BALTIC ADVENTURE 2025. Sail training and outdoor education seminar

GENERAL CONCEPT:

The seminar will take place on a sail training ship Helena in Helsinki and Finnish archipelago. It will provide an open format of community of practice laboratory, where participants are invited to co-own the space and the learning process. Participants will have a chance to share their approaches and methods in adventure, experiential and outdoor education. The whole experience will be enhanced by networking and partnership building to allow new youth project ideas to emerge. 

The process will be intertwined with the experience of learning and sailing the schooner Helena on the Finnish archipelago waters.  The seminar will fully take place on the boat ­– participants will live, sleep, eat and take part in the workshops on the boat and in local harbours' surroundings.

Although the space on board of Helena is limited, everyone will have their bed in 3-level bunk-beds, in 6 persons cabins (own sleeping-bag and towel is required). There are toilets on board, but showering will mainly take place in harbours. Participants will be prepared for and involved in different deck duties, like cooking, cleaning, sailing the boat as well as in watchkeeping shifts throughout day and night. Participants are NOT required to have any previous experience with sailing. The Helena offers sailing gear (waterproof trousers and jackets, individual life-jackets) to participants, but it is necessary to bring own comfortable outdoor clothes and shoes for sunny, windy and rainy weather.

Check out more on Helena:

• General presentation
• Walkthrough the boat

This activity is built on the study on the role of emotions in learning process, practiced through a series of six partnership building events in European Voluntary Service (2012-2017) as well as 2021 and 2023 methodological seminars. More about how do we understand the Adventure Education and our experiences: www.salto-youth.net/AdventureEducation

SEMINAR'S OBJCTIVES:

• to explore and reflect alternative environments for non-formal learning (sailing boat, marinas, outdoor, hiking, etc.);
• to experiment with a blended group learning process, where sail training and sailing duties are mixed with experiential activities proposed by participants as part of the reflection on the role of adventure and emotions in learning;
• to develop leadership and mentorship competencies, both on interpersonal and group levels through learning to learn new skills and adapting to unfamiliar conditions;
• to rise quality of European Solidarity Corps projects allowing projects’ coordinators, mentors, trainers to support volunteers' learning process better;
• to network and build partnerships for future European Solidarity Corps projects;

PARTICIPANTS and a TEAM:

The event is planned for 22 participants, involved in different roles in European Solidarity Corps (trainers, mentors, project's coordinators, etc.).

Participants profile:

• interest in Adventure Education as well as desire to share own approaches and methods;
• at least some little experience in outdoor education, to ensure readiness to experience specific conditions of a sailing adventure;
• being involved in any way in European Solidarity Corps programme;
• having a working knowledge of English, the working language of the activity;
• available to actively attend the full duration of the activity;
• open for surprising, unexpected learning situations and close community co-living conditions with limited comfort and extra duties (sailing, cooking, cleaning etc.);

The seminar will be facilitated by Sintija Lase, an experienced facilitator and organizer of sail training adventures. The sailing process on Helena will be led by the crew of 4 experienced sailors of the Sail Training Association Finland. The team will be supported by Tomasz Szopa, SALTO Eastern Europe and Caucasus.

IMPORTANT: Please remember that this seminar is based on adventure learning. The seminar will require full participation from mornings till evenings and sometimes watchkeeping in night. There will be no traditional division of 90 min. sessions, but naturally there will be breaks during the process.

There will be no possibility to do any other kind of work and we strongly suggest not to take any computers or tablets with you (also because the space on Helena is very limited). Please be open for unexpected and surprise: we are going to be out of standard hotel seminar rooms, and such context can sometimes heavily influence the process (positively and negatively). The only way to manage is to be open, mentally and practically prepared, learn from any experience and support each other in the group.

On Helena, we will cook only vegetarian meals, so if you need meat, bring it with you or hope for the choice in marinas.

Please, be also aware that the weather conditions may impact our schedule and route, therefore this will be a good chance to train your flexibility and adaptability to react in different circumstances. However, Finnish archipelago is beautiful and so is sail training on Helena!