Daniela Vasileva:
“The Great Outdoors” was held in Aberfoyle, STIRLING from 14 October to 21 October 2018. The project was funded by the Erasmus + programme of the European Commission.
The participants, who were from Bulgaria, Austria, Finland, Germany, Italy and the UK shared knowledge, experience and ideas using a non-formal style of education.
Objectives of the project were:
Every day started with an energizer to boost the productivity and motivation of the participants. Usually it was a game or a fun activity and it also had the effect of breaking the ice.
After everyone was wide awake, it was time for the first workshop of the day. In the first days it was about getting to know each other, learning each other’s names and creating a relaxed atmosphere. The first evening was a welcome evening and the following day we had intercultural evening where everyone presented typical foods and drinks that they had brought from their country. The participants showed interesting presentations of participating countries, their culture, music and dances. We also didn’t forget about the karaoke night.
The Hosting Organization "Momentum World" together with "Active Bulgarian Society" gave opportunity to the participants to reflect on the topic of The Great Outdoors through interactive activities summarizing the outcomes.
Furthermore, workshops gave participants the professionalism to develop themselves and last, but not least, smartphone videos and interviews of young people were implemented regarding our main topic.
In conclusion, it has been an awesome experience for everybody. The participants learnt a lot, made many new friends and had a lot of fun. I am confident that we will continue to promote the idea of The Great Outdoors!
Kristian Spasov:
This wasn’t my first project with the Erasmus+ program and I have had my fair share of experiences, so you can say I considered myself prepared for what would come at me. It turned out that I was wrong, because it exceeded all my expectations. “The Great Outdoors” is not like any other project. We had a lot of work to do from the first day, but it was organized so well, that it was all fun and everyone was excited to take part in the different activities at any time. Along with the rest of the Bulgarian team, we were gathered with people from Finland and Italy. I was very happy to meet every single one of them and hear all the different things and stories they had to say.
As I said, this was one of the best projects I have participated in terms of organization. Admiration for the preparations that were done and that the organizers take this project to heart. They even bought lots of devices which were specifically connected to the process of work, many of which even I hadn’t seen before. You can certainly say that I learned a lot and I am grateful for that!
Another important part of the project is the fact that I got to learn more about the distant culture of the Finnish people and that of our not so distant warm Italians. Both teams lived up to the expectations of being cool people, with various interests, who brought so much to the table.
What makes this similar to the previous projects I took part in is that it brought me lots of fun, new knowledge and excitement. I found many new friends and experienced so many moments of joy. They changed my life. Deciding to start going on Erasmus projects has been one of the best decisions in my life and although I found about them just this year, this is just the beginning.
Ilina Stoynova:
Hard work, interesting people, outdoor activities, walks, presentations, short movie directing, shooting footage, building shelters and bird boxes, international culture night, traditional Scottish food and dances, award presentations, parties, good conversations and many fun moments. If you ask me what I got from this project, those things are the summary of one wonderful week in Scotland.
The project “The Great Outdoors” gave me so much more than I expected. Unlike many other projects I have been to, this project gave me knowledge that I can use in my everyday life. The activities and the people will stay in my memories forever because it was incredible experience for me. I learned how to make a short movie in which I can share my story with everyone else. Every day we had interesting presentations about many different ways people can get recognized for their achievements and skills. Before this project I did not know that the world is so opened for informal education and it is so highly recognized in many universities and others. It is good forte young people to know that the formal education they get in school is not enough and they should get involved in more projects like this one.
However, even a great project like “The Great Outdoors” will not be that good without the awesome people who got involved in it. There were people of many ages and that gave so much more to the whole process. Everyone was interested in different things but that did not stop them to engage with the program and have fun. I met people from Italy, Finland, and The United Kingdom and I really had the chance to get to know their cultures and traditions. I made friendships for life and even improved myself in so many aspects. It was a life changing experience for me and I am so glad I had the chance to take part in this adventure. I am looking forward to share all my knowledge I gained from this project with the world.
Boryana Neykova:
Какво си мисли в самолета човек, който отива за първи път на Еразъм + проект? Освен дали е изключил котлоните.
Мислиш си, че нямаш никаква идея къде отиваш и с какво се захващаш. И си напълно прав. Чудиш се какви ще са условията, какво ще се очаква от теб, взел ли си подходящи обувки, ще става ли за ядене храната, ами хората – ако са киселяци? Добре, че вече си в самолета, защото колкото повече го мислиш, толкова повече върви на отказване (като с всяко нещо).
Пристигаш. Едно мигване и ето те пак в самолета. Чудиш се как е възможно от утре да се върнеш към обичайния си начин на живот. Оказва се, че нито си забелязал какви са условията, нито какво е имало за ядене, изобщо не ти е пукало с какво си облечен... наистина ли всичко това ти се случи за една седмица?! Струва ти се, че познаваш хората, с които сте били на този проект, от години, че си научил цял един нов език, че традиционните ястия, музика и навици на поне 4 държави са ти така близки, като че половината ти рода е от там. И изтръпваш при мисълта, че си имал колебания дали да се запишеш. Защото този човек, който се вози в самолета на връщане не е онзи, отпреди една седмица – и това не може да се сравни с нищо.
Ето част от нещата, които ми се случиха за първи път, благодарение на проекта “The Great Outdoors” в Шотландия:
Ralitsa Bogdanova:
"This October I took part in the "Great Outdoor Project". It is an Erasmus + project organized by Momentum World. It took place in Aberfoyle, Scotland in the beautiful Dounans Outdoor Centre. This project was about learning outdoors and a learning a new way of documenting and sharing.
There were participants from different countries. To get to know each other's cultures better we had intercultural evening. Sometimes communication was a bit challenging, but learning how to improve your communication and language skills is one of the main objectives of Erasmus+ program.
We were involved in various outdoor activities. We had some orientation lessons, climbing activities, we learnt how to build a shelter and how to make bird boxes ( learning by doing). We talked about the importance of protecting the environment and how to use the outdoors as a learning setting. During the training we also learnt some basic rules about film making. As a result we created some short promotional videos.
We went for a day hike in the mountains and had a boat trip to Loch Lomond. That was a great chance to explore the beauties of the Scottish nature. We also spend a day in Glasgow, where we took part in traditional dance called Ceilidh.
We learnt about John Muir Award and Duke of Edinburgh Award. It’s an environmental award scheme for people of all backgrounds – groups, families, individuals.
This project was an amazing experience and I am grateful that I had the chance to be part of it. I gained a lot of new skills and knowledge, but the most valuable part for me was having the chance to communicate and get to know people from different countries, cultures and backgrounds. We exchanged knowledge and experience and we made friendships for life.
I would recommend every young person to take part and benefit from such project.
