FOLM “From Outdoors to Labour Market” is a project aimed at young people aged 18-29. The project is being conducted in parallel in three countries: Poland, Spain, and Ireland. On June 18th we opened a new season of expeditions, but with small twists in our rules. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were forced to change our recruitment rules. So far, the most important element in the recruitment process has been face-to-face or group meetings with the recruiters. Currently, recruitment is carried out through social networking sites and the FOLM website (www.folmweb.com), as well as by mail and telephone. We have a difficult task because contact with another person is necessary as early as the recruitment stage. When asked, “How are we doing?” we can answer that we have completely changed the rules, but we do everything to ensure that the quality of our contacts with the participants does not suffer from it and that everyone is safe.
We have already made three expeditions with each partner following the guidelines and safety rules of its countries.
The first element of the expedition is the place of the pick-up and transport to the hostel. In all partner countries, the following rules apply:
- wearing masks in closed spaces,
- keeping a safe distance in public transport.
Each participant, regardless of the country in which he or she takes part in, should carry a sanitary card. We have to make sure that our participants are healthy and therefore do not pose any risk to the others. The same goes for the coaches. If we have any doubts about the coach’s health, we “replace” him with another qualified person. During the hike in Spain, participants must wear masks and should keep a safe distance. In Poland, participants are not required to wear masks in the open air.
During the expedition, we stay away from civilization, which may raise some concerns. The questions are: What about hygiene? How to maintain cleanliness in field conditions? The answer is simple: We are perfectly prepared. We provide participants with masks, disposable gloves, soaps, and liquids for hand disinfection. We take care of the common safety of FOLM project participants. And it is much easier in the forest than in the town. Our groups are up to 10 people, which allows us to keep our distance even during common activities and there is hardly any risk. No worries FOLM is safe!
