NuoRTO - Nuorille Resilienssiä, Toimijuutta ja Osallisuutta

The aim of the project is to strengthen the skills of professionals, volunteers, and Experts by Experience working in children's and youth recreational and leisure activities nationwide. The project involves co-developing a supplementary training program and promoting multidisciplinary collaboration and peer partnership among service providers. As a result of the project's actions, children's and youth's equality, participation, social skills, resilience, and self-efficacy will be enhanced, and dropouts from recreational activities will be prevented. The project is implemented by Laurea University of Applied Sciences, Outward Bound Finland, and STEP education, and is funded by the European Social Fund.

Implementation date9/1/2024 - 3/31/2027
FunderESR+ 2021-2027
Research programmeSustainable and versatile social and health care
Project typeKansallinen TKI
ThemesPedagogy and cocreation
Project managerHeidi Bucht

Project Background

Not all children and young people have equal access to recreational activities, which are crucial for supporting well-being and providing a non-formal learning environment. Inequities in participation are heightened by rising costs, skill-based selection, lack of commitment opportunities in activities, and a lack of expertise among leaders in youth activities. The NuoRTO project aims to address this need by enhancing the abilities of professionals, volunteers, and experiential experts to support and guide children, young people, and families in recreational activities.

Goals

Build a comprehensive understanding of resilience-enhancing recreational and leisure activities for children and young people, as well as skill needs and effective practices within the field.
Offer nationwide skill-building training by developing these collaboratively, guided by the needs and preferences of the target group.
Improve leaders’ ability to identify and respond to the special needs of children, young people, and families requiring support.
Strengthen multidisciplinary cooperation between youth and leisure activity providers by offering networking opportunities and increasing awareness of the sector.
Develop cooperative working methods between experiential experts and professionals.
Increase the inclusion, equity, and active agency of children and youth in leisure and youth activities.
Reduce dropout rates among children and youth in recreational activities.

Project Activities

In the initial phase, the current state of resilience-building recreational activities for youth and the skill needs of professionals in the field will be assessed through workshops and a literature review. Based on this data, a training package will be created to strengthen the skills of professionals, experiential experts, and volunteers and support their organizations. Trainings will be co-developed with young people and professionals, and some will also be suitable for young people who wish to act as experiential experts. This training will address the needs of various participants, providing updated knowledge and practical tools for deepening theoretical, methodological, and practical skills. Training topics may include:

Adventure and outdoor education
Experiential learning
Culturally and gender-sensitive guidance
Creative methods
Guidance and communication skills
Family-centered guidance
Support for minority and special groups
Partnership model in collaboration between experiential experts and professionals

Trainings will be piloted in various formats, including face-to-face, online, and intensive courses.

Additionally, we will develop an Assessment Tool for Meaningful Recreational Activities, based on the experiences of young people and families as well as feedback from trainings. The co-development and piloting of the tool will involve 3–6 youth activity providers, and collaboration will extend to other nationwide projects.

The project will promote multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral cooperation through activities such as:

Partnership model in recreational activities
Networking (public sector, third sector, and educational institutions)
Communication and outreach (publications, training materials, seminars, webinars, and other events).

Key Results and Outputs

Publication summarizing the preliminary findings, including previous research and key results from information-gathering workshops.
A skill-building training package for professionals in youth leisure activities (12–18 pilot trainings), published as open-access educational materials.
Piloting and modeling of the partnership model.
An assessment tool for meaningful recreational activities, for use by municipalities, wellbeing services, and third-sector organizations.

News and Updates

October-November

The preliminary study on children’s and youth’s leisure activities has started with data collection workshops. Information is also being gathered through online surveys, which can be found on the NuoRTO project’s surveys page (in Finnish).

January-February

The NuoRTO project’s kickoff event will be held on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at Laurea's Tikkurila campus from 8:30 to 12:00. It is also possible to participate online. For more details and registration, please visit the event page.