Why ORIENT
ORIENT – Young explorers re-discover local communities through orienteering stems from the idea of bringing together young people from different backgrounds through a particular sport, orienteering. It has been shown how grassroot sports play a key role in building communities and creating more inclusive societies, and, ORIENT is no exception.
ORIENT aims to enhance social inclusion and knowledge of local realities across different countries while promoting a sense of agency and positive change at local level.
What’s our goal?
ORIENT aims to create concrete opportunities for young people and other community members to develop new skills and build social bonds through orienteering.
ORIENT will enhance sports trainers’ and civil society organisations’ workers abilities to encourage participation and ownership of shared values.
ORIENT will raise awareness among local communities, stakeholders and policy-makers of the value of sport as a tool for inclusion that can foster solidarity and participation as well as cohesion and inclusion policies.
What’s orienteering?
Orienteering is an exciting and challenging sport that combines body and mind in the outdoors. It’s about maps, compasses and finding your way across natural landscapes or modern urban settings.
Orienteering is for everyone and can take place anywhere: whether you’re an experienced runner or a beginner, you just need a pair of trainers and comfortable clothes to set out on an adventure. By orienting yourself in the chosen surrounding environment, you are invited to notice what’s around you and march following the path drawn on the map together with your team.
Who does
ORIENT involve?
150 young people
from all contexts and backgrounds at risk of social exclusion. Through creativity and participation, they will be encouraged to discover their own local context under a different light.
25 sports trainers and 25 civil society organisations’ workers.
They will be equipped with innovative methods to help them generate additional interest in sport at community level and consolidate new networks.
What is our method?
ORIENT will foster social inclusion of young people while creating the circumstances for practicing in outdoor activities, sharing and discovering their urban and natural local contexts, history and cultural heritage. ORIENT will enhance the connection and networking among members of a community through a participative co-creative approach that includes participatory mapping: participants will map their own orienteering routes through cooperative learning.
