Aims
Our aims are to provide understanding, personal experience and skills, needed to restore resilience by connecting with nature and oneself.
Objectives
Our objectives are to provide the experience of nature as a guide - to connect a person with him/herself - to connect people

Quotes from interviews

I learn about cycles of life and death M.S.

“From nature I learn about cycles of life and death. Life and death are always connected, but modern men has forgotten that long time ago and broken his link to the cycle life/death/life.”

Earth has its Sun, Moon and two protectors, Saturn and Pluto A.M.J.R

“Earth has its Sun, Moon and two protectors, Saturn and Pluto. According to low of nature, the same must be true for every human being. That is a way I learn from Nature, observing natural lows and applying them to humans.”

Quotes from Reference Frame

What is nature to you and how does it influence your way you deal with difficult moments in your life? Moments in life

"Reading 51 interviews it was interesting to see how nature is perceived from different points of view. The answers could be classified, which is a necessary step in the analysis but one conclusion is straightforward: RESPECT. No matter how nature is described by the participants, respect is a common quality."

Share a personal story when you have overcome a life challenge. (How did you look to nature for relief, help, etc.) Personal story

"The personal stories as a result of this question, lead to a dispersion of answers. We have different problems, and nature offers different ways of helping. A conclusion could be offered, a DIVERSITY OF INTERACTIONS is possible within humans and nature which heals us."

What are your client’s needs (competencies) in order to overcome life challenges? Life challenges

"Some of the competencies mentioned in the interviews were – in a broader sense – survival skills in nature including physical fitness. This is of course important because it opens up a wider choice of interactions with nature. However, within this project we shall not deal with physical fitness programs.

Within the CONNAT project, we will build a course with an aim to enabling recognition of someone’s needs, her/his readiness to search for a possible fulfilment of those needs through interaction with nature as a prerequisite for wellbeing. Development of this set of competencies, presented later, is the core of our course."

What do you need, as a professional, to help people to overcome crises in their lives? Crises in lives

"A support NETWORK and exchange of good practices with other professionals should be developed (informal and formal associations) on raising the awareness of people about the benefits of being active in nature. Networking was mentioned as an important factor in the success of this project."

„The population in cities continuously grows. According to World Urbanization United Nations Prospects today the 73% of the population of Europe lives in towns, by 2050 approximately the 66% of the world population will live in cities. In Hungary this rate will be 82%. (UN, 2014)

Urbanization have an impact on natural environment, on society and on the individual as well. In this article we focus mainly on the effects on individuals. Mental problems appear on the following areas:

  • lack of mindfulness due to the „runaway phenomenon” of the intentional cognitive processes
  • the decreasing sense of community based partly on the break-up of the traditional family and community models,
  • the alienation from nature. Due to our distance from the natural environment, we do not feel as part of the nature anymore.”

„The connection with nature could be curing. Higher level of concentration, better achievements, less aggression, less stress, better adaptability – just some of the benefits (Louv, 2008; Kuo-Sullivan, 2001). Walking in the forest, spending some time in wild nature, animal assisted therapy, a greener environment have great relaxing effects. Studies have proved that criminality amongst young people were much higher in urban areas.”

The Rogers Foundation for Person-Centred Education has been set up in 2005, and started its official activity in 2006. While originally our main goal was to maintain the Rogers Person-Centred Secondary School, as years have passed, the Foundation has scaled up to national and international level, and started to work in public- and adult education areas, as well as for youth issues and sustainability.
Based on Carl R. Rogers’s thoughts we believe that a person can understand and fulfil him or herself through living, personal experiences and in accepting relationships. Our mission is to ensure this accepting relationship to people, and to have people understand and become conscious about its importance. Also we would like to understand and prevent all barriers against building up these relationships. For this purpose we organize and run educational, experiential activities, as well as organize researches, projects and services.
As a permanent educational institution we still maintain the successor of the Rogers Secondary School, the Rogers Academy, where young people looking for an alternative for traditional education can find their place. As we experience people find us either for our value system, or for dealing with learning and behavioural problems. Our other permanent service is the Kulissza Skill-Building Workshop, where we provide training in drama, dance and music for three different age groups (3-6, 10-13 and 18+) in a person-centred way. As a registered Talent Point, we also regularly organize talent development programs.
Besides our permanent activities in the last ten years we have implemented more than 50 educational projects in different areas but with common approach: drama pedagogy, arts therapy, free play, game-based learning, emotional intelligence, systems thinking, leisure time pedagogy, talent development, e-learning, sustainability education, human rights and equal opportunities, person-centred organizational development.
We have a well-developed network of connections within Hungary. We are members of the Talent Assisting Network, the Council Assisting Talents with Special Needs, the Zero Waste Network as well as the Rogersian person-centred network.
Internationally by today we have worked together with more than 50 partner organizations from 26 countries of Europe, and we are members of international networks, such as the Real World Learning Network, Initiative for Equality, the European Network on Inclusive Education and Disability, and the Resilience Connection Network. Through our membership we are actively engaged in international youth and education policy, and participating in relevant calls and actions.
Our projects are financed either from national or EU support, or from service contracts. Our staff is seven person, and we have a large number of experts and volunteers whom we involve in the implementation of our activities in order to reach an ever increasing quality.

Rogers Foundation

important places
sensations
find harmony
nature helps
to go outside and walk
meeting others
to connect to others
harmony and balance
connection to themselves