“Connectivity” in Netherlands

Connectivity it’s a project which started to be impelented during Covid-19 period and has passed through various phases. As the 4th and last training is coming, it’s useful to remember how all these started and what happened among those trainings. For that reason, this time we will talk about the second training that was took place in Ommen, Netherlands. In an almost post-COVID Europe people try to continue live as before. so participants from Netherlands, Portugal, France, Italy, Croatia, Bulgaria and Greece reunited in the second training after almost one year in order to implement the tools they created during the first meeting, which aims in developing skills and increasing the employability of the adults through educational outdoor activities while using non-formal education methods.  This meeting was different from the previous one. During the first meeting the participants had to learn about the tools in order to understand how they work. However, in the second meeting the participants went camping for six days and had to put into practice what they had learned. During their stay in Ommen they faced many challenges. Unexpected weather, communal cooking and cleaning, gathering wood for the fire, shopping for covering the basic needs, organizing and facilitating workshops and activities were some of the challenges that urged them to adapt constantly and encouraged them to come up with innovative solutions.

During the week of the project, the participants had the opportunity to put in practice the Impact Tool, which was formed throughout the last meeting and learn more about a new method, Kolb’s theory of experiential learning. To understand ever better the tools, participants organized and facilitated activities based on what they have learned. However, this time, implementing the tools and putting in practice their knowledge was not so easy. The participants did not have any equipment while in the woods, so they had to come up with innovating ways of executing their activities.  Furthermore, the goal of the second meeting was to increase employability through outdoor activities and at the same time develop and improve the hard and the soft skills of those who participated. To achieve that result, participants often made their activities more challenging, (e.g. playing tennis with only one hand), so as to encourage the collaboration and communication among the participants and help them evolve their skills.

The second meeting, while being very challenging, was an opportunity for everyone to get out of their comfort zone and adapt into a difficult situation. It required innovative thinking, problem solving skills and teamwork. Everyone involved had the opportunity to use the tools and experiment with activities with the aim of creating an impact.

Konstantina Polimenopoulou