SPIRAL - principles for sustainable youth development rooted in nature

SPIRAL is a training course targeting personal development practitioners (trainers, youth workers, social workers, mentors, school teachers and councillors). The main intention of the project is to equip the participants with successful tools and methods to support the individual development of the young people. The training is based on the belief that the modern youth have much more developmental needs compared to one that are covered by the educational system (school and university). This extra needs are not just improperly addressed, but the deficits in their addressing leads to many of the modern society behavioural, psychological and health deviations (ADHD, social exclusion, mental health issues, violent radicalization, psycho-somatic symptoms, special educational needs etc.)

Some of these poorly addressed developmental needs are: Need for well-being (need for inner peace, mindfulness, inspiration, joy, happiness, balance); Need for belonging (need to be included, to be accepted, to be appreciated, to be respected, to be supported, to be recognized, to be trusted); Need for meaningful connection (need to communicate, to offer compassion, to receive empathy, to cooperate, to enjoy closeness and intimacy); Need for confidence (need to feel that you are worthwhile, to feel pride, to show self-love, self-acceptance, to be courageous); Need for authenticity (need for integrity, to be true to oneself, to live a life based on your values, to express oneself in a genuine way, to choose freely one’s own dreams and ways to realize them, to make independent choices that reflect oneself); Need for mastery (need to develop competences, find your element, to grow, to be “in the flow”); Need for purpose (need to have a meaning, need to be motivated, to create, to offer, to rise spirituality). What these needs have in common is that they are not well covered not just in the educational system but they are neglected in the society at all. There is lack of effective tools and practices available for facilitating natural development in these spheres for the youth. What we offer in this training are innovative way and methods to address these developmental needs. The approach combines nature-based methods, mindfulness practices, developmental psychology and somatic practices.

The abbreviation SPIRAL stands for the basic principles that unite the methods included in the Integral approach: Spiritual development/ Positive worldview/ Interconnection with all natural beings/ Resilience/ Active role in the community/ Life purpose identification.

TRAINING OBJECTIVES:

• To develop common understanding about the developmental needs of young people focusing on disadvantaged one (NEET, marginalized, hard to reach, in a risk of radicalization);
• To develop competences that enable youth workers to work with youth on complex personal challenges, thus enabling them to reach their full potential;
• To practice and equip the youth workers with tools and techniques for working with youth (especially disadvantaged one) for their personal development, social inclusion and realization;
• To explore alternative practices for addressing developmental needs of disadvantaged youth;
• To create environment for development of social core values which youth workers can foster with their target groups: compassion, support, unity, respect, empathy, inclusion, acceptance;
• To empower youth workers to adopt and create their own practices based on personal strengths, talents and preferences in the field of personal development.

TOPICS OF THE COURSE

Self-discovery and resourcefulness - understanding about ourselves and supporting others’ self-development process; Physical exercises – practices based on yoga and other traditions that can be implemented in everyday life; Meditation and mindfulness – tools for focus and balance of attention, emotions and consciousness; Outdoor creativity and nature – connecting with the self, nature, other people, the outside world, organize open air learning and creativity activities; Dance and movement – embodiment as a method for deepening connection to oneself and provoking kinaesthetic learning experiences; Singing and using the voice – experimenting with our natural ability to communicate and connect to the nature (inner and outer) through the very first mean of communication.

PROGRAMME ELEMENTS

• Working with values
• Nature based methods
• Experiential learning
• Methods for self-development
• Workshops development and delivery
• Solo time in nature
• Land art
• Living as a community (cleaning, cooking etc.)