This was a project that equipped young people with the skills and tools to be able to speak out, cultivate their attitude and actively contribute to regenerative development on a social and ecological level.
Objectives
Given the social problem of low youth participation in the social and civic sphere (and the effect of social exclusion), we have defined several objectives for this project:
GENERAL
- Developing activities for young people's participation in society with a view to their empowerment and social inclusion.
SPECIFIC
- Fostering the development of key and green skills in young people with a view to activating them to solve community and social challenges
- Involving young people in the processes of change and social and civic decision-making
- Training young people to deal with the problems and issues of regenerative development
- Involving young people in the community, social and civic sphere and connecting young people with each other to foster collaboration and peer help
- Promote moments of appreciation and recognition of individual value and potential in the construction of a solidary and inclusive whole.
Main Activities
1) Training Community Animators
In the following phases:
(a) DISCOVER: Brainstorming - identifying needs, questioning and reflecting with young people on current problems within the thematic logic of the project;
(b) LEARN: training in animation and leadership - Training for action for young people, so that they develop key and green skills and gain knowledge about how to intervene with young people, how to lead, how to facilitate and manage groups, including situations of fewer opportunities;
(c ) DO: training and work context - opportunity to
working as part of the AND team, in summer camps and with young people belonging to the "Regeneration Agents" group;
(d) SHARING: evaluative reflection - final moment for reflection and evaluation of the entire learning process) and final event - event open to the community to share results, disseminate and create networks for exploration)
(f) MONITORING AND MENTORING - ongoing process of support for young people by the project team and associated partners.
2) Training Regeneration Agents
Training Regeneration Agents: follows the logic of the previous one. The "learning" and "doing" are aimed at empowering and exploring young people's ideas and projects, in order to activate their social and civic participation in solving common challenges and in the sphere of environmental sustainability and regeneration.
3) Community Capacity Building Workshops
Transfer of knowledge about the concepts, challenges and actions necessary for the social and civic participation of communities in initiatives/dynamics aimed at solving common problems.
Community Animators
An opportunity to train young people with tools for leadership and group facilitation, which included an 8-day residential mobility action, as well as a variety of training opportunities in a practical context and individualized accompaniment and mentoring of the learning path of new COMMUNITY ANIMATORS.
Discover
At an early stage, collaborative actions were held to look at the project's themes and possible directions.
Learning
A mobility action that welcomed more than 20 participants over 8 days, in a residential experience focused on training in tools and group facilitation, ecosystem restoration and youth leadership.
A mobility action that welcomed more than 20 participants over 8 days, in a residential experience focused on training in tools and group facilitation, ecosystem restoration and youth leadership.
WHAT MARKED THE PARTICIPANTS IN THIS EXPERIENCE
It was much more like summer camp than I expected, with lots of fun activities and team-building games.
The experience that most marked me was the interaction I had with the OTL children. Although being in charge of these children is a big responsibility, I felt immense freedom when I was surrounded by them. A freedom to express myself without being judged. What's more, I felt that this training really helped my expression/communication and taught me not to be afraid to do it.
The New Discoveries Training is in itself a unique and holistic experience. I think what struck me most was precisely the breadth and interdisciplinary encounter of this training and the multidimensional awareness of the human being, brought to each individual and situation, with the aim of truly integrating socio-ecological regeneration.
Do
PRACTICAL TRAINING
Participants were given the opportunity to apply the techniques learned in practice, including taking part in different AND actions during the spring and summer (school programs, summer camps).
In order to consolidate their learning and participate in the construction of the program of activities for the mobility action REGENERATION AGENTS, some of the participants took part in the experience of a learning community throughout the month of October. During this time, a collective action plan was created, which included various activities focused on creating tools and dynamics for the preparation of spaces, activities and community events. From this phase emerged:
1) New aromatic plant beds and a range of activities on medicinal plants; includes creation of the concept D'AQUI TeasThis was followed by activities with an information point and the preparation of natural teas with medicinal plants grown in our school grounds.
2) Activity creation TRAIL of interpretation of the ecosystem that surrounds us; to be developed for hiking activities with children and young people.
3) a PEOPLE'S LIBRARYThis action was inspired by Ronni Abergel's work with the Human Library, a learning platform that aims to improve our understanding of diversity in order to help create more inclusive and cohesive communities, taking into account cultural, religious, social and ethnic differences.
4) a COMMUNITY learning New Discoveriesand the study of a prototype for the creation of an online space for creating and sharing content and resources with Community Animators and Regeneration Agents, partners and participants in this collective learning.
5) creation of a BOOKLET and prototype documents for the development of communication material on group facilitation and animation - NEW DISCOVERIES methodology
Share
EVALUATION AND FINAL EVENT
In order to present results and boost learning, an open day was organized for the community, with a presentation of results, celebration and reflection on learning. This was a rich and dynamic day, where there was the opportunity to once again put ideas into practice and pilot prototype activities.
Regeneration Agents
In this phase of the project, the focus was on eco-social regeneration, and a group of young people (living in rural areas, and mostly children of migrants) was selected for this purpose. During this phase the Community Animators were mentored to offer activities to the new group to be trained in leadership and collaborative design for regenerative action.
The key activity of this stage was a 10-day residential training course and a final event to present the results.
Community Workshops
As part of this project, 7 workshops were facilitated for the community. These one-off actions offered diverse tools, including talks and guided tours of our space, focusing on key topics; regenerating soils, planting water, learning about biodiversity and tools for regenerative leadership and collaboration.
REFLECTIONS AND THANKS
The opportunity to give young people the chance to learn about tools and prototype ideas leads to the possibility of increased involvement in youth participation. Attentive and empowered young people can act as catalysts for change and empowerment in a generation that needs new tools.
We are grateful for the trust and the opportunity to carry out these actions, presenting ourselves as a key location for non-formal learning within our municipality and the surrounding area. In deep commitment, our teams grow with these opportunities, and thus reach more young people, children, adults and ecosystems.
MORE ABOUT THIS PROJECT
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