A PhD student of the D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics attended the Well-being from Nature seminar

Our PhD student Georgi Mladenov participated in the Well-being from Nature seminar which took place at the Youth Centre Piispala in Kannonkoski, Finland between 8th and 12th April 2024. The seminar was funded by Erasmus+ programme and gathered 30 participants from different European countries. Its main goal was to provide participants with knowledge about techniques how to boost their well-being by bonding with nature, to make them more more positive and improve their skills by working with young people, as well as to make them experience nature on a daily basis.

In Georgi Mladenov’s opinion, Youth Centre Piispala was a fantastic venue for the event – situated near a frozen lake with a sauna on the shore so that participants could ice dip directly from the sauna, with vast forests surrounding the curvy roads and many facilities for skiing, skating, jogging, bowling, yoga, table tennis, football, basketball, tennis, volleyball, and just walking in the nature. The scenic views and relaxing atmosphere helped participants co-operate with other efficiently and most probably, many new partnerships are going to arise from the project. By engaging in activities such as art and creative workshops, forest trips, outdoor sports and workshops, the participants could clear their minds from all the gadgets and technology and to concentrate on their well-being, communication, mutual support and simply enjoying nature.

Finland has 8 such state-run youth centers, the center Piispala was founded back in 1982 and has helped thousands of people to get closer to nature, to overcome their problems and fears and to go on as stronger and better individuals. Georgi’s opinion is their tiny group was just a fraction of that and he would definitely recommend to young people the centre as a perfect choice for doing their European Solidary Corps initiatives.