EOE, Biegenstr. 40, 35037 Marburg/Germany, Tel: 0049-(0)6421-6853314, Fax: 0049-(0)6421-6853322, e-mail: kontakt@bsj-marburg.de, website: http://www.eoe-network.org

not only just in time before the current year ends, but also after we have carried through the European Congress, which was very well organized by Anders Szczepanski and Ture Göransson, we want to inform you about the latest developments, which took place in the context of our institutional work.

The contributions and discussions of the congress have confirmed once more the immense variety of methods and activities of Adventure and Experiential Learning. The 4 days in the wonderful landscape of Rimforsa have also prooved again that schools have a huge need for „Other Ways of Learning", since the societal conditions of growing up have changed so rapidly. Although on the level of administration the authorities of education have not yet realized the urgent need for a different type of learning, many schools have already begun to introduce – if only hesitatingly – the methods of experiential learning. This development is a practical confirmation that our methods and activities can compete with the rigid forms of learning.

Since we probably will have no other contact in this year the board already now sends you seasonal greetings although it is rather early.

The board

This Congress was the successful culmination of a partnership between the Centre of Outdoor and Environmental Education, Linkoping University, Sweden (CMU) and the European Institute. At the Edinburgh Congress in 1998, Anders Szczepanski, head of CMU and his colleagues, agreed to take on the difficult task of arranging the Congress in Linkoping/Rimforsa. Early this year Ture Goransson took on the organisation of the Congress.

Ninety people from fourteen countries came together to spend five days involved in interesting and worthwhile ways of learning based at the beautiful site Storgarden located on the shore of lake Asunden. The Congress opened at Linkoping University with welcomes from Lena Burlin, vice-chair of Linkoping City Council and Goran Farm, Member of the European Parliament. Following a number of interesting lectures the participants were given the opportunity for experiential learning with lecturers from the University departments of arts, crafts and design. A strong wind did not prevent the participants from being thoroughly engaged in drama or building sculptors from natural materials.

Sunday provided opportunities for participants to choose from a number of lectures and workshops concerned with outdoor education and schools. These included ‘liberal education and the outdoors’, ‘learning in the context of landscape’, ‘the ambivalent sense of place’, ‘outdoor education in relation to leadership and group process’, ‘friluftsliv’ and ‘memorable experiences for the mentally disabled’. Much enjoyment and new ideas were gained in the workshops that were held in the grounds around the site or further afield. In the early evening, communal cray-fishing from canoes and the pier gathered just 12 cray-fish. The day was rounded up with an excellent barbecue party.

Monday was focused upon Reading the Landscape. There were opportunities to attend initial lectures on ‘Folklore’, ‘Place-names in cultural landscape’, ‘Back to stone age roots’ and ‘Nature and design’. From mid-morning outdoor workshops based on the initial lectures were enjoyed by all. The local TV news recorded the bonfire and folklore talk by the distinguished folklorist Ebbe Schon. In the evening an interesting lecture was given by Professor Juha Suoranta on cyborgs.

The focus of Tuesday was youth and schoolwork and outdoor education. The parallel themes in the morning were gender and drugs. In the afternoon the parallel sessions were unemployment and violence. Lecturers and workshop facilitators came from Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Norway and UK. These did much to emphasise the partnership between school and youth work in meeting the needs of young people through outdoor adventure education. An excellent communal crayfish dinner was thoroughly enjoyed by all. The three women folk singers were highly professional and extremely entertaining.The close of Congress featured a concluding lecture and a finalising workshop.There then followed the European Institute’s AGM. During the afternoon a few remaining people had a relaxing sight seeing boat trip on the Lake.

From October, 4^th-8^th 2001 the EOE organizes its next conference (or better working-meeting) in Marburg / Germany under the title: „Outdoor Adventure Education and Experiential Learning in European Exchange Projects". The main conceptional ideas of the meeting are the following:

• give colleagues who use elements/methods of Outdoor Adventure Education and Experiential Learning in european contextes especially those, who work with disadvantaged youth, the possibility to exchange information and to realize networking

• analyse ressources of adventure based activities and methods of experiential learning concerning processes of intercultural learning

• discuss standards of quality and the development of concepts for the practice

At the end of the conference cooperations, exchange programmes, joint projects or innovative networks should be established. We particularly address to collegues who work in youth welfare organisations or in further / higher education and training courses from european countries.

The conference includes keynotes, theoretical and practical workshops. Central point will be the theoretical workshops: for two days participants should work together with collegues in their field of interest (e.g. immigrants, social exclusion, handicapped, prevention, sustainability, training, gender, education...). After a theoretical input of an expert they should all be actively involved in exchanging their experiences with the utilisation of outdoor activities in intercultural contextes and afterwards in developing a joint project that should be realized in 2002.

This year, the general annual meeting took place september, 14th 2000 in Rimforsa, Sweden directly after the 4th Eurocongress. First of all, the chair Peter Becker gave a report on the work of the board. Between march `99 and september `00 the board met 4 times. Some discussion points have been the following:

• The board discussed and prepared the 4th Eurocongress as well as most board members represented the EOE at other conferences by organising or contributing.

• The board agreed to a partnership with an portugese organisation which works in the field of integrating disadvantaged people in the labour market or into schools. They want EOE to consult them on designing training modules for outdoor education. The board is optimistic to receive a positive decision of the application in Brussel.

• The website needs to be improved and updated regularly. The board discussed many important changes and a new proposal of Dorin Festeu. E.g.:To realize the idea of networking and to get the possibility to make international contacts, there will be a new link to display members organisations and addresses.

After the report and the exonoration of the board, members elected a new board.

All board members - except Jan Neuman who stepped down – are reelected: Prof. Dr. Günter Amesberger (Austria), Prof. Dr. Peter Becker (Germany), Steve Bowles (Finland), Dr. Peter Higgins (UK), Dr. Barbara Humberstone (UK), Bart Keus (Netherlands) and Jochem Schirp (Germany). They all thank the members for their confidence in their work and wish a successfull new election period.

From now on in each issue of our Newsletter we want to give members the opportunity shortly to present their organisation. If you are interested to publish an abstract of your work, please contact Carla Sack kontakt@bsj-marburg.de

TRAP is a netherland organisation which was founded in 1995. TRAP addresses to young persons who have a lot of psychosocial difficulties in their process of growing up. Especially those young persons are the target group of TRAP who are not anymore involved in any institutions of the social welfare services.

Based on year long practical experiences with this target group, founders of TRAP developed several programmes with the aim to activate the young persons in becoming more self-acting. As most of the young persons do not have an idea of their future and can only be motivated through their own interests, all programmes start with practical working projects. Experiential learning and adventure based methods are part of the concept. To live and to work together in an unknown and adventurous surrounding is the central point of the projects. It gives the young persons the possibility to overcome old patterns and habitual models of behaviour and ways of acting.

Therefore the first of the three parts program takes place in Czech Republic. For 3-5 months the young persons live there and work either at a camping site or in a pension. TRAP also plans to start a farm-project there.

The daily work plays a central role in the program. Work gives time a structure and organises the lapse of the day. Besides, the social and individual value of work can be experienced directly because the meaning as well as success and failure of work is obvious. This gives the young persons the opportunity to reflect and discuss their identity.

During their stay the social workers organise from time to time walking-, skiing- or canoe-tours. Purpose of these tours is to find out together with the young persons the reasons and the expectations for their stay. The experiences show, that although the program is absolutely voluntary for the young persons, they often get the feeling of being sent on it.

After 3-5 months in Czech Republic the second part of the program is back in the Netherlands. The young persons live for a while in a home and exercise the confrontation with their social surrounding. They realize that they changed a lot but not reality in the Netherlands.

In the third and last part of the program the young persons live again with their families but they still stay in contact to the TRAP pedagogues for a while.

If you are interested in more details of this organisation, please contact:

Bart Keus

Postbus 570

6500 AN Nijmegen

Netherlands

e-mail: trap1ned@worldonline.nl

Malmi Group started as a project (Malmi Project) 1995 - 1998. It was initiated by North eastern cervices Social Centre, by local youth centre and by youth work of Malmi church. The project continues as a permanent service of social office with name Malmi Group.

Our aim is to develop supportive working methods and to start early prevention of exclusion.

At Malmi our target group are those children and young people between 8 – 16 years of age who are in danger of exclusion. The definitions about our clients are made by social workers of child protection and the work is based on children protection law .

Our programs help to avoid social risks, drug use, crimes and truancy from school.

We find our youth/children at risk through a network of social office, youth office, church youth workers, schools and police who work in Malmi district.

Our work goes in three different levels:

1. Field work and individual support. On street level where we observe and react fast if some drug abuse or violent act threats youngsters community. We can support individual and his environment by giving statement about under aged person threatening lifestyle or action in to childcare socialworker.
2. Clubs and groups where action is stimulating, well guided, long termed and fun helps us to reach our customers. Social pedagogic idea is that by giving our customers alternatives to their free time they can feel themselves to be socially normal and equivalent to other of their age children/youngsters.
3. Adventure education promotes social interaction, is supportive, holistic and technically well build. We use Adventure education as experimental therapy. Basic idea is that people chance when they have experienced themselves acting differently in a new situation that is socially pleasant. The experience can be transferred in to normal life.

There has been among eighty children/youngsters been involved in our programs. 90 % of them figured out in to normal life with studies or regular job.

If you are interested in more details of this organisation, please contact

Jari Kujala

North eastern cervices Social Centre

Ala-Malmintori 2

00700 Helsinki

Finland

e-mail: jari@malmi.pp.fi

As you perhaps remember we attached to the first issue of our Newsletter a questionnaire with the aim to obtain first hand information from you as members of EOE.

Even if the amount of answers has not been as complete as we had hoped we received some interesting replies, important hints and remarks. We apologize for the fact that we did not have sufficient capacities to take care of members and their interests in the past. As we have been able to staff the Institute this year, we hope to improve and keep the contact more intensively. The EOE is a young and still developing organisation, therefore we are particularly open for your ideas and activities!

EOE has now 263 (not only european) members, which still come mainly from northern-, western- and middle-european countries. But we fortunately notice an increasing number of south- and east-european members. The replies show a broad scope of working fields: academics with various research subjects, youth-, social-workers, outdoor trainers, management-trainers, consultants, students....

Main interests and expectations extend from making contacts and networking to developing experiential learning, exchanging ideas and working practices, information about research results and international projects in the field, publishing articles and skill training. We hope to enhance the support of these needs. The imminent change of the website will be one first step.

We are very glad to hear that some members could realize with the help of EOE to design their projects. We have also received some interesting project reports as well as articles that we hope to publish on the website. Thank you for your positive feedback concerning the Newsletter – we will edit it regularly!

The following publications are still available. If you want to obtain one of these, please contact Carla Sack: kontakt@bsj-marburg.de

P. Higgins / B. Humberstone (ed.): Celebrating Diversity – Learning by Sharing Cultural Differences (1998)

8;- EURO

European Institute for Outdoor Adventure Education and Experiential Learning (ed.): Outdoors, Adventure and Experiential Learning. A Wreath of European Concepts (1998)

8,- EURO

P. Higgins / B. Humberstone (ed.): Outdoor Education and Experiential Learning in the UK (1999)

ca. 10,- EURO

The Annual General Meeting 1998 in Edinburgh decided, not to take any membership fees, but to ask members for a donation. As the Institute does not yet have a regular financial support the money is needed to cover the costs of administrative work (Newsletter, postage, office supplies, Internet charge...).

The following was suggested:

West Europe

Organisations 45 EURO

Individuals 30 EURO

Students 15 EURO

East Europe

Organisations 25 EURO

Individuals 10 EURO

Students 5 EURO

Please send the money cash or as an eurocheque in DM by post to the address of the Institute in Marburg. You will receive a receipt at once. Thank you!