Training course: Outdoors and Digital Tools in Youthwork

Location: Kuusamo (Oivanki Youth Center), Finland

Dates: 7-15 August 2022

Number of participants: 27 participants

Participating countries: Austria, Finland, Georgia, Italy, Morocco, Poland, Republic of North Macedonia, Spain, Ukraine

Organizer: Nuoriso-ja luontomatkailukeskus Oivanki

Apply: here

Deadline to apply: 23 June 2022

Date of selection: 07 July 2022

Inquiries about this training course: Vitalii Volodchenko at erasmus.oivanki@gmail.com

Costs:

Participation fee

We have a flexible participation fee of 30-50€ (pay as you can) that needs to be paid by each participant on the spot. This fee goes as a contribution to the administrative costs of the project.

Accommodation and food

The costs for food, accommodation and program materials are fully covered by the grant received from the Erasmus+.

The Training Course starts on 7th August (arrival day) with dinner and ends on the morning of 15th August 2022 (departure day) with breakfast.

Travel reimbursement

Austria 3 person 360€/person*
Finland 7 person 180€/person
Georgia 2 person 360€/person*
Italy 3 person 360€/person*
Morocco 2 person 820€/person
The Republic of North Macedonia 2х360€/person*
Poland 2 person 275€/person*
Spain 3 person 530€/person
Ukraine 3 person 275€/person*

Visa costs for participants from Morocco 100€/person

*Because the venue is located remotely, we applied for “Expensive travel costs due to remote location”, follow the link for a detailed explanation http://bit.ly/etceOaI

 

Outdoors and Digital Tools in Youthwork

Our project aims to empower youth workers and educators to organise outdoors learning experiences for their target groups by using digital tools.

Every day our world is filled more and more with smartphones, tablets, video game systems, and virtual reality, it’s crucial than ever that kids get outdoors because lack of exposure to nature impacts their health and social competencies. The issue became even more important since 2020 when many kids stayed locked inside, without the possibility to visit nature and interact with their peers.

There are numerous studies that have proven that being in the outdoors can decrease one’s stress level, accelerate healing from an injury or illness, increase one’s ability to focus, communicate and express freely—even in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. But not all youth workers and educators are aware of the benefits of these methods and/or have the capability and skill to use them in practice with their target groups. Even taking into account that digital tools became in some cases the “only” tool that you can use in order to organise activities, in order to follow national health regulations and measures. Not many organisations in the youth work field can afford to take the risk and replace good old methodology with digital tools (web pages, apps, etc).

Our project aims to increase the quality of the outdoors learning experience provided by youth workers and educators to target groups that they work with.

The objectives of the project are:

  • To exchange tools, experience and know-how related to outdoors learning
  • To develop competencies in identifying the needs of various target groups and adaptation of activities according to them
  • To develop competencies in developing own outdoor learning activities combining them with digital tools
  • Build a community that supports the quality of outdoors learning projects and activities for young people.
  • The project consists of a residential training course in Oivanki Youth Center, local follow-up activities in each partner community, online/virtual seminar with elements of the Partnership Building Activity.

The project comprises five stages:

1. Preparation at home before arrival.

2. Training Course that will equip participants with competencies to develop their own outdoor learning activities combining them with digital tools, based on the needs of their target groups.

3. Implementation of local outdoor learning activities (including combined with digital tools) in each partner country by using new competencies gained during the Training Course.

4. Online Seminar (4 days), where the participants of the Training Course will share their experience about the implemented outdoor learning activities, receive useful information during Experts inputs, prepare materials for dissemination, find partners for international projects and start developing new project ideas together.

5. Dissemination of the results of the project, including an invitation to the wider audience to join the community (Project’s Facebook group)

During the Training Course participants will experience and learn some types of outdoor activities (Camping, Hiking, Building a shelter, Solo time, Photo hunting, etc.) exchange the experience related to the outdoors; empathise with and define the needs of various target groups; explore a various digital tool that can be used for outdoors; develop their own outdoors learning activities, introduced to methodological and safety aspects. Please note that there would be one and a half-full day stay complete outdoors, including cooking, sleeping outside and group activities.

During the Online Seminar participants will be able to reflect on the lessons learned during the local implementation stage, receive valuable inputs from the Experts, find partners for international projects and start developing new project ideas together.

Participation in both activities (training and online seminar) is mandatory!

Profile of the participants

youth/social workers, youth leaders, and educators, who:

-familiar with outdoor learning activities or motivated to acquire them to use in daily work

-familiar with various digital tools available or motivated to acquire them to use in daily work

-familiar with how identifying the needs of various target groups and adaptation of activities according to them or motivated to improve skills in it

-have little or no experience in combining outdoor learning activities with digital tools

-eager to transfer gained knowledge to their organizations and communities

-committed to working during the whole project duration, meaning also the implementing outdoor activities in their local communities, online Seminar, activeness and contribution in community building and follow-up activities.

Please read the attached infopack carefully!

Infopack

Download here: Training Course – Outdoors and Digital Tools in Youthwork – Finland – abroadship.org

Download the PDF file .