There is more in you -Capacity Building project – 2020-2022
Co-funded by the: Erasmus+ Program of the European Union.
“The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.”
Participating countries: Romania, Belgium, India and Brazil
Partner organizations:
- Outward Bound Romania
- Outward Bound Belgium
- Outward Bound India Himalaya
- Outward Bound Brazil
The main goal of the project is to transfer the concept of outdoor education and to share best practices about the positive influences of the method on unemployed youth to youth workers.
Specific objectives of the project are:
Objective 1: to increase the capacity of 20 youth workers in the fight against youth unemployment and to support them in triggering positive changes in the lives of disadvantaged youth, through transferring practical and theoretical knowledge about outdoor education, focusing on unemployed youth, in the frame of a 14 day long training of trainers course.
Objective 2: to empower 45 disadvantaged youngsters with essential social/life skills and competencies to become more confident to overcome the barriers in their professional careers, in the frame of a 10 day long youth exchange.
Objective 3: to expand the possibilities for unemployed youth to interact and build connections with young managers from the business field, in the frame of a 10 day long youth exchange through common experiences and discussions.
Objective 4: to increase the capacity of NGOs and relevant stakeholders other than project partners to operate internationally and to share best practices about the fight against youth unemployment.
The Actions of the program:
- KICK-OFF MEETING
It took place in Lustin, Belgium in the period 08-13.02.2020, in the presence of 2 representatives from each partner organization.
The goal of the meeting was to build the team of the project managers, who were responsible for the organization/implementation of the whole project, to know more deeply the project idea/objectives/program/target group and the rules and possibilities offered by the Erasmus+ program.
The participants presented their organizations and their specific methods, had a team challenge (caving), discussed a lot about project details, planned the upcoming events, visited the Agency and the EU Parliament in Brussels, and exchanged their culture.
The result of this event was that the partner organizations built a stronger network, got a clear idea about the project details and developed an efficient communication and cooperation.
Photos about the program:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.6226233114055363&type=3
- TRAINING OF TRAINERS
It took place in Sovata, Romania in the period 9-24.03.2022, with the presence of 5 beginner trainers from each partner country. The program was implemented by 2 senior trainers from Outward Bound Belgium, responsible for the soft skills part and 2 senior trainers + 2 support staff from Outward bound Romania, responsible for the hard skills part.
The goal of the program was to increase the capacity of 20 youth workers in the fight against youth unemployment and to support them in triggering positive changes in the lives of disadvantaged youth, through transferring practical and theoretical knowledge about outdoor education focusing on unemployed youth.
The program elements were: knowing each other and team building, expeditionary learning method in theory and in practice, hiking, orienteering, sleeping outside, debriefing, meta debriefing.
The main results of the program was: well prepared youth workers for organizing more various and effective development programs for unemployed youth, developed hard skills (organizing longer expedition based programs in a safe way), developed soft skills (facilitation, debriefing and cooperation skills)
Photos about the program: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=outwardbound.ro&set=a.6226261054052569
Video about the program:
- YOUTH EXCHANGE 1-2
The youth exchanges had similar goals, target groups and results, but they took part in different countries and different periods. The first YE was organized in Campos do Jordao, Brazil, in the period 3-14.05.2022. The second YE was organized in Rishikesh, India, in the period 16-27.11.2022.
The target group of the programs were unemployed young persons, group leaders, and young managers from each partner country and 2 experts who mentored the trainers team.
The two youth exchanges had double goals. In one hand, the trainers/youth workers put in practice their learnings from the TOT held in March and on the other, the unemployed youngsters developed their key competencies, initiative spirit and , as a result, in the future they will be more confident and they will find their right place on the labor market.
Program elements: team building, cultural activities, problem solving activities, land and water expedition, preparation for the future.
The results of the programs: increased self-esteem among the participants, awareness on their own values and competencies, encouragement to take initiatives and to accept challenges, open mind and positive thinking, development of different key competencies. Moreover, the youngsters get ready for entering the job market with confidence and perspective.
The young persons had personal contact with some decision makers (young managers) from companies and gained valuable insight into the mentality and culture of the corporate world.
Photos about the program:
-YE in India: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.6107735182571824&type=3
-YE in Brazil: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.5521452731200075&type=3
Video about the program:
“The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.”
India
Brazilia
- COMPASS CONFERENCE
The Action took place in 3 different parts of Romania. The outdoor part in Rimetea, the open day of the conference in Tirgu Mures and the project closing part in Sovata. The period was: 7-12.12.2022.
The objectives of this action were to share best practices, to share the created special program design, to present the audio-visual promo material and build capacity of NGOs and relevant stakeholders in using the outdoor education with their teams and target groups.
From each partner organization participated 5 persons, who were actively involved in the project (project managers, trainers and young persons). On the open day were present 21 persons outside the partnership.
The results of the conference were the dissemination of the project and the developed capacity of the present NGOs and companies to cooperate more often and more efficient and to use the methodology of outdoor education in their daily professional work.
Photos about the program: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.6133556426656366&type=3
Results after the evaluation of the whole project:
- Organization level:
– strengthened cooperation in the network
-new inspiration and mutual learning
-intercontinental experience
- Trainers level:
– Collaboration with trainers from different schools
– Sharing best practices
– Insight in cultural environments outside Europe
– Gained new hard and soft skills, new knowledge
– Gained international experience
– Strengthened professional network
- Participants level:
-Leveraging the network for business opportunities
-Possibility to grow in an international environment
-Cultural exchange
-Developed key competencies , personal and professional skills