate more actively in the lives of their organisations, develop more projects with and for young people using a diverse set of nature-based and outdoor training elements and will be better equipped to provide higher quality youth work due to their experience and use of different innovative & effective methods.
This training course will be experiential and based on an interactive and participative approach. Learning from each other and learning by doing will be central to the process, as will our programme, designed to inspire creativity, active participation and a safe and exciting learning field.
The project will take place in Findhorn, Scotland, UK. It is an 8 day training course with 24 participants and 5 trainers/facilitators/experts/logistic coordinator and assistant from the following countries: United Kingdom, Hungary, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, Turkey and Spain.
During the training methods of non-formal and informal education will be used, with a special attention given to innovative and creative nature-based and outdoor training elements which have been inspired by and adapted from traditional cultures, modern movements and techniques including forest schools, outdoor education pedagogy, deep ecology and rites of passage work, alongside astronomy and creative non-formal approaches. Participants will actively learn about Youthpass and the Erasmus+ Programme.