Celebrating Human Difference

Aims & objectives

The aim of the project was to equip youth workers from programme and partner countries with methods and practical tools for broadening access to outdoor learning, in particular to include differently-abled participants in outdoor learning.
The project set itself the following objectives:
– To provide participants with the foundations of the principles of experiential education (Kolb cycle; action, reflect transfer)
– To teach participants simple outdoor games and provide them with the opportunity to develop their own outdoor games
– To show participants how to constructively give and receive feedback, how to front-load and debrief sessions, and how to integrate active feedback methods into their outdoor education facilitation
– To provide experience of an outdoor expedition and advice on how to organise outdoor activities
– To create an environment of peer learning where youth workers from programme and partner countries can exchange best practice 
– To facilitate the personal development of participants through enabling them to step outside their comfort zone and explore ways of learning how to learn.
– To increase the capacities and international dimension of the partners and enable them to offer services that better respond to the needs of their target groups.
– To lay the foundations – in terms of knowledge, expertise, and international networks – for organising further follow-up projects, such as international youth exchanges with outdoor educational elements, which promote social integration and inclusion.

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

Multilateral Erasmus Training Course with Programme and Partner Countries:
- Germany
- Greece
- Poland
- Belarus
- Ireland
- Latvia
- Sweden

Training methods used & main activities

All the working methods applied during the project were based on the principles of non-formal education, stemming from the assumption that the best learning outcomes are acquired through participants’ engagement in the process. The involvement of participants in all the project parts ensured that they made the best possible use of the competences that they already have. The activities planned during the project included outdoor and indoor dynamic games, exercises, group and individual reflection on the theoretical input, sharing best practices, methods and tools with each other and designing outdoor education follow-ups and dissemination events.

Outcomes of the activity

Participants improved competences linked to their professional profiles, learned new approaches and methodologies of Outdoor Education that are suitable for use in educational and social work with marginalised or disadvantaged youth and differently abled youngsters. Through developing their personal and social competences, participants gained a better understanding of themselves, their patterns of behaviour, biases, thoughts and emotions, and values they wish to convey through their professional work. Participants developed:
– self-awarenes and self-confidence, public speaking and presentational skills
– intercultural awareness and the importance of inclusion and integration in youth work
– leadership qualities and sense of initiative
– communication, cooperation, teamwork, time-management and organizational skills
– problem-solving skills
– competences in risk assessment
– giving and receiving feedback
– methods of facilitation in Outdoor Education applicable to diverse target groups
– media literacy and digital skills
– international networks and new professional contacts

Your tasks and responsibilities within the team

Organiser and trainer

I worked on this training for 5 days as a full time trainer.