We made it! The rally has just ended and all the participants are now on the way home. Thanks to everyone for a great week!! Your active participation made this a week we'll never forget:))
I'd like to warmly thank everyone who made this such a special week:
- our wonderful Swedish team - Tina, Anette, Ulrica, Nina, Martin, Trond, Ida, Kristina and Mika
- our cheerful and always helpful international team - Janja, Kadri, Rax, Stina and Katri
Thanks also to the old and new Board of Rural Youth Europe for their help and support throughout the week.
Hope to see you all next year in Slovenia!
Amanda Hajnal
Secretary General, Rural Youth Europe
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Friday 6 August
Rise and Shine
Rise and shine was very interesting following the story of evolution via rock paper scissors. Everyone started as an amoeba, then became a chicken, then a monkey and finally a human.
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Participants sat on different tables and discussed the following topics:
1. Local entrepreneurs in your area.
2. How can your organisation support entrepreneurship?
3. Your dream business/job.
When Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” was played we moved tables and discussed a new topic with different participants. There was a very dynamic sharing of experiences and opinions during this session.
Open Space
Open Space followed with a wide mix of serious and not-so-serious workshops:
• Hair plaiting
• Traditional dancing from different countries – Armenia, Ireland and Scotland
• Mole catching
• Fire breathing,
• Letter writing
• Irish Cindrella drama
• Flower headdress making
• Enterprise model from Finland
• Young Farmers Clubs as an enterprise
• Setting up a farm shop
• Benefits of rural tourism
• Youth exchanges within Europe
Participants could choose which workshop to attend and they really enjoyed exploring new activities and learning things from many countries.
Evaluation
The first part of the afternoon was spent waiting in a tent in the pouring rain filling in evaluation questions. For the second part, we were transported to a meeting point and from here we walked through the woods, compiling feedback for the evaluation forms that were collected on route from various members of the prep team. On emerging from the foliage, we discovered we were on top of a sand dune, overlooking a stunning beach. This was only spoiled by the rabble that was the rally squad and their frolicing antics.
After the evaluation ended, games of football and frisbie were attempted and some actually braved the sea and tried to avoid the jellyfish! A quick dry off, and we set off on a mission back to the pick-up point, where we piled into the cars/mini-bus for the short trip back to Plönninge.
The day ended with the official closing ceremony, final dinner and party.
Thanks to all for a fab and unforgettable week, here in the Halland Region of Sweden!
Rise and shine was very interesting following the story of evolution via rock paper scissors. Everyone started as an amoeba, then became a chicken, then a monkey and finally a human.
World Café
+%5B800x600%5D.jpg)
+%5B800x600%5D.jpg)
Participants sat on different tables and discussed the following topics:
1. Local entrepreneurs in your area.
2. How can your organisation support entrepreneurship?
3. Your dream business/job.
When Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” was played we moved tables and discussed a new topic with different participants. There was a very dynamic sharing of experiences and opinions during this session.
Open Space
Open Space followed with a wide mix of serious and not-so-serious workshops:
• Hair plaiting
• Traditional dancing from different countries – Armenia, Ireland and Scotland
• Mole catching
• Fire breathing,
• Letter writing
• Irish Cindrella drama
• Flower headdress making
• Enterprise model from Finland
• Young Farmers Clubs as an enterprise
• Setting up a farm shop
• Benefits of rural tourism
• Youth exchanges within Europe
Participants could choose which workshop to attend and they really enjoyed exploring new activities and learning things from many countries.
Evaluation
The first part of the afternoon was spent waiting in a tent in the pouring rain filling in evaluation questions. For the second part, we were transported to a meeting point and from here we walked through the woods, compiling feedback for the evaluation forms that were collected on route from various members of the prep team. On emerging from the foliage, we discovered we were on top of a sand dune, overlooking a stunning beach. This was only spoiled by the rabble that was the rally squad and their frolicing antics.
After the evaluation ended, games of football and frisbie were attempted and some actually braved the sea and tried to avoid the jellyfish! A quick dry off, and we set off on a mission back to the pick-up point, where we piled into the cars/mini-bus for the short trip back to Plönninge.
The day ended with the official closing ceremony, final dinner and party.
Thanks to all for a fab and unforgettable week, here in the Halland Region of Sweden!
Thursday 5 August
Host families
In the afternoon all participants returned from their host
families to Rally venue. During the debriefing participants shared their experiences and emotions while visiting Swedish families. Everybody enjoyed time what they spent there.After debriefing participants had BBQ with the members of their host families. The BBQ was delicious and it was a great opportunity to discuss events of the previous day.
Creative Market
The partici
pants also took part in a Creative Market, where national teams could sell or hand out traditional products and handicrafts of their countries. Although not all countries participated in the Creative Market they were very well prepared and offered a wide range of goods. All the participants bought things and really enjoyed the experience of seeing products from many countries.
Workshops
During the day we had the opportunity to participate in two workshops of special interest:
• Fundraising
• Youth Employment
The Fundraising workshop was held by Johan Ekman from the European Youth Forum Board. The participants first did a financial and organisational analysis followed by looking at the competitive edge our organization can offer.
The second workshop was held by Kadri Toomingas and Michael Schwab from the Rural Youth Europe board. Participants were given an overview of the Youth Employment Action (YEA) project and then shared best practice between organisations. We heard about the Finnish 4H enterprise model and the Welsh enterprise scheme as two examples of good practice. We also heard about other activities and employment schemes from other national organisations.
We hope that participants of other countries are as excited and satisfied as we are about this day!
Wednesday 4 August
Excursions
After breakfast we split into three groups and we went on different excursions.
One group went on a Moose Safari. First we went on a tourist train and drove through the moose park. The driver gave us tree branches so we could feed the animals with it. As we drove around the park the animals came to us and we could touch and feed them. We saw buffalos and bisons were also there at the farm.
Another group went to Varberg and visited the castle. The castle has an interesting museum which tells about life in a castle and the history of the region. There was also a stable museum where we could see cows and people working on a traditional farm. We had a tour guide who took us around the castle and explained the history from the 12th to 20th century. We also visited an old prison which is in the castle. At the end of the tour we watched some movies and saw furniture from the Titanic. After visiting the castle we went for a walk down the coast for about half an hour.
The third group went to the dairy farm in Wapnö with 1100 Holstein cows. Three calves are born every day during summer. We could see how the cows are milked and how they package their milk. At the farm they produce ice cream, cream, yogurt, and cheese. As a visitor you can also use different services including accommodation, restaurant and café. Their facilities for milking cows are 60 cows at one time, so they are milking 2,5 hours and 3 times per day. They have 50 employees. They feed 80 000 kg of silage per day. At the end of the tour we tasted all their products
One group also visited the horse-farm at Plönninge college. We had the possibility to improve our horse-riding skills or were driving around with a trotting carriage.
Host families
After the excursions we went to our host families. We went in groups of 2-4 people and enjoyed a fantastic stay with our families. Each family did very different things, giving participants a chance to enjoy activities they had never tried before.
Here’s a selection of experiences from participants:
• My host family was cute couple who lived in Varberg. We had a little tour around the city and some shopping. In the evening we had great bbq with other people who were at different hosts. We grilled, played games, and talked about our cultures. We went to the bed quite early because everybody were tired. We had really great time in the host families.
• After being picked up by our host family we spent a great time with the family and some of the family friends and made a BBQ. Later that night we had some relaxing time with other host family and rally participants. It was a good day.
• We stayed with Jimmy who runs a pig farm. We got there, ate some tacos and went to bed. The morning started off at around 10. We had a look around the farm, which was pretty impressive. The host had a big farm where he grew crops for the pigs, grew the pigs and sent them to the slaughter house. Later we had a drivie around his lands, saw some sights and then we got back to the Rally. We had a good time and really liked the stay.
• We visided a village called Ysby and had the chance to visit the church tower and enjoyed an breathtaking panoramic view. After that we went to an lake for an refreshing swim. In a city called Laholm we visited some sculptures and got them explained and bought some exiting souvenirs. In the evening we enyojed a bbq.
• My host family picked us up and drove with us to their farm and showed us around. It was very interesting to see how their farm is working. They have an milking robot and also an automatic feeding system for their 150 cows. Our host family is living very close to the coast so we went also to the beach for a swim in the 20 degrees warm water of the sea. For dinner we had a bbq as well and had an very interesting discussion and cultural exchange between our countries.
After breakfast we split into three groups and we went on different excursions.
One group went on a Moose Safari. First we went on a tourist train and drove through the moose park. The driver gave us tree branches so we could feed the animals with it. As we drove around the park the animals came to us and we could touch and feed them. We saw buffalos and bisons were also there at the farm.
Another group went to Varberg and visited the castle. The castle has an interesting museum which tells about life in a castle and the history of the region. There was also a stable museum where we could see cows and people working on a traditional farm. We had a tour guide who took us around the castle and explained the history from the 12th to 20th century. We also visited an old prison which is in the castle. At the end of the tour we watched some movies and saw furniture from the Titanic. After visiting the castle we went for a walk down the coast for about half an hour.
The third group went to the dairy farm in Wapnö with 1100 Holstein cows. Three calves are born every day during summer. We could see how the cows are milked and how they package their milk. At the farm they produce ice cream, cream, yogurt, and cheese. As a visitor you can also use different services including accommodation, restaurant and café. Their facilities for milking cows are 60 cows at one time, so they are milking 2,5 hours and 3 times per day. They have 50 employees. They feed 80 000 kg of silage per day. At the end of the tour we tasted all their products
One group also visited the horse-farm at Plönninge college. We had the possibility to improve our horse-riding skills or were driving around with a trotting carriage.
Host families
After the excursions we went to our host families. We went in groups of 2-4 people and enjoyed a fantastic stay with our families. Each family did very different things, giving participants a chance to enjoy activities they had never tried before.
Here’s a selection of experiences from participants:
• My host family was cute couple who lived in Varberg. We had a little tour around the city and some shopping. In the evening we had great bbq with other people who were at different hosts. We grilled, played games, and talked about our cultures. We went to the bed quite early because everybody were tired. We had really great time in the host families.
• After being picked up by our host family we spent a great time with the family and some of the family friends and made a BBQ. Later that night we had some relaxing time with other host family and rally participants. It was a good day.
• We stayed with Jimmy who runs a pig farm. We got there, ate some tacos and went to bed. The morning started off at around 10. We had a look around the farm, which was pretty impressive. The host had a big farm where he grew crops for the pigs, grew the pigs and sent them to the slaughter house. Later we had a drivie around his lands, saw some sights and then we got back to the Rally. We had a good time and really liked the stay.
• We visided a village called Ysby and had the chance to visit the church tower and enjoyed an breathtaking panoramic view. After that we went to an lake for an refreshing swim. In a city called Laholm we visited some sculptures and got them explained and bought some exiting souvenirs. In the evening we enyojed a bbq.
• My host family picked us up and drove with us to their farm and showed us around. It was very interesting to see how their farm is working. They have an milking robot and also an automatic feeding system for their 150 cows. Our host family is living very close to the coast so we went also to the beach for a swim in the 20 degrees warm water of the sea. For dinner we had a bbq as well and had an very interesting discussion and cultural exchange between our countries.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Tuesday 3 August
Rise and Shine
The morning started with a game called “Changing places”. We all stood in a circle and had to change places with other people. The game involved a person shouting out a word, for example ‘everyone wearing green t-shirts’ and everyone in a green t-shirt had to change places. The one without a space at the end of the change had to stand in the middle and start the game again. This was a lot of fun, and everyone enjoyed it.
Project 24
Following the morning announcements, we started ‘Project 24: challenges in entrepreneurship’. This was good team bonding exercise and made us think about the 5 businesses that we visited yesterday. There were 20 groups in total which had to find a solution to develop and improve the business. We all got involved and discussed the way forward for the business. They ranged from sheep farm, bed and breakfast and adventure challenge. There was plenty of time allocated for this task which helped to give people the freedom to do what they wanted. There was plenty of time to do detailed research and adequate resources to fulfil the task.
We carried on with our projects throughout the afternoon and before giving a presentation we had the opportunity to visit the biogas farm and dairy unit situated at the college. We were given a tour round by the farm manager and learnt about how biogas is produced. We then had a look around the dairy unit and saw a newborn calf.
After a coffee break we met up with the company owners who we visited yesterday and presented them with our proposed projects. Each group had the opportunity to outline their project and the company owners listened and took notes. There were 4 groups for each company competing to give the best presentation and win the competition.
The business owners were really impressed with the ideas that each group came up with and chose winners for each group. The winning teams were announced in the gym in front of all participants. Each team received a prize from their company representative.
Quiz evening
After reflection groups and the team lea
ders meeting we took part in an entrepreneur quiz. The quiz consisted of questions about the workshops of the previous days and the posters from each organisation and country. Prizes were awarded to the teams with the highest scores and the fastest teams.
The morning started with a game called “Changing places”. We all stood in a circle and had to change places with other people. The game involved a person shouting out a word, for example ‘everyone wearing green t-shirts’ and everyone in a green t-shirt had to change places. The one without a space at the end of the change had to stand in the middle and start the game again. This was a lot of fun, and everyone enjoyed it.
Project 24
Following the morning announcements, we started ‘Project 24: challenges in entrepreneurship’. This was good team bonding exercise and made us think about the 5 businesses that we visited yesterday. There were 20 groups in total which had to find a solution to develop and improve the business. We all got involved and discussed the way forward for the business. They ranged from sheep farm, bed and breakfast and adventure challenge. There was plenty of time allocated for this task which helped to give people the freedom to do what they wanted. There was plenty of time to do detailed research and adequate resources to fulfil the task.
We carried on with our projects throughout the afternoon and before giving a presentation we had the opportunity to visit the biogas farm and dairy unit situated at the college. We were given a tour round by the farm manager and learnt about how biogas is produced. We then had a look around the dairy unit and saw a newborn calf.
After a coffee break we met up with the company owners who we visited yesterday and presented them with our proposed projects. Each group had the opportunity to outline their project and the company owners listened and took notes. There were 4 groups for each company competing to give the best presentation and win the competition.
The business owners were really impressed with the ideas that each group came up with and chose winners for each group. The winning teams were announced in the gym in front of all participants. Each team received a prize from their company representative.
Quiz evening
After reflection groups and the team lea
ders meeting we took part in an entrepreneur quiz. The quiz consisted of questions about the workshops of the previous days and the posters from each organisation and country. Prizes were awarded to the teams with the highest scores and the fastest teams.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Monday 2 August
Rise & Shine
The morning started with some energiser games – they gave us another opportunity to interact with other participants from across Europe and get to know each other better. First game was ”Stand in line” with participants standing in line according to different categories (first letter of your name, first letter of your country, height, hours of sleep last night, etc.). The second game was the Pony game with a song and dance about riding a pony near a lake!
Dragons Den
To start with, teams were asked to determine the correct order of starting up a business given a list of possible steps such as writing a business plan, creating ideas, preparing annual reports and market research. Theoutcome of this was to show that there is no one right approach in starting up a new business but a certain format would help to build a successful company.
Groups were then asked to present a business concept given only a theme and a template. Groups chose from the following industries: website, fashion, gardening, animals, recycling, environment, arts &craft, tourism, furniture-making, building & construction, children’s activities and food. Over the course of an hour and a half, each group had to prepare a presentation and a business plan in order to pitch a new product/service to a ‘Dragon’. The most successful team from each sub-group went forward to the final in front of all the European Rally participants.
Four companies made it to the final round:
Petnet.com – a website for pet-loving people
Foodinternational.com – an online delivery company who supply favourite foods from around the world
Chop Chop Chop – a vegetable cutter for children
Fluffy Enterprises – a dog carrier handbag
The companies had to impress the Dragons and at the same time entertain the large audience in the Gym. There was even a special appearance by Fred the Snake, aptly trained by James Taylor (YFCU), who could catch a Frisbee!
After a long negotiation, Rural Youth Europe Chairman Robin Swann announced the winners: Fluffy Enterprises to the applause of the whole audience. This innovative company was chosen for their unique approach identifying a gap in the market for luxury handbags for celebrities who like to transport their beloved pets with them on their shopping trips.
This exercise was a useful experience to gain an insight into the importance of presentation skills and thinking through the whole business plan from start to finish.
Study visit
In the afternoon, we went to visit rural enterprises in the Halmstad region. Participants were divided into 5 groups and visited one of the following companies:
- Ästad Manor
- Tallhöjden Hotel
- Öströö Sheep Farm
- Bingsgärde Gärd B&B
- Vildamark adventure company
At Ästad, the participants visited a farm with adventure activities, a spa and different saunas. The most interesting thing was a sauna under the water. We also had a possibility to try some of the activities such as a big swing, cube labyrinth and wheelbarrow ride.
Vildamark offers survival activities like: climbing a tree which is 16 metres high, sleeping in a shelter, paintball and many other teambuilding activities in forest, for example, a “ladder to heaven”. All of the stations were built by the owner. The company provides entertainment for all kinds of group including business groups and families.
At Bingsgärde, the owners have built a small agro tourist hotel. In this place people who want to spend their time in the country nature can rent a cosy room. Attractions of this venue include sleeping on the hay, eating traditional food, seeing traditional farm animals like cows, pony, horse, hens and chickens. The venue has a nice family atmosphere.
Öströö Sheep Farm is a modern farm with the whole chain from sheep breeding and slaughter, meat processing and shop with sheep meat, handicrafts, sheep skins and café with sheep products. The farm has 550 Gotland ewes and 12 Highland cattle. They produce lamb, sausages, pates and pies as well as home-made marinades, sauces, rusks and marmalades.
At Tallhöjden, participants were given information about the number and type of guests and the background to the hotel and conference centre. We looked at the guest cottages and the main chalet with it’s fantastic wine cellar and souvenirs from around the world. Other activities at the hotel include a paintball area, spa, sauna and wilderness challenges. We also had a nice walk through the forest and enjoyed the beautiful scenery with lakes and a waterfall.
Dancing
In
the evening we had an exciting dance lesson which was ran by Halmstad dancing team. It was great experience, everybody enjoyed themselves and learnt many new steps
The morning started with some energiser games – they gave us another opportunity to interact with other participants from across Europe and get to know each other better. First game was ”Stand in line” with participants standing in line according to different categories (first letter of your name, first letter of your country, height, hours of sleep last night, etc.). The second game was the Pony game with a song and dance about riding a pony near a lake!
Dragons Den
To start with, teams were asked to determine the correct order of starting up a business given a list of possible steps such as writing a business plan, creating ideas, preparing annual reports and market research. Theoutcome of this was to show that there is no one right approach in starting up a new business but a certain format would help to build a successful company.
Groups were then asked to present a business concept given only a theme and a template. Groups chose from the following industries: website, fashion, gardening, animals, recycling, environment, arts &craft, tourism, furniture-making, building & construction, children’s activities and food. Over the course of an hour and a half, each group had to prepare a presentation and a business plan in order to pitch a new product/service to a ‘Dragon’. The most successful team from each sub-group went forward to the final in front of all the European Rally participants.
Four companies made it to the final round:
Petnet.com – a website for pet-loving people
Foodinternational.com – an online delivery company who supply favourite foods from around the world
Chop Chop Chop – a vegetable cutter for children
Fluffy Enterprises – a dog carrier handbag
The companies had to impress the Dragons and at the same time entertain the large audience in the Gym. There was even a special appearance by Fred the Snake, aptly trained by James Taylor (YFCU), who could catch a Frisbee!
After a long negotiation, Rural Youth Europe Chairman Robin Swann announced the winners: Fluffy Enterprises to the applause of the whole audience. This innovative company was chosen for their unique approach identifying a gap in the market for luxury handbags for celebrities who like to transport their beloved pets with them on their shopping trips.
This exercise was a useful experience to gain an insight into the importance of presentation skills and thinking through the whole business plan from start to finish.
Study visit
In the afternoon, we went to visit rural enterprises in the Halmstad region. Participants were divided into 5 groups and visited one of the following companies:
- Ästad Manor
- Tallhöjden Hotel
- Öströö Sheep Farm
- Bingsgärde Gärd B&B
- Vildamark adventure company
At Ästad, the participants visited a farm with adventure activities, a spa and different saunas. The most interesting thing was a sauna under the water. We also had a possibility to try some of the activities such as a big swing, cube labyrinth and wheelbarrow ride.
Vildamark offers survival activities like: climbing a tree which is 16 metres high, sleeping in a shelter, paintball and many other teambuilding activities in forest, for example, a “ladder to heaven”. All of the stations were built by the owner. The company provides entertainment for all kinds of group including business groups and families.
At Bingsgärde, the owners have built a small agro tourist hotel. In this place people who want to spend their time in the country nature can rent a cosy room. Attractions of this venue include sleeping on the hay, eating traditional food, seeing traditional farm animals like cows, pony, horse, hens and chickens. The venue has a nice family atmosphere.
Öströö Sheep Farm is a modern farm with the whole chain from sheep breeding and slaughter, meat processing and shop with sheep meat, handicrafts, sheep skins and café with sheep products. The farm has 550 Gotland ewes and 12 Highland cattle. They produce lamb, sausages, pates and pies as well as home-made marinades, sauces, rusks and marmalades.
At Tallhöjden, participants were given information about the number and type of guests and the background to the hotel and conference centre. We looked at the guest cottages and the main chalet with it’s fantastic wine cellar and souvenirs from around the world. Other activities at the hotel include a paintball area, spa, sauna and wilderness challenges. We also had a nice walk through the forest and enjoyed the beautiful scenery with lakes and a waterfall.
Dancing
In
the evening we had an exciting dance lesson which was ran by Halmstad dancing team. It was great experience, everybody enjoyed themselves and learnt many new steps
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