OUTWARD BOUND ROMANIA (OBR)

OUTWARD BOUND ROMANIA (OBR) is a non-profit educational organization created to help people discover and develop their true potential, to care for and respect themselves, others and the world around them through safe and challenging experiences in unfamiliar settings. Outward Bound Romania is the leading organization in outdoor education in Romania and has already 25 years of experience in the experiential education field. We are also a licensed member of Outward Bound International. The target groups that we are working are different: children, youth, adults, teachers, youth workers. We have yearly about 2000-2500 participants on our programs. For children and youth we organize outdoor courses, camps, seminars and training using the method of experiential education through outdoor activities. The themes of these events are leadership, team-building, community development, project management, environmental education, etc. Our most popular program are: the School of Experiences weekend program for school groups, the Eco Schola, the Outdoor English Camp and the six days long Adventure Week program. We are working with mainstream youth, but also with disadvantaged, disabled or fewer opportunity youth. Concerning adult education - we are organizing training and courses, based on experiential education for teachers, trainers, youth workers and adults, what would like to learn more about the theory and practice of the outdoor education. Outward Bound Romania in the only organization which organizes training of trainer courses in outdoor education in Romania. On all type of our programs the wilderness is the classroom of our participants. The rocks, rivers, forests and lakes are the teaching tools for personal development and empowerment. The participants encounter physical challenges like climbing, hiking and rafting. Other challenges are more subtle, like sharing thoughts and feelings with others, or learning to work effectively as a member of a team. By removing individuals from their familiar environment, we offer safe, but demanding, physical, intellectual, and emotional challenges. The reward of meeting and conquering these challenges is learning about ourselves and our potential. Our programs are created to inspire self-reliance, teamwork, confidence, responsibility, compassion, and community awareness. The overall benefits of an Outward Bound Romania experience are obtaining a new strength and a fresh perspective the participants will carry back with them into their daily life. OB is a challenging, exhilarating journey that takes place in some of Romania’s most beautiful mountains/wilderness. But the real journey will take place inside the participants. An OBR expedition is more than just hiking, climbing and camping, it is an adventure in the classic sense of the word: the participants meet challenges and learn about themselves, others and most importantly, about their potential. We offer a number of different adventures focusing on promoting self confidence and problem-solving skills. We offer interactive courses and excursions in nature where participants may receive professional training in wilderness skills. Each course is centered around one or more primary activities such as mountaineering, hiking, rock climbing or kayaking. While people are learning to kayak or belay a partner hanging from a cliff, they are learning how to work with and rely on others, be responsible and accountable and how to overcome their personal boundaries of what they believe they can achieve. There are additional elements in each course to enhance their experience, like environmental awareness and ecology, seminars about inter-ethnic problems, outdoor orientation with a map and compass, as well as first aid and practical rescue work. Outward Bound Romania owns and runs an International Youth center in Sovata, Mures county in which most of the programs are running. The Youth Center includes a big house for the participants and a smaller house fo