Back to search

Future Starts Today

2021-1-BE05-KA153-YOU-0000116532021Mobility of youth workersongoing
Countries: BE|LV|CZ|PL|NO|SE|MT|EL · Grant: €23,991
Physical and mental health, well-beingGreen skillsNew learning and teaching methods and approaches

Objectives

The modern era of globalization brings us not only to the positive effects of the multiculturality and access to new techniques and opportunities, but also to the world ruled by machines, non-alive objects and advertising. Besides, while there are disasters, wars and people starving in one part of the world, others exist in ignorance, where supply is much more than demand, people buy things without thinking, how much do they actually need and overconsumption is blossoming. A lot of modern European young people spend their days among computers and machines: ones are studying and working, others may be school drop outs and play computer games, but both are machine- and internet-dependent. It is common to speak about the political propaganda by mass media, but we get used and ok with the fact that media and advertising decides over us in everyday small issues – what to buy, to eat, to do, how much to buy, how to look etc. Now, even more, because of COVID-19 pandemia young people are locked home pressed to have the only communication only through digital tools. The quality time with nature, real, physical communication with relatives, friends disappears, not even speaking about quality time for ourselves. The personality gets lost behind the mask of fashion and new routines. Young people trying to manage with all the technical progress and to follow the trends, loose their inner selves. The result is low self-esteem, depression, stress. These are the problems of both young people and adults. To show the right way to young people and to help to get out of this net, the youth workers have to find out the ways to them selves first. Therefore the aim of the training course for youth workers “Future starts Today” is to reconsider the tendency to overconsumption and to appreciate the sustainable values of quality time with people, nature and inner selves through pilgrimage type hiking. We believe that after training these skills the youth workers will be enlightened and competently prepared to positively influence young people. The objectives are: -to raise awareness on people’s dependency on things and overconsumption and try to survive with the needed minimum in practice; -to demonstrate the value of spending quality time with nature, other people and with ourselves; -to practice sustainable thinking and care about others; -to train responsible use of machines and digital tools; -to survive a physical challenge of walking a pilgrimage type path of ca 90 km; -to combat stress and depression and to help to raise the self-esteem of participants; -to let the participants find the peaceful way to their inner selves; -summarising all the objectives above for the main purpose of the youth workers' TC - to inspire and equip the youth workers with necessary peace-building skills and competences for being ready to share them with the young people through various follow-up initiatives.

Project partners (8)