The general aim of the project was to enhance the resilience, personal growth and critical thinking skills of young farmers by introducing them to new visions and farming methods/cultures in order to improve their skills to deal with the huge challenges in their professional (and personal) lives. More specific aims were to - enhance students' self-reliance - improve students' social skills, - familiarize students with another culture and/or language, - introduce students to another farming culture and approach with extensive experience in e.g. work-life balance, agro-ecology, crop management, climate adaptive farming, short supply chains,... - strengthen students' professional, technical knowledge and experience, - elaborate students' knowledge of (the increasing importance of) sustainable agriculture and the different cultural ways in which this is addressed. The project also aimed to enhance mutual learning and cooperation between schools of different educational systems and elaborate their international networks. Aditionnally, the partners wanted to build a sustainable cooperation with European partners in (initially) The Netherlands, France, Austria, Estiona, the Czech Republic and gradually expand it to other countries.
Agriculture increasingly faces huge complex challenges that are not limited to the regional or national level. Quite on the contrary. Professionals' resilience and adaptive qualities are influenced by European policy measures and global changes. Professional and cultural exchange clearly prove to be an important lever to deal with the global challenges and changes the sector is confronted with. Research reveals nevertheless that future farmers and horticulturists hardly leave their immediate - and sometimes closed - context and environment. Lack of time, social marginalisation and economic limitations are the main constraints. To address these challenges, Groene Kring's project Green Students Abroad addresses aims to - enable students in technical and vocational to gain practical, professional experience and knowledge and achieve personal growth in a different, cultural context, - build a sustainable cooperation between schools from different educational systems whose knowledge and experience is complementary and induces mutual learning and increases professionalism, - strengthen the cooperation with foreign partners: including organisations such as Groene Kring who work for and with young farmers; professionals and schools.