Shen Dao Association

The Shen Dao (SD) Association has been active in the field of adult and youth education since 1989, successfully reaching adults and youth across Hungary and creating a community of more than 10,000 members, volunteers, and learners who have been moving together for many years. The main aim of the organisation is to support holistic living and the development of healthy and sustainable lifestyles at the individual, family, and societal levels. To reach this goal, the association carries out research, produces educational material, and co-creates various training and courses based on non-formal education methods to increase the physical, emotional, and mental well-being, health, and resilience of adults, professionals, and youth. SD regularly supports those in need, having a special focus on vulnerable and marginalised populations. The members regularly hold free sessions for adults at our rural centre and visit young people in small schools to help develop their culture of movement. Shend Dao association members run several weekly programs in multiple cities in Hungary for adults and young adults concerning maintaining and improving resilience, mental health, and well-being using ancient oriental practices, such as martial arts, qi gong, and meditation. In addition, every year, longer training programs (from 4 days to 2 weeks) are organised for adult learners and adult educators at the premises of the organisation in the countryside. Participants receive practical advice on how to regain, maintain, and improve their physical, emotional, and mental health via various non-formal education methods, including but not limited to movement arts, mindfulness, and meditation techniques. During the training programs, there is an emphasis on the embodiment of the teachings, as well as, how the participating adult educators, social workers, trainers, and facilitators can share the learned material with their groups of learners. The beneficiary groups of the Shen Dao Association’s work are youth (18+), young adults, non-formal educators, trainers, (young) social workers, and adult learners and adult educators (30+). Most of the learners and educators are either themselves coming from a disadvantaged area of Hungary and living with fewer opportunities and/or working with and teaching youth and adults who are marginalised, and experiencing mental health and/or socio-economic challenges. The beneficiary groups are presenting specific, as well as, overlapping learning needs. Furthermore, in our centre, we have been hosting international training courses in the framework of Erasmus+ where we work with adults with mental health difficulties.