Bodykind - national piloting (with international reach)

Aims & objectives

The Bodykind project aims to "change the current practice of working with youth, which focuses on the 'body image', its visualization in the media and other communication channels, unhealthy behavior towards one's own body and inappropriate narrative of young people, as well as creating opportunities for young people to develop their self-acceptance and self-confidence". In order to reach it we have prepared eight modules, thematic areas, on which we want to work during the next year and a half, in order to start opening the eyes not only of the young people for whom they are intended, but also of their teachers, educators, trainers and leaders of leisure activities, because they are the ones they become their models and can support and stimulate them in some way.

Target group & international/intercultural composition of the group & team

This part of the training was a national piloting of prepared activities for young people to see, what is the actual feedback from the age group 15 - 19 years old. We had participated people from Czech Republic, North Macedonia, Russia and Latvia.

Training methods used & main activities

Topics are about what body image is, my identity, my self-esteem, the media and the construct of the ideal body, positive and negative stereotypes, natural movement and self-care, bullying based on appearance, the body as protest. We selected several activities from each module, which we tried in practice with a group of twenty young people at the Sluňákov Ecological Center. Some parts were more for reflection, others for discussion in pairs or small groups, others creative and of course others were also movement.

Outcomes of the activity

Together, they gave a colorful mosaic of what we think is important to know when thinking about one's own body, how to talk about it, perceive it in relation to others and know the pitfalls of the online world. But even so, it is clear to us that we have forgotten a lot of areas, or did not feel like opening them up with my colleague Ilona, even though we perceive that they are also needed - well-being, sports, mental health, eating disorders.

Your tasks and responsibilities within the team

I was one of two trainers responsible for the carrying out the whole training, as well as I was responsible for finding a venue for a public event Nakoukni do Erasmus+, that we held simultanously on 5th April 2023 in Olomouc.

I worked on this training for 3 days as a full time trainer.