Educating Youth for the Alps: (re)connecting Youth and Mountain heritage for an inspiring future in the Alps
Worldwide, specialists diagnose a lack of contact from young people to their living space. Among Alpine youth, it leads also to the dying out of Alpine identity and mountain-related know-how. Mountain-oriented education (MOE) plays a key role to instil in young generation the sensibility and knowledge of Alpine cultural and natural heritage, highlighting opportunities for their future. Various educational programs already take place especially in the non-formal education realm, but a strong development of MOE approach in the formal education is a challenge in the whole Alps. _x000D_
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YOUrALPS tackles the challenge to raise Youth awareness on Alpine heritage by supporting MOE process via better interconnected formal and non-formal educators, supporting alp-wide inclusion of MOE in the educational curricula and practices. YOUrALPS’ innovative approach is twofold: on one hand by bringing together for the first time stakeholders of different sectors within an alpine cooperation structure, on the 2nd hand by elaborating and testing a transferable “Alpine school” model, in a bottom-up approach including youth participation and involving directly decision-makers. A comparative report on MOE practices and strategies of formal and non-formal education in the alpine countries will be the basis, in parallel of a participatory web-platform, for the development and transfer of the model. This will be tested via several pilot field activities encouraging transalpine youth participation, involving classes from e.g. vocational high schools and universities in cooperation with non-formal education. _x000D_
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The project has direct and long-term impacts, as the model will directly benefit to the students, educators and decision-makers involved, as well as to the future generations of pupils. Decision makers will dispose of a transferable model. YOUrALPS will create new opportunities for youth and increase their empowerment and engagement in the Alpine territory, to better shape their future.