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2014 William Greenaway

greenawayGreenaway on Barcelona

This past November (2013) I received an invitation that would change my life…

Would I like to come to Barcelona, Spain to deliver a keynote address on Outdoor Education and its role in preventing youth violence?  Naturally, after a very enthusiastic “YES!” I was left with the conundrum of devising a way to pay for the trip.  Fortunately, for me, the Martha Mattingly Scholarship gave me the chance to chase this opportunity.  Without the support of the scholarship there would have been no presentation-- I would never have made it to Spain.

The presentation was for the International Federation of Educative Communities (FICE International) which supports youth work around the globe in countries ranging from Africa to Asia.  Together, with Dr. Carol Kelly, we presented to the international representatives the idea of the Outdoor Education profession and its use in youth work.  To put it simply, many countries, cultures, and programs that work with young people use outdoor education but we discovered there was so much more potential for using the outdoors.  Specifically, we had a conversation during the keynote about specific ways we could use the outdoors to help youth navigate international conflict.  How would a group of youth from different cultures learn to work together in the outdoors to climb a mountain together?  If they managed to complete this task together could they not learn how to surmount other global challenges that are arising in today’s world?  These were all questions we asked and answered.  We had such an overwhelming positive response and FICE members are currently working to promote more programs focusing on outdoor education.  

The world is a large place but the people who work in it are accessible to all who can show an interest in similar works and be there to meet and engage together to solve a goal.  While in Barcelona, I met and exchanged professional ideas and shared ideas for future work with representatives from places such as the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Spain, Israel, Finland, and many other countries.  Moving forward I, along with these representatives, are already forming ideas on different cultural exchanges that would expand the field of youth work around the globe.  This will occur through our new professional bonds forged through actual human interaction.  While we are still in the initial planning process, one of my colleagues who saw our presentation on outdoor education, is planning to come visit the United States to learn about Outdoor Education and its use in youth work.  From seeds trees grow and the seed planted for global youth work and youth work in the United States was planted thanks to the Martha Mattingly Scholarship and the opportunity it provided me to meet these professionals in Spain.   

It is impossible to fully describe how important this scholarship was in supporting my professional development.  What more is there to say?  This was the first keynote of my new professional career.  What bigger place and what better audience to present my ideas for youth than a group associated with UNICEF?  Who better to present ideas about global youth work to?  Could I have built such connections and had a better stage to grow an idea about Outdoor Education and preventing youth violence without a trip to this conference? NO!   

My one hope is that others will have the same life changing experience and that the Martha Mattingly Scholarship will be there to support us.  For all of us young professionals starting to get on our feet and struggling to make a positive change in the world I would like to say “thank you” for the chance to be the difference.