The Peace Pilgrimage

In a context of rising conflicts due to misconceptions and misunderstandings of religion, identity and fear of others. Promoting inner peace is the first step to achieve global peace. There is awareness individually and collectively from which subtle changes are appearing for new approaches and practices in order to evolve the peace education practices out of the theoretical frameworks. Inner peace practices such as meditation and mindfulness are becoming popular, but not yet mainstreamed within youth work peace education. Non-formal education is one of the means of promoting sustainable peace, prevention from violence, understanding, tolerance and solidarity. The main activity of the project is a training course in Galicia's region of Spain from 04th to 12th September 2018, gathering 30 youth workers and peacebuilders. The training course will take the format of a 100km hike-pilgrimage using what is known as the first European Cultural itinerary, the Camino of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, that has roots going back over one thousand year and was one of the three most important Christian pilgrimages in medieval Europe, alongside those to Jerusalem and Rome. The goal is to introduce the youth workers along the pilgrimage journey , to peace-building using the pillars of inner peace (soft skills) and a practical set of tools to use with their target groups and in their local communities. We will, hence, address the following objectives: - Evolving youth work's peace educational practices in considering inner peace methods such as meditation and mindfulness as an important soft-skill for a peace builder. - Equipping the youth workers with practical skills about conflict management and intercultural dialogue in order to prevent religious and political forms of extremis - Providing a space for thе participants to sharе and rеflеct about thеir own еxpеriеncеs and knowlеdgе in thе fiеld of intеr-rеligious dialoguе along the walking pilgrimage - Showсasing thе rolе of youth work in promoting healthy lifestyles, but also сontributing for a sustainablе реaсе, tolеrant soсiеty - Offering a networking opportunity for organizations to develop collaborations in peace building projects. The project will be based on a holistic educational approach where youth workers can develop their knowledge, attitude and skills to promote peaceful means of conflict transformations, starting from their inner peace to peace among individuals and groups. The training course will be an immersion for the participants to enhance their critical thinking and challenge their knowledge, their beliefs and also physical abilities. It will also create an opportunity to share good practices about conflict management and peace-building. **Working Methods: The mеthods usеd during thе projеct will bе non-formal, inclusivе and participatory Thе training will usе divеrsе non-formal lеarning mеthodologiеs such as hiking (40%) open space workshops lead by the participants (30%) facilitated input with reflective activities, teambuilding and networking (30%) of inner peace, conflict management, combined with thе practical mind and body еxеrcisеs - meditation and yoga. ** Profile of participants: This training is made for youth workers who are: - With experience in hiking or health fitting to hike for 100km in 5 days (to be checked). - Active in peacebuilding and/or conflict management at a community level (At least two activities organized). - Eager to practice meditation and mindfulness in order to develop personally and professionally - Experienced in facilitating non-formal methods with their target groups - Willing to share their experience and best practices with the participants ** Selection of participants Each organization (country) is represented by 3 participants. The partner organizations will nominate internally 2 out of 3 of the participants in accordance with the profile above. The applicants on this platform will be selected by the leading organization in concordance with the partner organizations. Hence, 1 out of 3 participants will be selected through European Training Calendar. If the partner organizations' express it, more than 1 participant can be selected through the platform. In order to be eligible for this project, make sure you clearly present your profile in the application form. In order to assure a qualitative nonformal education process we need to make sure that all selected participants belong to the target group. **Important notices: - Given the potential high numbers of emails we migh receive, response time may take time. We reserve the right not to answer emails if the requested information is already explained in this description. - All the participants should be resident in the country they represent, no participant can be selected outside the countries of the partner organizations. - The info pack with logistical details will only be communicated to the selected participants. - Travelling light is recommended given the nature of the project. - It is mandatory to have a health insurance valid in Spain during the period of stay, inclusive of accidents, emergencies, repatriation and civil responsibility.