Beyond the Limits! core

Beyond the limits! core

The "Beyondthelimits" training took place from August 8th to 17th in Slovakia. Its goal was to develop the leadership skills of youth workers, social workers, and youth leaders. At the same time, the educational activities strengthened their competencies for better cooperation, communication, and problem-solving related to youth work.

The third day of the BeyondtheLimits training began with defining the basic characteristics and principles of non-formal education. Participants took a closer look at Kolb's cycle and Kolb's learning styles.

To present the theory, activities were used where participants could try working with a rope for the first time and construct an emergency stretcher for transporting an injured person. Emphasis was placed on the experiential learning cycle and its individual phases. In the afternoon block, participants became familiar with Belbin's theory of team roles and completed an individual test (Belbin's team role test). The educational outcomes were enhanced by an intensive team-building activity, during which participants were invited to step outside their comfort zone and face a stressful situation. The evening reflection, as usual, focused on how participants could use the acquired competencies in their youth work.

The fourth day of the Beyond the Limits training was dedicated to an outdoor group activity aimed at overcoming discomfort, strengthening teamwork, and taking initiative in leading teams. Participants were divided into small groups and dropped off at various, unspecified starting points in the Košice forests. With the help of a map, they had to collectively reach the top of Sivec, where all smaller groups met. During the activity, the groups were tasked with completing a series of small tasks for the development of teamwork, building mutual trust, as well as self-confidence and awareness of their own strengths. To minimize possible risks, the groups were accompanied by Slovak participants – members of HK UPJŠ and YY SK, who, however, did not interfere with the activity and did not help participants with individual tasks. In case of a critical situation, each participant also had access to the mapy.cz application and a smartphone. The groups could choose the difficulty of their journey themselves in the previous days. Some opted for unmarked routes of approximately 20 km, others for a simple three-hour walk. Each participant could thus set the level of discomfort they had to overcome. At approximately 3 PM, all groups met together at the summit. After smaller team-building activities, they descended together to the Ružín dam.

The fifth day of the Beyond the Limits training was dedicated to analyzing the previous day – the outdoor activity Hike in the woods. The trainers explained the background of the activity – how they chose the structure, the educational goals of the activity, and especially how they optimized possible risky situations. Preventing crisis situations and identifying potential risks are very important in outdoor activities involving young people. Participants became familiar with the detailed risk management plan for the activity they had experienced the day before. Subsequently, in groups, they worked on proposals for similar plans that they could use in outdoor activities in their communities.

Before lunch, participants began trying out low rope obstacles – so-called low ropes. Instructor Patrik Berta explained how to construct rope obstacles and their use in team-building activities. Participants then completed several activities aimed at building trust, teamwork, and overcoming fear.

During further activities, participants explored the comfort zone, challenge zone, panic zone, and learned about the 4 F reactions – fight, flight, freeze, fawn. Various techniques were presented on how to prevent entering the panic zone, as well as procedures on how to get out of the zone and take control of a critical situation. Through the ZOOM activity, different approaches to so-called effective communication in achieving results, active listening, and open communication were explained. The end of the day was dedicated to the concept of the Johari window.

Beyond the Limits is funded by the Erasmus+ program, administered by Iuventa – Slovak Youth Institute.