Raport GROW 2018

REPORT GROW 2018 - NATIONWIDE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

O RG A N I Z E D BY Ș C O A L A D E VA L O R I

O R G A N I Z E D BY Ș CO A L A D E VA L O R I practice, learn, step up!

SUMMARY 03

Welcome to GROW!

What makes GROW a unique educational program: - international perspective - nationwide program - professional curriculum design

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Structure of GROW 2018

- GROW Academy (Winter Edition) - GROW Games (Summer Edition)

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Impact during 2010 - 2018

GROW sta ed in 2010 with a pilot edition in 3 cities, with 7 international trainers, and 228 high school students who applied for the program.

Let’s find out more about our evolution!

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Results of project in 2018:

- Winter Edition - Summer Edition

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Testimonials GROW

“Being a participant at GROW for two editions has taught me these two main things: to be more confident and to communicate better with others. “ Denisa Cîșlariu, participant in Oradea 12

Community Challenges

#CommunityChallenge projects a new concept designed for the pa icipants where they can practice everything they have learned in GROW by creating and organizing their own projects for the community.

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Erasmus

8 of the international trainers that delivered educational workshops during the GROW sessions have arrived through an EVS pa of the Erasmus + programme.

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Local Project Managers

Two teams who by using their ambition, passion for education and desire for development of their communities managed to organize GROW Academy and GROW Games in their cities.

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iTrainers

They came in Romania because they were brave, curious and willing to change something, so they met the Romanian high-school students to develop their skills and just in 2018 they inspired more than 2000 students.

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Events

- 62 events in Summer & 89 events in Winter 20

GROW impact in 2018

Cultural diversity, public speaking, teamwork, etc.

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WELCOME TO GROW!

“GROW was for me an adventure. It was a challenge regarding how to improve myself and how to organize my team in order to design together a program which empowers teenagers to create an authentic and brave version of themselves.”

ANITTA GHIȘA GROW Games 2018 Project Manager

National Support Team

NST is a team formed of members from all over the country (and also internationals) who aims to exceed expectations at each GROW edition.

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NATIONWIDE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

GROW Summer Camp

“Dear GROW Summer Camp, you le�t a beautiful memory in my heart with all the useful things that I learned. Thank you!“ Loredana, participant in Focșani

GROW is the nationwide youth development program that represents a long term, non-formal educational engagement designed to improve the quality of education in Romania.

Organized by Școala de Valori, GROW program addresses high school students from Romania (age 14-18).

The program offers a professionally designed educational training to high school students thus allowing to complement the formal educational system. It has been developed with the suppo of an Educational Board, gathering personalities and top-notch expe s in education and yungsters psychology, especially to address elementary needs required in teenage development.

GROW aims to be the number one national educational program, being addressed to high school students, since it is unique among other programs: International perspective – involves international student trainers, delivering workshops in English; Nationwide program – high accessibility of teenagers to educational centers; Professional curriculum design – based on training expe ise and updated to teenager needs and their psychology, professional consulting and an educational process audited by an Educational Council;

Our goal is to build a constructive a itude for a sustainable change in the Romanian educational system.

GROW generates a strong connection between Romanian teenagers and international trainers from all over the world.

Its purpose is to facilitate the creation and evolution of local communities which develop creativity and courage among teenagers.

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practice, learn, step up!

OUR MISSION: PRACTICE LEARN STEP UP

STRUCTURE OF GROW 2018 GROW Academy (Winter Edition)

GROW Games (Summer Edition)

GROW Academy gives teenagers more clarity on who they are and who they want to become, surprises in personalized topics delivered by the international trainers, the multiculturalism concept and everything that comes with it, as well as English practicing, new friends, designing mini-projects and implementation plans (the community challenge).

GROW Games is a new and different type of program that has the same main ingredients as GROW, international trainers and workshops, but it’s sho er, action packed, super fun and up to 100% outdoor.

GROW Academy is about self-awareness and conscious choices. The composition of GROW Academy is made of non-formal learning experiences.

Sessions: HOW IT WORKS; WHO ARE YOU; INTERESTS MAP AND CONTROL AREA; MONEY CONSCIOUS CHOICES; CONFIDENCE CODE; DECISION MAKING.

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Thus the main ingredients in GROW Games are intercultural communication + teamwork.

The sessions are delivered outdoor, in parks, on the hills, in the forest, at a picnic place, by the swimming pool or on a terrace.

Sessions: HIT THE TARGET FAST, LUTTS AND MIPPS, NO STRINGS ATTACHED, NEWS ROOM, BUILDING TRUST IN PAIRS, BROKEN TRIANGLES, ROPE TRICK

The mission of GROW is to develop life-skills in teenagers and unite them into a powe ul community driven by values and initiative.

We do that by implementing a cool learning mix: Practice, Learn, Step Up - we explore real life situations through exercises and games, we draw conclusions and learn from experiences and finally we apply new skills by creating some impac ul projects in local communities.

a growing community “My GROW experience was anything but boring. It oďż˝fered me the opportunity to challenge myself in order to become a more complex person, and also to meet a lot of smart and like-minded people, that I can now call my friends. GROW is also the embodiment of the balance between fun and hard work, and I encourage everyone to become a part of this ever growing community.â€?

Iulia Stanciu, participant in Brașov

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Teamwork, leadership, communication, these are the things that we will always need and that we practiced at GROW. For me, GROW is the perfect example of how school should actually be like because at GROW, we are not taught something, we are involved into every activity that can help us grow.

Doriana Gheorghe,

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Total Numbers during 2010 - 2018 Years - 8 Editions - 20 Applicants - 48.794 Coordinators - 267

22.125

Graduates International trainers - 725 Training hours - 47.878 GROW Ambassadors* - 945

Up to date topics Thanks to the open and friendly atmosphere, the teens feel encouraged to express themselves and get involved 100% into the activities. The ente aining energizers, exercises, events, and games engage the pa icipants in a natural learning process without perceiving it as a boring burden.

The workshops are delivered in English by international trainers, coached by Școala de Valori trainer’s team and other professionals.

Countries - 68 Schools - 425 Cities - over 50 Volunteers - over 2000

Results of project in 2018: GROW Academy (Winter Edition) & GROW Games (Summer Edition)

Applicants

3.547 Participants

2.141

Graduates

1.307

Community Challenge projects

85

Community Challenge people reached - 2.350

SCHOOLS

167 Coordinators - 26 Ambassadors - 306 International trainers - 63

Countries - 22 Brazil, Australia, Italy, Belgium, Pakistan, France, Egypt, Spain, Turkey, USA, Germany, Netherlands, Armenia, China, Romania, Moldova, Argentina, UK, Finland, Lebanon, Kosovo, Portugal

2.205 Training hours Cities - 15 Alba Iulia, Brașov, București, Călărasi, Iași, Suceava, Craiova, Cluj-Napoca, Focșani, Oradea, Pitești, Roman, Slobozia, Târgu-Mureș, Timișoara

PARTNERS:

GROW is an experience that can change your perspective on things ( on life, on the whole world ...). From entertaining and educational games to questions that make us all wonder about our future, we have learnt a lot not only about ourselves, but also about the world around us and how we can in�luence it.

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GROW a great

”a life changing experience...”

Testimonials GROW

experience

#game changers GROW is one of that projects that embellishes Focșani, a small town from Romania.

Something beyond the fun games, the trainers and the sessions, for me GROW is the start that many teenagers need in becoming #gamechangers.

Just like a door, that you open and see a colorful community made of people of your age, that are always ready to help and get involved.

What is cool in this journey is that you become gradually a better person, with an extraordinary view of life. As a bonus, you also get a new family and experiences full of wisdom. Great, right?

This summer was my third GROW experience as an ambassador, being here from the start. I am thrilled to see the development. I am cheering for a prosperous continuation of all of this madness, because it is worth it. Fighting!

Beatrice Dulgheriu, ambassador in Focșani

I really loved the general experience and I can say that I left a piece of my heart in Focșani.

How was my experience as a trainer in Focșani? Starting from the beginning, I really loved the atmosphere of the town, maybe because I'm not really a city guy, I prefer small towns. Then I met who will be the team helping me through the whole experience.

All of them were really nice and helpful towards me. What I liked about my team was the organization they had, plus the feeling they gave me, an outsider. They are really close to each other and willing to help anyone who's in need.

Other positive aspects were both the place where I stayed for the duration of the GROW Games, and the people who hosted me.

Really, really nice and caring. Then I had to meet the teens and I had a really nice surprise.

Ah, also I want to thank all the sponsors and partners that helped the LPM and ambassadors to make this possible. Going back to teens, I was expecting high schools students and based on my previous experiences, I knew that it would be harder for me. But then, I met these teens and wow, they were asking a lot of questions and they really enjoyed being around someone "di�ferent". That makes me really happy and full of hope for the next generations. Also, the sessions went pretty well.

being a trainer was incredibly rewarding My time at GROW has been a life changing experience. Meeting, not only Romanian teenagers, but people from across the globe, that without this opportunity, I'd never know. The teenagers that I met, worked with and became friends with throughout the program all have such open-minded and welcoming attitudes towards new and di�ferent ideas.

For me, being a trainer was incredibly rewarding. The participants brought to every session a willingness to participate and try new things, even if the purpose of what we were doing wasn't blatantly obvious. The bonds I made during this month are ones that cannot be matched. Spending time with so many like-minded people is incredible.

In my opinion, if you have the opportunity to participate in GROW, it is an experience not worth missing. I witnessed many teenagers becoming friends with people they normally wouldn't. It introduces people to di�ferent ways of seeing things, and new ways of learning, and the things they learn can brought to everyday life.

Not just exams!

Chaia Anne Williams, Australia - iTrainer in Pitești

In conclusion, I really loved the general experience and I can say that I le�t a piece of my heart in Focșani.

Antonio Carnicelli, Italy - iTrainer in Focșani

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”Being a factor in their development equation is incredibly rewarding. ”

”we are trying everyday to inspire people and to make them to think outside the box...”

PARTNERS: Branko Iulia Ilie, LPM Slobozia 2018 (Winter and Summer edition)

2. What do you think, you’ve accomplished during this experience?

1. What are your 5 main things that you were left with after the experience of being the Local Project Manager of GROW Games 2k18 in your city?

The first thing that crossed my mind are the people, as I had the chance to meet amazing teenagers, other hard working LPMs and lots of interesting trainers. I also have an impressive number of GROW-related memories that never fail to cheer me up. The following 3 things aren't actual things, but feelings and wishes that I thought about both during and a�ter this project: a strong will to help my local community more, curiosity for volunteering opportunities and gratefulness for what GROW has taught me.

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Maybe the most important thing is the impact I managed to have upon teenagers through GROW. It's amazing to see how involved they are in this journey and how comfortable they become with other participants they didn't know before, with public speaking and with expressing their believes. Being a factor in their development equation is incredibly rewarding.

3. How would you describe the international trainers?

Never have I ever had it easier describing people. Simply, perfect. Besides being

diligent and thoroughly preparing their sessions before delivering, they were the role models for participants. Funny and friendly, yet understanding and ready to o�fer their advise, Rocio, Alby and Fer have created strong bonds with the teenagers due to being amazing people!

4. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you think you developed yourself and why?

10, for sure. It's my second time as an LPM and that means 8 months of being involved in GROW in this position.

Looking back, I see this girl with unused potential, who used to be messy and who wanted to help but didn't know how.

Attending conferences, going through situations that required being self-contained and reconsidering the already planned strategy, meeting people that approach things totally di�ferent, all of these things made me a better organiser and leader, taught me that stress isn't necessarily bad and that everything can be solved as long as you smile while trying to find solutions.

5. What will be your favourite memory from this edition?

Show us in a photo you made and describe it.

Instastory posts, we resonated with you and we were proud to see you eager to develop your personal plan.

My absolute favourite moment was at the closing, when people were designing their “GROW book”, in which anyone could write cute stu�f. Along with the diplomas, they were hung on the walls.

A�ter the closing was over, everybody stayed for at least half an hour in order to write as much as they can and to share their feelings.

At Branko, we are trying everyday to encourage such activities, to inspire people and to make them to think outside the box, to be self-taught and to be preoccupied by their own education because this is the best investment on the short, medium and long term.

That's when I knew the bond is real and people are genuine. It was a bit emotional, but moments like this one assure me that everything was worth it.

We are happy that you are representing the vanguard of this community.

When we found out about GROW, we knew from the beginning that it will be something cool and on our taste. We were thrilled that such activities will be happening in our city so we immediately gave you a helping hand and this was our pleasure.

We are happy that you are representing the vanguard of this community. We congratulate you and we are waiting for you anytime with such projects. We hope that Branko will be one of the characters that will support you in the future with these kind of activities.

With love, Branko.

We followed your activity on your social media and even if it was about Insta

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Community Challenges ANUAL:

Andreia Mendes Correia

Community Challenge projects

The learning concept of GROW is based on the following formula: Practice, Learn, Step Up! and it helps the teenagers to process the skills that they have earned throughout the learning experience in the program. The last pa , the Step Up one, is the pa from the program in which the teenagers are experimenting what it means to develop a project from 0.

Community Challenge people reached

They split into teams, they think about a need of their community and they build a project that comes with the solution of that specific need. The local organizing team and the mentors are there to guide them and together to impact their local community by implementing real projects, made 100% by them.

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2.350

Details of the events: 01. Winter Edition

02. Summer Edition

40

45

1.135

1.215

Community Challenge projects

Community Challenge projects

Community Challenge people reached

Community Challenge people reached

Domains chosen by the teenagers 46.5% ENTERTAINMENT 20.7% SPORT 19% VOLUNTEERING 6.9% CULTURAL 5.4% SOCIAL 1.5% ART

Domains chosen by the teenagers 27.4% ENTERTAINMENT 19.1% ART 16.5% SPORT 14% SOCIAL 11.8% VOLUNTEERING 11.2% EDUCATION

This GROW Games experience was simply life changing to me.

Everything I had to do, all the hard moments we had to go through, made me stronger and helped me grow up.

To sum up, the best thing that this experience as an ambassador thought me is that it's not about how hard you get hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.

Alexandru Ursu, ambassador in Brașov

self-discovery, personal and professional development of youth in an international environment

ERASMUS multi cultural ism Because one of the GROW’s element is multiculturalism, we wanted to transform this ingredient in something real, so we invited Erasmus internationals to help us organize this year of GROW.

Rocio Benito

Pedro Cantero Soto

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The main purpose of our project was to encourage the self-discovery, personal and professional development of youth in an international environment. We aimed to involve EVS volunteers in GROW and in other non-formal education programs for high-school students developed by our organisation.

Marina Galli German

Antonio Carnicelli

Fernando Leon

Their activities involved: helping during the preparation, implementation and evaluation of non-formal education programs for youth; being trained by our educational specialists to develop public speaking and training skills, in order to facilitate non-formal education sessions; preparing and delivering non-formal education sessions for high-school students; organising various projects and events together with the high-school students;

Marta Rodriguez Gaspar

Alberto Antonacci

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Local Project Managers 01. Winter Edition

Ana Camarasan

Two teams who by using their ambition, passion for education and desire for development of their communities, they managed to organize GROW Academy and GROW Games in their cities.

02. Summer Edition

Alex Geicu

They came in Romania because they were brave, curious and willing to change something, so they met the romanian high-school students to develop their skills and just in 2018 they improved more than 2000 of them.

Alberto Antonacci

Caitlin Rochelle Hosking

Andreia Mendes Correia

Antonio Carnicelli

Carolina Dodon

Ceren Uyanik

Chaia Anne Williams

Charles Chih-Lun Ko

Fernando Leon

Francesc Coma Salvat

Jeremias Albertela

Julian Merkle

Magno Fonseca

Iulia Ilie

Marina Galli German

Marta Rodriguez Gaspar

Matheus Goncalves Fonseca

Matis Martin Galan

MD Mahin

Otilia Colceriu

Raluca Nechifor

Mohamed Emad Hamdy Aly Issa

Pedro Cantero Soto

Rachad Abou Salhab Aboultaif

Rawya Abou Salhab

Rocio Benito

Razvan Manolescu

Sfeclis Valentin

Saranda Rexha

Sena Yaglioglu

Tallulah Shepherdly

Umutcan Mese

Xavi Hervas Serra

Andrei Barz

Cristina Popa

Diana Stogrin

Ana Ghinet

Andrei Barz

Iulia Ilie

Maia Ismail

Malina Robe

Anna Iulia Gradinescu

Anna-Lisa Hodisan

Marian Ignat

Mihai Zait

Mirel Ichim

Ema Vrinceanu

Nistor Mihai

Otilia Colceriu

Raluca Nechifor

Robert Puiu

Sebi Dobre

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iTrainers

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01. Winter Edition

Cristi Preda - Finance&Legal

Horia Grigoras - Communication Manager

02. Summer Edition

Maia Ismail - Events & Ambassadors Onboarding Coordinator

Anca Broasca - Vlogger

Anitta Ghisa - Operationals Manager

Cristina Cojocaru - Program Manager

Flori Trinca - International Trainers Recruiter

Oti Bratu - Ambassadors on-boarding coordinator

Anitta Ghisa - Program Manager

Malina Robe - Support

National Support Team

GROW PHOTOS 2018

a growing system

GROW got me out of my comfort zone

NST is a team formed of members from all over the country (and also internationals) which aim to bring each GROW edition at a higher level.

As cliché as it may sound, being a GROW ambasador has been a life changing experience for me. GROW has been part of my life since 2017 and became even more important later that year when I've joined the team as an ambassador for the winter 2018 edition.

I've always been shy and reserved but GROW got me out of my comfort zone and made me a whole di�ferent version of myself.

Tibi Stoica - Events Coordinator

Cristi Preda Assistant Program Manager & Finance Manager

Marian Ignat - Fundraising & Community Challenges Coordinator

They develop the macro strategy of the project based on the learning goals of the teenagers, while doing their best teaching the Local Project Managers how to implement the strategy in each city.

Their major goal is to create a GROWing system which contributes to the development of both pa icipants and local organizers.

ORGANIZED BY ȘCOALA DE VALORI

Through this project I've learnt what it means to have responsibility upon my shoulders and how to deal with upcoming problems, it made me more mature and understanding with the people around me and most importantly I've realized that you can't succeed something only by yourself.

Teodora Necula, ambassador in Oradea Mihai Zait - Stakeholders Management Coordinator

Mirel Ichim - Mentoring

Sabina Teletin - Communication Manager

Sebi Dobre - Vlogging Coordinator

Rocio Benito - Support

Marta Rodriguez Gaspar - Support

Andreia Mendes Correia - Support

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Events

89 events in Winter

151 events in 2018

62 events in Summer

Skill Salad (x15) - workshops for pa icipants: japanese dance, debate, theatre techniques, first aid, gastronomy (fruit salad)

X-Mas Fest (x15) The National Christmas Event, event where we had to do a mini festival with activities and games for the pa icipants, all combined with the spirit of Christmas. X-mas fest was the GROW way of celebrating Christmas and bringing ourselves closer to each other while spreading laughter and love.

There were 24 weird and almost random challenges, such as a cane hunt, to pick Ski les candies with a straw, 7 second challenge, to invent a tribal incantation, to sing some carols and to find two of the ambasadors that were hiding the whole time.

Tea Talks (x15) - talking about community challenges and drinking tea

Lemonade stand - delivering information about GROW

Fast Quiz - questions from all so s of topics

Back to the childhood

Fun meeting with Zack

Cafe Hunt

- That's when our pa icipants met li le Zachary. We invited them to a lovely caffe, where they divided into groups and designed their houses' own logo.

Meanwhile, Zack went around, sta ing conversations with each and everyone of the 50 pa icipants and finally, caught their a ention for a series of very fun activities he had prepared for us (mythbusters & Kahoot).

- Treasure hunt

We had an amazing time ge ing to know each other and, at the end of the night, everyone le not only with a badge and new things they learned from Zack, but also with a great level of excitement for the sessions to come.

Karaoke night

Swinter Party (x11)

- A night were pa icipants gathered all together to sing along

GROW’s Anatomy 0.1

- a thematic pa y that had Christmas music and a DJ. We decorated the room with Christmas Lights, we even had a Christmas tree and we all were in summer clothes with Christmas accessories.

- An event for the first 50-60 pa icipants, where pa icipants had fun activities to get to know each other. The surprise of the event was that we had 100 pa icipants, half of them wanted to be pa of the program

We organized different games and activities Christmas related. For example, we had a Kahoot with Christmas traditions from all over the world, a snowman contest, and a huge candy bar and lemonade stand.

Boardgame night - we played all kinds of games with the pa icipants

Graduation (x15)

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Shazam night - find your match

I say disco, you say party Dare to GROW - Dare to Grow was the first event we prepared for the GROW pa icipants and it helped them meet each other, but also it was the best way for us to get to know them and their abilities. We played some games, especially with plastic cups, we showed them what energizers are and offered a glimpse of what GROW means.

- karaoke contest

Another type of date - a GTKEO event where we masked all with a “blind dates” because, the pa icipants had some tickets where a number was put and they had to find their pair who they had 5 mins to talk with, a er that, change the tickets.

GROW Cafe Hunt

- we walked around the city and hugged every teenager that we saw and told them about GROW

GROWlypics - spo theme, inspired by the olympics, really fun, people loved it

- it was a treasure hunt and people liked it a lot because we all love coffee these days and they had the possibility to find some new places that thy never heard about

French Movie Night - we watched together a French film, had some snacks and then listened to some French a ists

Free hugs (x2)

Jokes on you - stand-up comedy contest

- giving diplomas, saying goodbye, energisers, video with memories from the sessions

- the pa icipants wanted a picnic but the weather was really bad. We played dark stories, we had a charades championship with prizes and at the end we all gave each other sugar cubes.

- a competition between pa icipants

- literature discussion with a few things on the side

- beginning of the program, energisers, meeting the internationals, game about countries

Indoor PicnicT

Capture the flag My favourite book

Opening ceremony (x15)

- we played our most loved childhood games for 1st of june and we also had prizes for the winners

seemed to enjoy it. We had our own rules, one ambassador made 2 flags that we later used in the promo campaign and we had a lot of fun. We split in 2 teams which developed strategies and worked together amazingly in order to capture the other team’s flag.

Elements Game - it was a treasure hunt that was made by a pa icipant in the last edition at the step up and people loved it and wanted the second time, they were divided randomly by the elements and they had a lot of dares

What’s up with GROW Games?

Build your fortress

GROWatlon

- this game was made by the game from GSC 2k17 CHOICE Worlds, it was something new for them and liked it, we held it on a football field

- spo -based games with the pa icipants & trainers, picnic

- an hour long presentation in the school hall about what GROW is and how this edition will be different than the past ones.

Around 160 people came.

Opening events (x11) - we played a lot of games to get to know each other and the trainer, each ambassador had his own game and they all did great

GROW meet, greet & eat - we gathered and had a li le picnic, a water fight and had a lot of fun while promoting the project

Tea Talks (x11) - the pa icipants discussed ideas and options for organizing the community challenges

Closing events (x11) Capture the GROW flag

Teambuildings

- We organized it to celebrate 2nd of May, and everyone

- teamwork focused, fun games where everybot got to make friends

- We laught, we cried, we hugged and said our Goodbyes and it was my best memorie from thie edition.

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GROW Summer Camp

GROW impact in 2018 When the pa icipants were asked how would they define their GROWth experience, they mentioned the following keywords:

This year, GROW had a number of

2.141 participants

Family Friendship Learning Happiness Fun

Approximately 90% of the youngsters mentioned they are self-aware to a higher extent regarding their first GROW experience compared to how they were before participating.

After attending the GROW session, over 85% of the respondents consider themselves to be more capable of making conscious choices in life.

that were passing through different

workshops which include: self-discover cultural awareness team building financial education decision making critical thinking problem solving etc.

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Participants

international trainers from Greece, Italy, Portugal, USA

4

Romanian trainers

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Even if the result of the research seems focused on having fun, the teenagers believe that GROW

should remain a blended experience between fun and learning.

When asked what they would like to learn in the upcoming sessions, the pa icipants mentioned they would like to increase their knowledge in the followings depa ments :

Cultural diversity Public speaking Teamwork Social skills Personal development

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114 Applicants

Grow Summer Camp reached the 4th edition and this time it challenged the teens with a new set of topics: emotional intelligence, mindfulness, critical thinking, community building, bullying. The camp took place “deep in the forest” at Casa Bella in Campulung Muscel, where 67 teenagers met and lived together for 6 days.

Each day was formed of workshops and strategy games where skills like: problem solving, decision making, strategic thinking, teamwork and public speaking were gained.

Cities: 14 București, Brașov, Călărași, Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, Focșani, Galați, Iași, Oradea, Piatra Neamț, Pitești, Slobozia, Suceava and Timișoara.

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Grow Summer Camp World of Makers

Thank you for everything. I opened up, I learned to be a better person, I improved my English, but I really miss you, and I think one week it's not enough!

This year, Grow Summer Camp took place in the World of Makers. It is a world of wonder, placed deep in the forest and guarded by mountains, with fast rivers and fresh air, where sometimes, magic happens. It's called the World of the Makers because they create things.

Once a year, they receive guests who are open to pass their wisdom to the newer generations. The newbies are called “changers” and as they become teenagers, they are taken out of the World of Makers and they are sent abroad, for a trip to the 7 lands. In the Kingdom of the 7 lands, they enrich their knowledge and their creators' skills. Therefore, the World of Makers can exist only if the newbies, the changers, learn how to become creators.

Said the Pathfinder, Armina Sîrbu

Being a teenager is a tough job because they face many realities: the one from school, the one from home and their own, meaning confused feelings and the incapability of taking decisions.

Grow Summer Camp teaches them how to handle these realities and how to understand them.

More than that, it creates a playground where they bring ideas to life, assume roles and responsibilities. Basically, the impact is huge since teens from 14 cities of Romania joined this experience.

Crina Bonea, Project Manager GROW Summer Camp

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TEDx for teenagers

Maybe one week and a half at least, because sometimes I really need you to be by my side, to help me, to give me a piece of advice. I really want to go back in time and repeat the experience, because it was something very important for me and my life!

Thank you for everything, I hope you know that you made 67 kids happier! Love you guys!

Rania, participant in Suceava

12 teenagers accepted the challenge of confronting their fears and standing out!

For 7 minutes, they had to share a life lesson or a new skill they accomplished. The topics were diverse, from the benefits of learning a new language to acceptance lessons, while the public was all eyes and ears.

Dear GROW Summer Camp, you le�t a beautiful memory in my heart with all the useful things that I learned. Thank you! I can't wait for the start of the next summer camp!

Loredana, participant in Focșani

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