#ryeas2014

That's right! #ryeas2014 is the official hashtag for the Rural Youth Europe Autumn Seminar 2014!

We had our first meeting last fall, where we decided on a topic, venue and date. Today we had our second prep team meeting and we've come very far in just a few hours. We've made a draft of the programme, discussed possible excursions and lots of entertainment. If if turns out the way we would like it to, it could possibly be the best seminar RYE has ever seen ;) But I guess prep team members always feel like that..

Danish 4H and Danish Young Farmers (LandboUngdom) are co-hosting the seminar and both organizations have put their mark on the seminar, as it is a topic, sustainable food production/consumption, we share a common interest in.

The seminar will take place close to Ribe, which is the oldest town in Denmark, the first week in November. The venue means a lot to us, as it is the national Danish 4H centre, and it is perfect for a seminar like this. You can check it out here www.skovly.nu :)

I will try to keep this site updated with the preparations and during the seminar, although it might be difficult to find the time to do it. One thing is for sure, though.. I can't wait!! :D

Post seminar blues..

That's a real thing, you know? I know that for sure, because I'm having a very bad case of it...

It's now been a little more than a week since I got home but I still live in my little RYE bubble. I miss all the amazing people around me with so much to share and an overload of energy! I want to go back!

I've read all my fuzzy notes over and over again, and I'm looking forward to seeing my RYE family again some time.

Luckily I have a seminar to look forward to next year! I've been taking notes at this year's seminar and noted down random thoughts and ideas, and I feel ready to start the planning with the rest of the wonderful prep team! :D

I've decided to keep this blog and continue writing about my travels within or related to 4H and RYE,a nd of course the preparations for next year's seminar! :)

Worcester

This morning we had to get up early! So I went to bed early and showered last night to save time this morning. No bar for me... We walked down to the train, a walk of about 20 minutes that took at least 35, and took the train to Worcester.

Worcester has an absolutely beautiful cathredral and we were lucky enough to get a tour. It was supposed to last for an hour but due to the overwhelming amount of questions it went on for another 30 minutes.

After the tour I met up with one of my friends from back home who's studying a semester in Worcester(find her blog here) and we went out for lunch at a mexican restaurant with 13 others from the seminar. The lunch was amazing! It was at a place called Chesters and I would definitely recommend it! You can find a link to the restaurant here.

This after noon we've had Nick from the venue talk about his business and John Hardman talking about business in HOPS, NFYFC and other areas. Very different, both very interesting and with a lot of questions afterwards.

This afternoon we're having another evaluation group meeting like every day, where we usually discuss the day's sessions, the blog, the entertainment of the previous evening, and some special information about the coming evening and next day.

This evaluation group is a great way to connect with participant and hear what they have to say about thing, and I really enjoy this part of my day! :)

Tonight WFYFC (Worcestershire YFC) is coming to entertain us. I've heard something about a pub quiz and board games, so that'll be interesting! :)

Business planning - for real

So yesterday all the participants had to present their solutions for the business problems that the businesses had presented them with. 

All groups came up with something creative and very useful, and I loved seeing how they all took the task very seriously always thinking about what the people behind the business would think about it. 

Also, the business owners were amazing. They took notes, bought back the flip charts with them and asked lots of questions. It really looks as if they will go through with some of the suggestions which makes us and the participants very proud! 

All the presentations had a detailed business plan (as detailed as it gets in about 5 hours..) and has thought a social media plan into their suggestion, and the whole task really brought together all the knowledge from the previous sessions.

Reading the blogs..

Well.. Since we as the prep team have decided that we all have to keep a blog, we not only have to blog ourselves but also follow the participants'. We agreed that we all need to read the blogs of the people in our evaluation groups, but some of the other participants have made some really creative blogs as well..

The people in my evaluation group are:
Bob
Alma
Rok
Heini
Sabine
You can click on their name and read their blogs - we all know the Ariel evaluation group is the best!

While all the groups are busy working on their solutions, I will read some blogs until someone asks for my help. They're all very independent and don't ask for much help. I'm looking forward to seeing the results :D

Så er der også lidt på dansk..

Nu kom jeg jo til at love, at jeg ville skrive en smule på dansk, og selvom tid ikke ligefrem er det, jeg har mest af her, så kommer der lige lidt.

Jeg befinder mig lige nu i Malvern, tæt ved Birmingham i det vestlige England, hvor jeg er på kursus med 29 deltagere og 7-9 ledere fra 15 forskellige lande. Jeg har førhen været med som deltager ved RYE events, men nu er det første gang, jeg er af sted som en del af leder-/styregruppen. Det er en kæmpe udfordring, men jeg er meget glad for at have taget den! Ugen ser helt anderledes ud som leder, og man får et helt nyt perspektiv på tingene. Nu er man ikke længere "kun" ansvarlig for sig selv, men også at hele programmet løber, som det skal. Heldigvis er jeg ikke alene om det! Den engelske del af teamet har stået for langt de fleste forberedelser, og de internationale har først været involverede fra omkring en måneds tid siden, hvor vi var til det første prep team møde her i England.

Grunden til vi er 2 danske deltagere på et engelsk prep team er, at Danmark er vært for efterårsseminaret i 2014. Det er Danmarks 4H og LandboUngdom der er værtsorganisationerne, og det kommer til at være på Skovly i starten af november. Temaet er bæredygtig fødevareproduktion, og det føler vi, ligger mange spændende perspektiver og muligheder i. Jeg glæder mig i hvert fald enormt til at komme i gang med arbejdet, selvom det også bliver krævende. Men det er næste år..

Dette års seminar handler om entreprenørskab, og hvordan man helt basalt kan starte sin egen virksomhed. Mange af pointerne kan dog også overdrages på organisationsarbejdet.
Ind til videre har vi arbejdet med at definere, hvad en entreprenør er, hvordan en business plan ser ud og kan bruges, hvordan man kan bruge sociale medier til at promovere og nå ud til en målgruppe, og helt konkret været ude at se 3 virksomheder, som hver har givet os nogle reelle problemstillinger, som deltagerene skal arbejde på at løse i morgen.

Det er et meget spændende program, og jeg glæder mig til at se, hvordan resten af ugen forløber!

Visiting rural businesses in rural England

We literally went from one place without phone signal to another. Rural England is very rural... But there are great opportunities for creative businesses and entrepreneurship. We've visited 3 different local businnesses ranging from a shop to a restaurant to a florist, all of which had an emphasis on the local area, locally produced food/flowers. The owners have all developed it from scratch and the enthusiasm, energy, and courage is striking and very admirable.

They've all presented us with some real problems/challenges they have encountered which the participants are going to find solutions for tomorrow. Hopefully they will come up with something good, innovative and creative, and I'm looking forward to seeing the results of that!

Tonight we've had the honor and pleasure of having Herefordshire YFC visiting and playing games with us - a very entertaining night! I'm feeling better today so I might stay up for a pint or two...