BLUE HORIZONS
The Youth Leadership for Marine, Environmental and Personal Well-being (Blue Horizons) project addresses the dual challenge of environmental degradation and youth mental health. It seeks to combat plastic pollution and promote marine conservation while tackling the “nature deficit” experienced by many young people. By engaging youth in ocean advocacy, blue therapy activities, and conservation education, the project aims to foster environmental stewardship and enhance mental well-being, equipping young people with the tools to lead sustainable initiatives in their communities.
Youth Advocacy and Water Conservation Programme
The Youth Advocacy and Water Conservation Programme, aims to educate young people about water conservation through online modules and hands-on workshops. It involves activities like local beach cleanups, team-based initiatives, and fostering leadership skills. By addressing sustainable water practices and ecosystem challenges, it seeks to empower youth to become active environmental advocates while building their knowledge and skills to contribute to marine and waterway conservation efforts.
Blue Therapy Training Programme
The Blue Therapy Training Programme, introduces young people to the mental health benefits of blue spaces through mindfulness, guided meditation, and yoga by the water. It integrates environmental education with well-being practices, highlighting the connection between personal health and nature. This work package also provides youth workers with a comprehensive toolkit to implement blue therapy activities, fostering holistic mental well-being and environmental stewardship among young participants.
Youth Advocacy Toolkit and Project Sustainability
The Youth Advocacy Toolkit and Project Sustainability, focuses on empowering youth advocates with practical resources to promote conservation and blue therapy activities. It includes creating a toolkit on advocacy skills, strategic communication, and community mobilisation. It ensures widespread dissemination of project results, fosters collaborations with stakeholders, and organises community engagement events, aiming to sustain the project’s impact and influence local and national conservation policies.
OBJECTIVES AND TARGET GROUPS
The objectives of the Blue Horizons project are:
- Develop an education programme to raise awareness about marine conservation, climate change, and the importance of preserving ocean ecosystems.
- Facilitate community involvement through activities like beach cleanups and conservation workshops.
- Promote blue therapy activities such as mindfulness and outdoor well-being sessions by the water.
- Advocate for policy changes at local and national levels to support sustainable waterway management and conservation.
The target groups of the Blue Horizons project are:
- Young People: Aged 15-19, with an interest in conservation, climate activism, and well-being. The project aims to enhance their environmental awareness, mental health, and advocacy skills through conservation and blue therapy activities.
- Youth Workers: Includes professional youth workers, volunteers, and well-being service providers. They are provided with tools and resources to integrate conservation and well-being approaches into their practices.
ONLINE BLUE SPACES
Explore the World of Our Online Blue Spaces
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Dive Deeper into Youth Advocacy and Water Conservation
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Discover More About the Blue Therapy Training Programme
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NEWS
Read our latest news and activities! Click below to explore our newsletters and discover exciting updates, inspiring stories, and impactful initiatives from our project. Don’t miss out!
PROJECT PARTNERS
Blue Horizons brings together six partners from diverse countries and expertise areas: Sweden (Gästrike återvinnare), Romania (TEAM4Excellence), Spain (Factoría de Cohesión Ciudad Puerto Islas Canarias), Ireland (WeLearn Limited), Italy (Università delle LiberEtà del FVG – ETS), and Greece (Social Youth Development Civil Nonprofit Society). Each partner contributes unique strengths in environmental conservation, youth advocacy, and well-being practices. Find more about the project partners below.
Gåstrike återvinnare – Sweden, Coordinator
Gästrike återvinnare is an association of municipalities (five municipalities 200 km north of Stockholm). We are responsible for the waste management in the region (160 000 inhabitants). Collecting, treatment, planning administration and communication for the household waste but we are also on the market collecting from companies and shopping malls etc. We are 150 employees working on all the fields from Waste management experts, IT, marketing, economic, planning, collection personal and recycling yard personal. Our vision is; “Together we are creating the daily environmental heroes for a world that last longer”. We are working with education, communication, and behaviour changes with specialists such as our environmental pedagogues, communication department and international department. The target group is our citizens from the youngest to the oldest, companies, associations, and organizations. We cooperate with schools, university, and company organisations. We are using ISO 14001 and ISO 7001 as our quality systems.
We are working with our citizens, international partners and specially with the young generation to bring in nature in their minds, we discuss, have lectures and study visits at our premises.
Factoría de Cohesión Ciudad Puerto Islas Canarias
Factoría de Cohesión is a non-profit based in the Canary Islands, working to connect cities and ports through culture, education, and citizen participation. Since 2016, they’ve promoted collaboration between residents, businesses, and institutions to create more integrated, inclusive coastal communities.
WeLearn Limited – Ireland, Partner
WeLearn Limited was established in summer 2023, as a response to the growing need for well-being education and training among schools and youth centres in rural Ireland, where we are based. Since this time, we have been delivering workshops to young people in schools and youth centres, as well as to youth workers, parents, guardians and teachers; all with the aim of supporting young people to better understand and manage their well-being. We also have a full programme of youth initiatives which aim to bring young people back into contact with nature, through green therapy. WeLearn specialises in delivering transformative programmes that instil self-compassion and self-care in young people, and the youth workers and teachers who support them. Through interactive workshops, we aim to empower young people and their teachers with the knowledge and tools to understand their own mental health and well-being, and to integrate self-care practices into their daily routine.
Università delle LiberEtà del FVG – Italy, Partner
Università delle LiberEtà (ULE) is a Lifelong Learning Centre that deals with adult education and training and organizes almost five hundred courses per year, with more than 100 teachers for about 2000 learners. Since 2000 Università delle LiberEtà began to expand its educational and cultural reality throughout Europe.
The activities and experience of ULE cover scientific research, education and training of students in the following areas: social studies, security studies, education for safety, educational technology resources using IT in teaching and learning, research and teaching concentrate on security, European education, innovations in teaching methods, and using IT for education and society.
Social Youth Development Civil Nonprofit Society – Greece, Partner
K.A.N.E. – Social Youth Development is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation active in the fields of Youth, Education, Social Inclusion, Vocational Training, Civic Participation and Culture. K.A.NE. was founded in 2008 in Kalamata, Greece. The organisation’s main objectives are to foster Youth motivation for active citizenship, and to support personal and professional development of people through educational activities, especially targeting people at risk or facing social exclusion, young people in general and adult/vet learners.
TEAM4Excellence – Romania, Partner
TEAM4Excellence is a dynamic non-governmental organisation dedicated to improving socio-economic conditions and quality of life through research, education, and consulting. With a multidisciplinary team of educators, researchers, technicians, and managers, T4E produces and transfers knowledge, experience, and innovation through active collaboration within the quadruple helix model—academia, government institutions, industry, and civil society.
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 or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Project number: 2024-2-SE02-KA220-YOU-000291809