Green Games 2012

Green Games 2012 – a training course on environmental education with an experiential approach

22-30 March 2012
Pentedattilo, Italy

IYNF (International Young Naturefriends) are looking for partners for a training course on incorporating environmental education into activities. Please, read below to find out:

1. What are the aims of the project?
2. What are the themes of the project?
3. Who will participate and benefit from it?
4. Why do we organise the GreenGames?
5. Who, where, when?
6. How to become a partner of the project?

1. What are the aims of the project?
The Green Games project is a training course in the environmental field. Its aim is to support and increase international cooperation and raise environmental awareness of different youth structures in the Young Naturefriends network and associated organizations by learning, sharing and developing attractive environmental education methods.
This activity will develop the knowledge and skills of youth workers and trainers to explore non formal and experiential education methods and connect these with environmental themes. Participants will experience, learn, share and try out different methods aimed at achieving this objective.
The main target groups are active youth workers, trainers and volunteers of Young Naturefriends organisations and organizations that share the Naturefriends values, who can act as multipliers.

2. What are the themes of the project?
1. Environmental education through games in nature – it is the main theme of the project and will be addressed from different perspectives, using the inputs from experts, participants’ experience as well as self-practice at the course itself. Games work as a great educational tool and excellent space for gaining knowledge and experiences in an adventurous way. The participants will experience knowledge of combining games with learning and teaching environmental subjects.
2. Environment and sustainability –These themes will be addressed through the games and experiential activities, with the main aspect on a positive relationship with nature – and how to develop this positive relation and maintain it. Furtermore there will be a focus on how to use games as an introduction to more complex environmental topics.
3. Non-formal and experiential education – designing and applying these games needs a good knowledge of the opportunities provided by these type of education. We aim that our participants will improve their skills in this field while going through a learning process through discussing, sharing and experiencing the potential of these methods.

3. Who will participate and benefit from it?

It is aimed at participants that work with young people in- or outdoors, that want to address environmental topics while using appreciative approach to nature. The participants will be learning new skills, methods – and especially a lot of games. Participants of the training course will be inspired and motivated to combine experiential and non-formal education methods in developing a personal relationship with nature and environment in their youth work and disseminate these methods in their own organisation, equipped with tools and methods for attractive youth work concerning environmental issues and connected in both formal and informal networks and are willing to follow-up on these topics both on national and international level

4. Why do we organise the GreenGames?

In the Naturefriends’ movement most of the member organisations and local groups are carrying out their activities in nature, but for many of them it is merely used as a basic resource Yet, nature has an articulated added value in the educational dimension. With this workshop we would like to foster the knowledge and exchange experiences between the different level of experiences existing with the movement and beyond. In this way we would like to promote the already existing best practices of innovative and creative environmental awareness raising activities.

We want to connect and inspire active volunteers in the Naturefriends network to combine experiential and non-formal education methods to develop a relationship with nature and environment in their youth work. We provide the participants with tools and methods for attractive and effective ways of training on environmental issues. During the training courses the participants experience and exchange methods for environmental education that can be used in activities with e.g. local youth groups. The participants can bring this fresh knowledge and skills to their own organisation to motivate their respective target group.

We believe that IYNF has relevant experience to organize such training as we have already organized two training courses on environmental education and Green Campaigning.

5. Who, where, when?

The project will take place between 22-30 March 2012 in the beautiful setting of a remote Pentedattilo in the Reggio Calabria, Italy.

It will be hosted by unique organization "Pro-Pentedattilo no profit association", which organizes activities that study the phenomenon of mafia and explains what mafia really is while exploring the themes of legality, social and local development, citizenship and human rights. “Pro- Pentedattilo” is directly involved in restoration works of the old abandoned village of Pentedattilo and in the last 4 years the organization worked together with people with mental disabilities cultivating a field of tomatoes, aubergines and pepperoni. This cultivated field once was a property of a mafia's family and was confiscated by the police, now being a public property. The mayor of the village gave the chance to the "Consorzio Terre del Sole" an union of social cooperatives to use this field and a big house near the field to make social works and to use it for developing social projects together.
The training will be organized and ran by International Young Naturefriends (IYNF) an international organisation associating Young Naturefriends and their organisations accross Europe established in 1975. IYNF is a network of groups and organisations that cooperate together. The role of IYNF core is to facilitate the cooperation by creating links, organising meeting, providing direct support and promoting it widely. IYNF is a training and exchange organisation organising value-driven youth exchanges and capacity building activities for the benefit of its members. We do so in our core fields of outdoor programming, amateur art and environmental education. Our method is experiential and intercultural education. IYNF stands for the values of respect, equality, solidarity, sustainability and love and care for nature. We organize capacity building activities for various youth work competencies and international youth exchanges for community building. We offer content and methodical publications, continuous information flow with targeted media channels, finding partners, mentoring and support for networking projects and space for development of common projects.
6. How to become a partner of the project?

We are looking for motivated organizations that share the values of IYNF and are keen to explore the environmental education, sustainability and non-formal and experiential education through games in nature.
To become partner of the project please write to Ewa Iwaszuk, the Networking Coordinator of IYNF at ewa@iynf.org, explaining why you would like to become a project and sending signed and scanned Partnership Agreement form before the 20th of October.