Youth Exchange: Step In Their Shoes #2: Running in Northern Ireland

Location: Northern Ireland, UK

Dates: 1-9 May 2018

Number of participants: 30

Participating countries: United Kingdom, Lithuania, Norway, Hungary, Spain, Greece

Age: each country send 4 participants + 1 youth leader. Participants are aged 18-30 and youth leader has no age limit

Organizer: Abroadship.org

Apply here: application form

Your applications will be reviewed and you will be selected by sending organisation from your country, so if any particular question, please inquire at following emails:

Abroadship.org UK hello@abroadship.org
NITIN Norway nina.aarstrand@nitin.no
MeOut Hungary info@meout.org
Inovatyvi Karta Lithuania inovatyvi.karta@gmail.com
Solidarity Mission Greece training@solidaritymission.org
LaVibria Intercultural Spain info@vibria.org

Deadline to apply: 14 March 2018

Date of Selection: immediately, if you are right candidate

Inquiries about this training course: Justinas at hello@abroadship.org

Costs:

  • 100% accommodation, food and program materials are covered by the grant from Erasmus+
  • 80% traveling costs (only the most economical and agreed before hand at hello@abroadship.org) are covered. Maximum traveling expenses are up to:
    • €50/participant for UK
    • €275/participant for Lithuania, Norway, Hungary, Spain
    • €360/participant for Greece
  • For traveling reimbursement, it is mandatory to keep and bring all your tickets and invoices, boarding passes and receipts (originals). Without these documents, traveling costs cannot be reimbursed.
  • £30 fee to cover participation in Belfast Marathon (to run either 8km or 42km selectively)
  • Reimbursements will be given in British pounds currency on the last day of the YE.

Step In Their Shoes #2: Running in Northern Ireland

Download here:

Step In Their Shoes: #2 Running in Northern Ireland – Belfast Marathon – abroadship.org

Click to access v3.pdf

Context

We invite you to literallly step in ther shoes and WALK in Wales, RUN in Northern Ireland and HIKE in Scotland, imagining nowadays realities, whereas a lot of refugees had to walk or run over mountains, cross the sea and borders to reach peace in Europe.

During walk, run and hike (outdoor element) and other types of physical activities (sports element) we would like to explore sensitive topics and particularly inclusion.

Step In Their Shoes is a 3-phased empathy developing project to step in variety of different shoes through a our KING methodology: Knowledge, Involvement, Nature, Growth.

Overall Focus

  • To reach personal development which helps to understand ourselves and reflect on own behavior and behavior of others
  • Challenge the perception of the structures within our society that undermine social inclusion or foster discrimination
  • Overcoming the stereotypes of different religion
  • To raise awareness on the topic of discrimination
  • To build a broader understanding of what an inclusive attitude means and to start inter cultural and inter- religious dialogue
  • To understand the connections between culture and sport and to understand the inter cultural aspects of sport
  • To raise the sense of empathy towards other people

Who Should Attend

The background of participants is youth (18-30 years) that are willing to develop empathy in order to be more inclusive and tollerant. Youth that are ready to address or perhaps face(d) themselves racial and religious discrimination. Youth that open minded, care about nearby neighbourhood, local, regional, national and international communities and are sensitive to human right issues.

Programme of Step In Their Shoes

DAY 1: ARRIVAL: Arrival to Bushmills youth hostel. Unpacking, Getting to know each other

DAY 2: COOPERATION: Morning running, Team building, Fight stereotypes, Welcome night

DAY 3: CULTURES: Morning exercise, Team Building and Open Badges, Culture and Refugees, Forum Theater, Intercultural Night

DAY 4: VALUES: Morning running, preparation for the hike, the hike and 100 my dreams,

DAY 5: HEALTH: Morning exercise, Reflection after the hike, Olympic games, Empathy/mental health, Healthy Diet, Evening Yoga

DAY 6: CHALLENGE: Morning exercise, Erasmus+ and NGO Fair, Open space,

DAY 7: RUN: Participating in the Belfast Marathon. Rest and Reflection after the run. Meditation

DAY 8: ALL IN: Morning rest, Learning what you want, Achieve your goals, Youthpass, last evaluation, Goodbye evening.

DAY 9: DEPARTURE: Packing and leaving

Delivery Style

  • “Learning by experience” – learning from experiencing different activities and putting them into practice;
  • “Learning to play, playing to learn” – connected with learning through games, from actions and playful environment;
  • “Learning through outdoor sports” – learning about sensitive topics while being outdoors, hiking and doing sports
  • “Learning with nature” – being aware of the environment and its stimulus to brains, mental and physical condition

Methods Used

  • Experiential learning with running
  • Group dynamic processes, simulations and teamwork activities
  • Inputs from experts through non-formal education lectures and facilitated processes
  • Theater sketches
  • Dynamic workshops and presentations
  • Outdoor environmental work and assignments
  • Intercultural sharings, learnings and reflections
  • Learning by doing in a group setting or individual processes.

Financial Costs

  • 100% accommodation, food and program materials are covered by the grant from Erasmus+
  • 80% traveling costs (only preapproved and the most economical – no first class, no taxy, no special seats, insurances, etc) are covered. Maximum traveling costs:
    • €50/participant for UK;
    • €275/participant for Lithuania, Norway, Hungary, Spain;
    • €360/participant for Greece.
  • For traveling reimbursement, it is mandatory to keep and bring all your tickets and invoices, boarding passes and receipts (originals). Without these documents, traveling costs cannot be reimbursed.
  • £30 fee to cover participation in Belfast Marathon (either full or 1/5 of marathon)
  • Reimbursements will be given in British pounds currency on the last day of the YE.

Where

I happens in Northern Ireland:

  • Bushmills Youth Hostel
  • Belfast Youth Hostel

Space

Step in the shoes Northern Ireland. We will spend 6 nights in the Bushmills Youth Hostel and 2 nights in Belfast Youth Hostel, In the first place we will run every day in teh wilderness of North Coast of Northern Ireland and last 2 days we will spend in Belfast, where we will participate in the vibrant Belfast life

How to Get There

 

Place of arrival: Belfast airport.

We will hire a bus to take you from airport to North coast of Northern Ireland, to Bushmills Youth Hostel. Journey is approximately 50 miles and will take around 1h.

Arrival instructions:
Use skyscanner.net or azair.com to fly to Inernational Belfast Airport

Travel will be reimbursed 80%, up to the limits (see Financial costs slide)

Traveling options must be confirmed at hello@abroadship.org prior to the purchase of tickets

When to Get There

Arrival Day: 1st May

Programme: 2-8 May, in total 7 full days

Departure Day: 9 May

Allowed to stay in UK days: You are allowed to come max 4 days before the YE or leave after max 4 days after the YE, but the total amount of the days that are not part of the programme is max 4 days. If you decide to stay more than 4 days longer than the official programme, you will have to cover the traveling expenses yourself. During these extra days, you have to find your own accommodation and no other expenses are covered.

Practicals – What to Bring!

  • You will participate in either full Belfast Marathon (42.2km – 10 persons) or 1/5 of marathon (9 km – 20 persons), thus it is mandatory to bring suitable shoes, clothes and other things for running
  • It is mandatory to prepare for the marathon immediately once you are accepted to the YE
  • Read a book “Born To Run” by Christopher McDougall
  • Bring Passport or ID card
  • Health chech – it is mandatory to check with your doctor if you are allowed to run marathon or a 1/5 of marathon.
  • Insurance – this is critical! Please bring European Health Card and Insure in other ways because we do not provide and are not liable for any incidents
  • Food and traditions to represent for intercultural evenings
  • Prepare for currency exchange losses! Get Revolut card – this will save you tons on money conversions from local currencies to GBP and back
  • Bring best photo camera, video recorder you have, and of course lots of memory storage and UK electricity adapter!

Weather

In May temperature in N Ireland ranges from 10 to 14 degrees, daylight lasts about 16 hours and of course of course of course (not so) beautiful rain is a constant friend and a mandatory discussion subject in all conversations.

Check the weather forecast here.

Medicine, Allergies and Diet

If you have illness, physical limitations and/or use medicine we need to know about, please inform us. If you are vegetarian or have special diet, let us know, indicating what you can and cannot eat, so that we can arrange the suitable food.

How to Apply?

Fill this application form: https://goo.gl/forms/PBQ6TgKZs3l7t6L13

In order to apply for Step In Their Shoes project, you must be over 18 years old and a citizen of one of the partner countries.  Contact the partner organisation from the list below if you need any support.

Abroadship.org UK hello@abroadship.org
NITIN Norway nina.aarstrand@nitin.no
MeOut Hungary info@meout.org
Inovatyvi Karta Lithuania inovatyvi.karta@gmail.com
Solidarity Mission Greece training@solidaritymission.org
LaVibria Intercultural Spain info@vibria.org

Follow up

There is an option to join the next youth exchange or training course, organized by us, as a group leader. Check Abroadship.org.

Contact

For information about practical matters, accommodation or how to get to the place, please contact Abroadship.org at hello@abroadship.org