SOCIETY

Program

 

«Professional agricultural education and training of the Ark of the World»

 

The program «professional agricultural education and training of the Ark of the Wold» lasts for two years and addresses minors whom the Ark of the World hosts in all its branches. The program is of a total duration of 800 hours, among which the 200 hours have to do with theory and the rest 600 hours concern practice which is provide within the facilities of the Ark of the World. What is more, the program contemplates a 2-month-practice which will take place in cases which this is not possible, in the actual facilities of the Ark of World.

 

 

The aim of the program is to contribute to the creation of a system of training which be able to constitute a clear and stable frame concerning the education and training of target groups. The curriculum is designed in such way that the theoretical part can be taught in actual classrooms, while the practical part can take place in the facilities of the Ark of the World.

 

For the operation of the program, the already existing facilities in Volos and Pogoniani will be used.

 

In the facilities of Volos, established in Dimini , there exist in full operation 7 state-of-the-art workshops:

olive mill
cheese making workshop
 winery
 pasta making workshop
workshop for making traditional products
workshop for making animal food
stone mill.

 

Furthermore, in the facilities of Volos we have:

farm with domestic animals (sheep, cows etc.)
orchard
garden with aromatic plants and herbs
seed bank
apiary

 

 

In the facilities of Pogoniani in Ipirus there exist in full operation 3 state of the art workshops.

Cheese making workshop
workshop for making traditional products
apiary

 

Furthermore in the facilities of Pogoniani we have:

farm with domestic animals (sheep, cows etc.)
cultivation of a smaller scale and tree cultivation
garden with aromatic plants and herbs
vineyard

Goal

 

The general goal of the program of education and training moves within the wider frame of goals and principles of general education and at the same time aims at:

the developing of skills of applying knowledge in professional environment.
the acquisition of skills according to the national frame of qualifications.
the formation of a responsible professional and environmental conscience.

 

 

A more specific goal of the program is to provide professional agricultural education and training in target groups who desire to be occupied in enterprises that are active in the Primary Sector.

 

in this frame of work, the aim of the program is for the attendants to acquire knowledge, skills and practice in issues that have to do within the primary agricultural domain and the domain of processing agricultural products. Furthermore, the attendants will get a basic knowledge concerning the support of agricultural systems and the management of agricultural holdings.

 

 

Special aims

 

The main design axes of the program aim t offer the attendants the possibility to:

acquire basic knowledge concerning the support of agricultural systems
acquire basic knowledge concerning the management of agricultural holdings
be trained in as many individual jobs of the domain as possible and have a better access to the job market which requires relevant knowledge and skills.

 

Structure  of the program

 

In order to obtain the certificate of professional agricultural education and training of the Ark of the World it is required to attend a four-semester course and to  fulfill  an internship.

 

In the first three semesters it is expected for the students to attend 5 courses per semester, while in the 4th semester, the students have to attend 3 courses and elaborate their internship. Each semester includes 12 weeks of teaching and one week for the exams. The internship lasts for 2 months and will take place in companies operating in the wider agricultural sector and in cases where this not possible, in the facilities of the Ark of the World.

 

The structure of the program is such that includes the successful attendance and examination in 18 courses and the elaboration of an internship. The attendance of the courses is mandatory. In the invent a student failed to attend at least the 70% of the teaching hours of a course he’s excluded from the examination of this course and has to re attend it, the next year. In special cases , it is possible to cover the required teaching hours for a specific course in a shorter time than expected. The evaluation of the attendants’ progress is left to the teacher and it can be written, oral or both.

 

The attendants who will be excluded from the program have the right to get a certificate of  attendance for the courses that they have already completed.

 

We insist the enrollment  and attendance of the agricultural school of the Ark of the World should start after students have completed junior high school for the important reasons mentioned below:

Due to the lack of attending school.

For the children we are raising and who -in the past- did not have an adequate attendance at school. Children who went to school at an older age (because of exploitation or neglection) and who don’t want to complete senior high school. These children can’t meet the requirements of school due to educational blanks and great learning difficulties. Due to the bad experiences they have lived, their performance at school is poor , they express a strong denial for attending courses and studying as well. The children are full of anger, they suffer from low self-esteem and they are suicidal because of their difficult past. What we want for those children is to have the opportunity to be trained in our

workshops ,after completing their attendance at junior high school so that,at the age of 18 they will be able to demand a place in the job market, having an official certification.

 

For the cases of teenagers with special psycho-emotional, behavioral, social issues who enter our organization after the age of 14.

For teenagers who entered our organization via a court order at an older age. Teenager who grow up within our facilities but strongly tend to delinquency. They’ re cases who have already shaped their personality , with severe behavioral problems who had already shown signs of juvenile delinquency at an early age (before entering our organization) and a limited attendance at school. In such cases, we deal with a lot of absences from school, issues with discipline and even a tense to using drugs. Teenagers at this age tend to repeat the schemes of behavior that they had faced during their childhood by their parents and we want to act parentively so that the above mentioned tendencies and behaviors won’t be developed. Having the tool of a professional training being certified officially we are sure that the minors will follow  a different path as young adults and we will avoid having to cope with problematic behaviors , stemming from what they had expernenced in their childhood .

The professional training of vulnerable groups at the age of 15-18 years old ,as a means of prevention not only for themselves but also for the wider social environment.
It has been found from researchers of american universities that people with a burdensome history, if they get trained and be able to produce their own food. The possibility for them to develop an outlaw behavior in the future decreases significantly. Thus, that same goes with the cases of teenager we grow, we want to act in a preventive way so that we can reduce the chances for them to develop a future outlaw behavior. Praeedingly we indicate some of the consequences of abuse that have been repeatedly highlighted through international research: depression, suicide, delinquency, divergent behavior, alcohol and drug abuse, use of psychotropic medicine, problematic relationships, dropout from school, psychosomatic disorders, low self-esteem etc.

 

One the contrary, we have to mention some of the benefits of professional education and training to young people, which have been recorded internationally: reduction of criminality, empowerment of the individual, self improvement immediate professional findings, relationships etc. . According to the European center for the development of vocational training, training not only helps specific groups of the population , but its wider benefits are similar to those of general education. Let alone in cases where individuals due to inability or other factors can’t respond to the requirements of general education. For the individuals, the social benefits of vocational education are calculated on the basis of the whether on not it boosts personal motivation, behavior, self-esteem and self confidence. In an ongoing study by Cedefop concerning the social benefits of vocational education and training for people in 15 European member states there has been found that training brings up positive results at a social level especially when it comes for a young markers aged 25 or less. It’s also beneficial to public participation and satisfaction.

 

At this part , we have to point out that young people with a burdensome background full of abuse, neglect and delinquency, hardly choose to pursue not only general education but also vocational training as an alternative. So far, researches show that young people of a burdensome background who grow up in closed protection structures , as adults, they fail to attend higher education institutions or even vocational education and training. The majority of such individuals return to their families and this unhealthy environment and tend to repeated the cycle of delinquency and    abuse they had faced as children.

 

This is were we have to make our intervention. We have to create the conditions according to which as soon as the young person turns 18 and the court which forced him to remain in closed protecting structure isn’t due anymore -this entering the society- he or she will have all the tools needed that will make him choose a different way of living from the one he/she had met within the environment of his/her family. That is to have al ready completed a vocational training which ,will lead him to find a stable job and a successful career. Since these people, due to their burdensome background and  abuse, wouldn’t choose on their own to follow any type of education at the age of 18, we will make sure to provide it for them as a tool at the age 15-18 years old.

 

It’s a preventive measure which on the one hand takes care of our children: it significantly reduces the chances of repeating the delinquency and abuse they faced at such an early age. We have the chance to provide our children with a certified professional education and training, before turning 18 which enables than to choose a decent life based on productivity, the right cooperation, high  self-esteem and the healthy competition.

 

 On the other hand it takes care of the society as a whole by reducing the criminal behaviors which tend to be reproduced by such vulnerable social groups. Behaviors which constitute danger for the society and which unfortunately will create new offenders -their descendants- as the vicious cycle of abuse and delinquency will not have a stop.