Bridgedale Beyond the Story of Crises

To be a young person born into the world where the old systems prove not to work, but the alternatives are merely visible – how do you find a way through, not falling neither into denial nor into anxiety?

In December 2023, in the snow of Slovakia, in the cozy learning center of Zajezova Ecovillage, we gathered 30 people from a dozen countries for a week to look "beyond the story of crisis". It was a new round of Bridgedale training for youth workers who want to help young people to recognise and navigate the complex global challenges, to show solutions, and introduce ways to cherish the world they inherited.

Bridgedale is an imaginary town in the future, in which we were exploring solutions to the current collapsing systems through games, workshops, stories. All participants led a part of the Bridgedale practicing to hold space for others. How through play to comprehend and later explain to the youth what is going on in the world, and what could be done better? How to stand in front of the group, knowing that our world is going to change, perhaps collapse, and still to meet this moment and everyone in integrity and joy? That what we practiced, together.

Learning and facilitation practices collected in the Bridgedale come from real intentional communities and ecovillages. This way, the training gives a glimpse of what world we could be living in, and paves the way for the youth seeking alternatives. Though we all came to learn such tools for others, as usually the Bridgedale training immersed participants in their own questions, giving tools not only for work outwards but also for one’s own personal journey... And no coincidence that the outcome of the training “beyond the story of crisis” was a caring and engaged community! That, the importance of community, might be the greatest learning of our times. Moreover, there are backpacks of games and stories on ecological, economic, social and cultural topics taken home by all who joined.

This experience was funded by the Erasmus+ program, which gave us a great opportunity to bring people from different walks of life, to share and learn together.

Let solutions grow and spread!