Building Community - The Power of Listening

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT:

In our rapidly changing world, the ability to engage in meaningful dialogue and foster strong community bonds is more crucial than ever before. As we navigate through the complexities of modern life, the art of listening plays a central role in building understanding, empathy, and connection among individuals. By cultivating active listening skills, we not only enhance our capacity to communicate effectively but also create a foundation for building cohesive and supportive communities. In an era marked by digital communication and fast-paced living, prioritizing the practice of attentive listening can lead to deeper connections, richer relationships, and ultimately, a more harmonious and sustainable society.

Building Communities: The Power of Listening aims to achieve four main objectives:

• I: Strengthen the connection with oneself
• The other: Enhance connections with other individuals 
• Community: Improve connections with the local communities 
• Nature: Foster connections with nature

While giving importance to all 4 areas of listening mentioned above, in this particular project we will focus especially on the community-building aspect as we believe in communities as the right answer to present challenges and the way to create sustainable solutions for our future. We also consider the ability of listening to ourselves, to others and to nature a crucial part in creating communities and taking on the challenge of co-creating our realities. Arterra Bizimodu - applicant organization and host of the training - is an intentional community with 10 years history and many experiences to share. We want participants of this training not only to learn about listening and building communities in theory, we design the experience so that for 6 days they can actually be a part of the community, experiencing its advantages but also challenges. 

Participant profile - candidates should meet the following criteria:

• Demonstrate experience and a solid understanding of the needs in the field of youth work, coupled with an awareness of the situation of young people in their local community or national context.
• Exhibit motivation to actively participate in a reciprocal exchange and learning process within an intercultural setting and a transnational team.
• Possess a good command of the English language.
• Display a readiness to dedicate time and effort to the project throughout all phases.

VENUE

Arterra Bizimodu - intentional community and educational center in rural area, which can provide comfortable accommodation and locally sourced, ecological food.