INVICTUS: Inclusion via Culture of Sports

INVICTUS is another Erasmus+ project where Asociatia Babilon Travel is acting as partner and sending organization. It could be the first project that will start its main activity, a youth exchange, after the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic.

If everything will run as expected, the youth exchange will take place in Zagreb, Croatia, between August 28 and Septenber 5, 2020.

Martial arts and physical activity are much more than a mere means to improve body shape or practice “fighting”. It can help young people develop healthy lifestyles, but it can also teach essential life skills, help with a personal development process and build self-confidence and self-appreciation of young people.

This is especially true for young people with disabilities and fewer opportunities. Martial arts and outdoor activities can help youth in this target group to develop a wide range of social skills and improve their inclusion in the society. The Human Capital Model lists “Equity for persons with disabilities, as well as social inclusion & acceptance of people with fewer opportunities, as some of the most important outcomes of martial arts and physical activity for this target group.

Invictus (“Inclusion via Culture of Sports”), an Erasmus+ Youth project has established the following objectives:

1. To develop skills and key competences of young people with disabilities and/or fewer opportunities needed for their full participation in society;
2. To use martial arts and physical activity as methods to develop health, self-confidence and self-appreciation of young people with disabilities and/or fewer opportunities;
3. To sensitize the public to promote acceptance and diversity of people with disabilities and/or fewer opportunities in their local communities;
4. To promote social inclusion of young people with disabilities and/or fewer opportunities through sports and physical exercise;
5. To learn about and embrace the cultural, physical, personal and other differences, so that diversity becomes a positive source for learning rather than the cause for negative competition and prejudice.

Invictus will be organized in the form of a youth exchange (August 28 – September 5, 2020, travel days included) happening in Zagreb, Croatia.

The Youth exchange will integrate 60 young people with special needs or fewer opportunities (13 participants/country), age 14-30, 8 youth leaders (2 leaders/country), age 18+ and 8 accompanying persons (2 accompanying persons/country), also age 18+, from each partner country: Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy and Romania.

The participant youngsters could be with:

• Special needs:
  • Visual impaired;
  • Hearing impaired;
  • Physical disabilities;
  • Light mental disorders;
• Fewer opportunities:
  • Economic obstacles;
  • Social obstacles;
  • Geographical obstacles.

All participants, including youngsters, youth leaders and accompanying persons should:

• Be citizens or legal residents of Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy or Romania;
• Attend a preparation meeting organized by the sending organization before the training course;
• Be ready to attend all the activities of the youth exchange;
• Disseminate project results after the end of the youth exchange.

For the youth exchange each country team is expected to prepare:

• A presentation of culture from their countries and present it during evening leisure activities (intercultural night). Presentations should not be longer than 30 minutes. Participants also need to bring some traditional food and drinks for the tastings.
• 2 presentations:
  • One about the benefits of martial arts (any type) on health and social life;
  • Another is a presentation of some important martial art fighters of your country.

Each presentation should not be longer than 20 minutes.

All project activities are based on non-formal education methods and tools, which encourage active participation of each participant in the sessions. The whole learning methodology will be adapted to the needs of all the participants and will be inclusive with regard of the disabled ones.

Each participant youngster will receive at the end of the youth exchange a Youthpass.

In case you would like to apply to be part of the youth exchange, please fill out the application form here.

You can download the info pack and the agenda of the youth exchange from here.

For more details, please contact us at: office@babilontravel.eu