CAAB - Centro Cultural e Recreativo de Aguada de Baixo

WHO ARE WE? CAAB - Centro Cultural e Recreativo de Aguada de Baixo is a recent youth association composed by university students and professionals with extensive experience in the development of activities with children and young people, aiming to accompany them in their growth, promoting autonomy, self-discovery and discovery of the other, privileging dialogue and respect. CAAB associates are between 6 and 18 years old and we currently have about 40 members, with daily activities. With us, children and young people develop personal and social skills essential for life in society by means of Non Formal Learning methods, group dynamics, collective games and trekking in urban and natural spaces. In fact, most of activities are developed in the group composed of different age groups, so that from an early age they understand the value that lies in the difference and so that they learn to cooperate with each other to achieve common goals, respecting the limitations and potentialities of each element. Since its beginning, non-formal education, as a cornerstone of CAAB, has made it a safe space for learning, sharing and interaction between for both children and young people, aiming to, by means of a continuous and consistent intervention, promote active, responsible and socially conscious citizenship. Indeed, CAAB has emerged from this certainty: that the only way to promote social change and optimize youth participation in decision-making processes is through continuous intervention, sensitive to the European challenges as well as the personal interests of young people. The team of CAAB has a 10 years experience of both developing youth projects (Erasmus + and Yout in Action) and developing continuous learning activities with children and young people. WHERE? This organization cannot be decontextualized from its community. Based in Aguada de Baixo, a small rural village in the municipality of Águeda, it mainly serves the young people of the small parishes of the region. They are isolated from urban centers, so they rarely with other cultures and European young people until they enter university. ACTIVITIES a) Daily activity in its headquarters with about 40 children and young people of school age, aiming at the development of autonomy and self-determination in relation to its formative, professional and life project. b) Development of group activities based on non-formal education that privilege the optimization of social and personal competencies and cooperation, aiming at the acceptance of difference and self-knowledge by peer learning and learn by doing. c) Development of activities immersed in natural environment (trekking, sports activities), promoting awareness of biodiversity and enhancing the role of citizens in environmental sustainability. d) Development of workshops related to artistic expression that not only allow young people to express themselves in diversified materials, but also to understand the physical and chemical properties of some materials through experiments. PREFERENTIAL TARGET GROUP FOR PROJECT: 14- 24