IASS 2011: Three Courses, Four Gold Expeditions, Five Countries – and 48 Friends

From July 31 to August 14, the International Award Summer School took place for the sixth time consecutively in the headquarters of the German Award (“Alte Bahnmeisterei”) in Osterburken under the patronage of mayor Jürgen Galm. For the very first time the event was conducted in cooperation with another National Award Authority, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Bermuda. IASS 2011 was coordinated by Karsten Vogel, who was supported by a team of eight trainers from all over Germany.

The programme of the 6th International Summer School was very different from previous years, too: At the request of the Bermudian partners, it lasted 15 days instead of the one week of past events. Also, besides the “classic” seminars aimed at adults, there was a second “expedition track” with Final Practise Journeys and Qualifying Ventures for Gold Award Participants.

The new design paid off! In the end, 39 young persons and adults came from Afghanistan, Bermuda, Germany, Pakistan and Singapore to Osterburken to either attend the different courses or to undertake their Gold Expeditions in the Forest of Odes. In fact, the Award Summer School 2011 was even more “international” than the official participants’ list shows, as some of these countries’ delegates were actually originally from Jamaica, the Netherlands, the USA and Wales, while one of the trainers is a teacher and Award Leader in Luxembourg. There was one flaw: of the eight enroled Afghan participants, only two could get their visa.

The programme started on Sunday with a visit to the local roman museum and ancient roman fortress. The guest learned about the ancient history of the “roman town” Osterburken, once a roman casern situated directly at the border between the Roman Empire and Germania. This sightseeing tour also provided the Gold participants with ideas for their expeditions’ aims. In the afternoon, the four Expedition groups undertook mini-hikes and had a first chance to try their navigation and orientation skills in the yet unfamiliar German countryside.

On Monday, the „two tracks“ of IASS 2011 started with an Award Leaders Course for the adults and the preparations of the Gold Practise Journeys for the four Expedition groups. While the Leaders Course dealt with the philosophy and guiding principles of the Award, the young people had a final expedition training session in the morning and produced rough drafts of their route cards and meal plans for their Practise Journeys in the afternoon.

On Tuesday afternoon, after two and a half days of intensive preparations, the 28 Gold participants started for their Practise Journeys in the surrounding area of Osterburken. The Award Leaders Course participants were – supported by the trainers – acting as supervisors. Thus, the instruction of the groups during the route planning as well as the supervision of the venture itself were at the same time the “practical” part of the Leaders Course.

On Thursday evening, all four groups arrived back at the headquarters – exactly on time. The debriefings of the groups also marked the end of the Leaders Course and the beginning of the Management Course, dealing with the implementation of the Award at Operating Authorities and Units.

On Friday morning, all four Gold Expedition groups started to plan their Qualifying Ventures. As with the Practise Journeys, the first part was the hardest: to decide upon an interesting aim for the journey and suitable ways of exploration and documentation. The recent practical experience led to much more feasible ideas than just a few days ago: the four groups were to explore “German people and lifestyles”, “Christian wayside shrines”, “insects” and “plants”. While the groups were finishing their rough drafts, the Management Course was also drawing to a close.

The end of the first Summer School week was celebrated with the traditional, hard-earned visit to the city of Heidelberg on Saturday. The participants got there in two steps: First by train to the town of Neckarsteinach, then by ship upon the river Neckar to Heidelberg. There the official programme started at the “Universitätsplatz” (university square) with a scavenger hunt and ended with the obligatory visit to the castle of Heidelberg.

After this “day off”, Sunday brought more work on both “Summer School tracks”. The four Expedition groups finished the rough drafts of their route plans, presented the reports of their Practise Journeys and started to complete their route cards. At the same time, the Wild Country Assessors Course started.

The „second Monday“ of Summer School was filled with last preparations for the Qualifying Journey in the Forest of Odes. The four groups completed their route cards and bought their foot. The stressful day ended with an exciting “cell phone communication drill”. The participants of the Assessors Course assisted the “real” Assessors, e.g. with checking the route plans.

On the second week’s Tuesday, with the start of the Gold Expeditions the crucial stage of the 6th International Summer School began. After a last equipment check by the Assessors, at 8 o’clock a.m. the four groups were driven to their respective starting points in the Forest of Odes. Their first day in the Wild Country Area gave them a chance to experience the typical weather of the region – wet and cold. Nonetheless, all four groups arrived at their destinations on time. A dozen farmers had kindly provided patches of their premises as campsites for the four days. During the whole venture, the participants of the Assessors Course took part in the “visible” and “invisible” visits to the groups. These practical sessions of the course were interrupted with theoretical sessions back at the headquarters, were the course participants prepared and showed presentations on important parts of the expedition training, supervision and assessment.

After four exhausting days en route, all four groups finished their expeditions on Friday afternoon successfully and exactly on schedule. Back to the headquarters, their equipment was collected, the stoves cleaned and the tents dried. In the final debriefing, the groups reflected the experiences and outcomes of their ventures with their “real” and “prospective” Assessors.

On Saturday, the official programme of Summer School 2011 ended with the International Evening. The event started a 5 o’clock p.m. and was attended by the mayor of Osterburken, Jürgen Galm, as well as many of Summer School’s “backstage helpers”. The evening was highlighted by the expedition reports the groups had started preparing on the previous evening. The impressive presentations showed the results of the groups’ four days of exploration and research.

Mayor Galm thanked all guest for their participation and the trainers and organisers for their efforts. He was glad about the publicity Summer School and Osterburken had received since its beginnings. “The International Award and Summer School are good publicity for our town,” Galm said. “Our efforts have paid off,” said Karsten Vogel, who had coordinated Summer School 2011, in his closing words. In a challenging learning process, all four groups had completed their demanding Gold expeditions. “Thank you very much for two fantastic weeks – and have a good trip back home tomorrow!”