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Seminar Camp

Seminar Camp is geared towards youth aged 17-18 years of age. It is an educational activity that brings together a group of young people from different cultural backgrounds and gives them a chance to shed the fixed roles of their daily life and to discover new possibilities for themselves. Camps usually take place in July or August, with some being held in December and January. A Seminar Camp lasts 21 days with around 20-30 participants and four adult facilitators.

 

A Seminar Camp is an educational activity, a learning experience different from what the participants know from their lives at home. The program uses a very strong group situation for its methods, so it is not important where the camp takes place.

What happens in a Seminar Camp?

The principal idea of a Seminar Camp is that everybody in the camp is responsible for planning, conducting and evaluating the program. This may consist of many different things depending on the interests and goals of the participants.

 

The staff, who are trained adult facilitators, are there to support the participants and to offer their experience and guidance to them. The program is usually a good combination of funny, serious, creative, physical, and leisure activities.

 

The participants are encouraged to plan activities or research possibilities for activities before arriving at the camp. Excursions and shopping are usually arranged by the hosting CISV chapter, but are not a primary focus of the camp.

What are the specific aims of a Seminar Camp?

  • To help participants discover and form opinions about international and inter-cultural problems by exposing them to their peers from other cultures;
  • To help youth examine their own motives, gain insight into their own behaviour and that of others, and appreciate responsibilities involved in group living;
  • To teach participants to accept conflict as a part of daily life and give them practice in recognizing and resolving conflict;
  • To foster interest in the world as a whole and develop a sense of responsibility for its preservation as a basis for human survival; and
  • To increase participants' participation in shaping their own lives.