ESC: Outdoor education and nature

Outward Bound Croatia is a member of Outward Bound International whose experiential educational programs are recognized in over 30 countries around the world as a valuable enrichment of the formal school system. The main field of activity is organization and implementation of innovative outdoor education programs for school children and youth. Although our target group is generally school children and youth, we lay special concern on including youth with fewer opportunities, like children from struggling families, youth with behavioral problems or at risk of developing behavioral problems, youth from rural and underdeveloped regions, youth facing post-war reconciliation difficulties etc. in our activities. Programs include courses in nature, teaching various technical skills and sports, learning how to overcome physical and mental challenges and result in building self-esteem and discovering one's own full capacities, which can later be transferred to everyday life. Our mission is to encourage young people to discover and develop their potential and create a better world for themselves and their communities through challenging experiences in unfamiliar settings. Special attention is also given to social and environmental responsibility and the impact of one's actions on the group and society as a whole. We teach and work by the following values: compassion, integrity, co-operation, trust and courage. Learning through experience, challenge and adventure in a supportive environment are the principles we use to design and deliver programs with targeted outcomes like character development, leadership and service. We organize training courses, youth exchanges and volunteering projects for youth supported by the Erasmus+ and previously by the EVS and Youth in Action program. Our members are regularly attending youth projects as trainers or participants and our staff regularly attends additional professional education programs connected to their field of work. We are constantly developing youth projects with partner youth organizations across Europe and wider. We include international and local volunteers through international volunteering programs (EVS and Erasmus+ volunteering so far, and starting with European Solidarity Corps) and our local volunteer program.