{"id":9214,"date":"2024-01-29T10:35:49","date_gmt":"2024-01-29T10:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/outwardbound.ro\/?p=9214"},"modified":"2024-11-29T12:38:47","modified_gmt":"2024-11-29T12:38:47","slug":"esc-volunteer-project-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/outwardbound.ro\/en\/esc-volunteer-project-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"ESC Volunteer Project 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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1.Volunteering for becoming an outdoor practitioner 2.Solidarity Sustainability in Action<\/h1>
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Outward Bound Romania has the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) Accreditation since 2021 related to volunteering projects. We created an action plan for the period 2021-2027 with the following objectives:<\/span><\/p>\n

-to promote inclusion of young people with different backgrounds in order to ensure diversity and solidarity acting among local youngsters and European volunteers, and the local community<\/span><\/p>\n

-to raise awareness about environmental sustainability and to enable behavioral changes for individual responsibility towards consumption habits and greener lifestyles among local young people, short- and long-term European volunteers, and the local community<\/span><\/p>\n

-to develop efficient state management and to build resilience in difficult times among local young people and short- and long-term European volunteers<\/span><\/p>\n

All activities are co-financed by the ESC program of the European Union<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

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In the third year, we implemented the following:<\/p>\n

1. Volunteering for becoming an outdoor practitioner: a long-term individual volunteering prog-ram for 5 young people: volunteers from Latvia, Italy, and Romania participated for 9 months, while those from Hungary and Latvia joined for a bit more than 7 months.<\/p>\n

2. Solidarity and Sustainability in Action: a short-term team volunteering program for 11 young people from Malta, Spain, Germany, Poland, France, Latvia, Cyprus, and Ireland, implemented from September 24 to October 7, 2024.<\/p>\n

Location: Outward Bound Romania Youth Center in Sovata, Gurghiu Mountains, and Bezid Lake.<\/p>\n

Participant Profile: \u2013 Aged between 18\u201330 years \u2013 Open-minded, loves working with groups of children, young people, and adults \u2013 Interested in gaining practical experience in outdoor education and youth work \u2013 Eager to grow physically and mentally through challenging activities and fun adventures \u2013 Enjoys nature and outdoor activities \u2013 Good English skills (written and spoken) \u2013 In good physical condition, healthy, and fit \u2013 Highly motivated to participate in projects, work, and develop alongside other young people from the EU<\/p>\n

Informative Letters:<\/p>\n

-Short-term volunteering program: https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1OQnVVO4APlijPPvPev2-nZ4epcU1ujOG\/view?usp=drive_link<\/p>\n

-Long-term volunteering program: https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1UDfgKrE46Mu2_Gx-qr1Hg2RcBmUTnXl5\/view?usp=drive_link<\/p>\n

Program elements in the case of short-term team volunteering: energiyers, team-building activities, expedition, climbing in the ropes course, renovating the straw yurt, landscaping a section of the lake shore at our youth center, building a herb garden and a labyrinth from stones, renovating hiking trails,<\/p>\n

harvesting apples and tea leaves, cultural activities, organizing a team-building program for local yo-uth, and trips to the Red Lake and Bicaz Gorge.<\/p>\n

Results of the Team Volunteering Project:<\/p>\n

-Through authentic adventures, volunteers developed confidence, trust in others, cooperation, le-adership skills, and decision-making abilities<\/p>\n

-By pushing personal boundaries and facing various challenges, volunteers learned they are more re-silient to difficult situations and can rely on this resilience in the future.<\/p>\n

-Volunteers realized that being active helps them achieve goals more easily, becoming more res-ponsible for themselves, the community, and nature.<\/p>\n

-They learned about solidarity through their volunteer work, fostering a stronger connection with the place. Local youth benefited from a friendlier, more welcoming atmosphere at our youth center and its surroundings, allowing all to focus better on personal development activities.<\/p>\n

-Volunteers became more open to understanding and accepting cultural differences, ways of thinking, and collaborating with people from diverse backgrounds.<\/p>\n

-They also formed new personal and professional relationships.<\/p>\n

Tasks of the long-term individual volunteers and results of the projekt:<\/p>\n

-Participation in organizing and implementing adventure education courses: Volunteers played an active role in these initiatives. Initially, they participated as observers, occasio-nally organizing energizers and engaging with participants during breaks. Over time, they gained knowledge about various activities and reflection methods, eventually taking on more significant roles under the supervision of our trainers. Gradually, they managed more complex tasks, such as coordi-nating extended sections of the program and participating in activities in the ropes course. From April to December, we implemented 73 programs, and each volunteer taking part in at least 25 programs.<\/p>\n

Through these programs, they learned how to prepare and plan outdoor activities with an educational purpose, gained theoretical and practical knowledge about the organization\u2019s methods, and practiced facilitating groups. These experiences boosted their confidence in working with people and developed their leadership skills.<\/p>\n

-Participation in internal training courses: In their first month, each volunteer attended an internatio-nal program as a participant to familiarize themselves with our methods and activities. Afterward, they joined internal courses focused on using outdoor equipment, managing activities in the ropes course, implementing expeditions and water activities, learning first aid, and ensuring physical, mental, and emotional safety.<\/p>\n

These activities helped volunteers develop technical skills related to the ropes course elements, rock climbing, and water activities while also improving communication, presentation, and program faci-litation abilities.<\/p>\n

-Involvement in equipment management: during periods without educational programs, volunteers worked with outdoor equipment and educational materials, preparing, organizing, and performing maintenance as needed.<\/p>\n

This activity familiarized them with the tools and materials essential for implementing outdoor educa-tional programs.<\/p>\n

Photos from the program:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/media\/set\/?set=a.953542560151730&type=3<\/p>\n

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