We are delighted to start the year by sharing with you the results of our flagship project of 2023: “Greening International Youth Mobilities” training course.

This learning experience took place from 2nd-8th October 2023 in a traditional rural house in the beautiful valley of Valdediós (“valley of Gods”) in Asturias, Spain. The aim was for youth mobility project organisers to learn how to reduce the negative environmental impact of international youth mobilities (training courses, youth exchanges, summer camps, study visits…).

The week was intense and the activities diverse. We used collective intelligence, group work, nature immersions, open space, individual and group reflections, and many other non-formal learning methods to navigate across the learning plan.

We experienced some activities from the Work that Reconnects and Dragon Dreaming, as well as a Vision Quest, and we worked with the Systems Thinking iceberg.



After the training, we asked participants for their opinion regarding the degree of accomplishment of the project objectives. This was the result:

– 1st objective: To train youth mobility project organisers on ways to decrease the negative environmental impact of youth mobilities.

53% of participants voted 5/5 and 47% voted 4/5.

This means that 100% of participants think that this objective was well accomplished.

– 2nd objective: To explore further ways in which to have a positive impact on the environment through a youth mobility project. Exactly the same as in the previous objective, with 100% of participants thinking that this objective was well accomplished.

– 3rd objective: To connect project organisers with an interest in greening their practices, and foster their cooperation and ideas sharing.

73% of participants voted 5/5 and 27% voted 4/5.

Again 100% of participants think that this objective was well accomplished.

– 4th objective: To support participants in their inner journey of finding personal motivations and commitment to sustainable project implementation.

60% of participants voted 5/5, 27% voted 4/4, and 13% 3/5.

87% of participants think that this objective was well accomplished, and 13% that it was sufficiently accomplished.

– 5th objective: To provide experiential learning of different methodologies conducting to a deeper understanding of the importance of ecologically conscious projects.

60% of participants voted 5/5, 33% voted 4/4, and 7% 3/5.

93% of participants think that this objective was well accomplished, and 7% that it was sufficiently accomplished.

The most remembered activities 10 days after the training were:

– The first-hand approach of working with a budget, working with a project concept, and developing it;

– The systems thinking iceberg;

– Dragon Dreaming project management methodology;

– The outdoor exploration;

– Community care.

The main learnings that participants will apply in their work are:

– «Taking into consideration the environmental aspects that we discussed»,

– «Identifying the base of the ice-berg to adapt and implement my ideas and changes there»,

– «The methodologies used during this training»,

– «To think about sustainability already from the project planning stage»,

– «All the green practices, the green travel policy, the sustainable food by example, several methodologies».

Go to Biodiversa website to read the testimonies of some of the participants in the training.

Check here the word cloud with the words that best describe this training experience in the eyes of the participants.

Stay tuned on https://www.iynf.org/greening-international-youthwork/ as we will soon be linking the full training curriculum for you to replicate this training in your own community.

Co-funded by the EU

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.