New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Initiative category

Identify the award category for which this initiative is being submitted
Reconnecting with nature

Email user
info@agnetamlindh.se

Basic information
Initiative title
Mindful Photography

Full initiative Title
Mindful Photography - Reconnecting with nature frame by frame

Please provide a short, catchy description of your initiative to be used in communication towards the public.
Mindful photography is a way to reconnect with nature. For the beginner or already hooked on photography, this is a nature workshop where you will find inspiration and structure to get out and get going. Work the scene. Catch that fleeting feeling. The happiness from experiencing the light filtering through the leaves in the forest turns your photos into haiku poetry. With a camera, pen, and all your senses open - welcome!

What was the geographical scope of your intiative?
Regional

Where was your intiative implemented?
Member State(s) and Western Balkans
Sweden

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
{Empty}

Does your initiative address mainly urban or rural issues?
It addresses urban-rural linkages

Does your initiative refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)

Has your initiative benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No

Has your initiative won an EU prize with a monetary value awarded?
No

Does your initiative has a minimum level of maturity? The minimum level of maturity is exemplified by stakeholder/ initiative promoter commitment to implement the initiative in practice and a clear methodology /approach.
Yes

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As an individual
Please provide the contact details for the intiative promoter (the individual or representative of the organisation authorised to represent the intiative).
- First name: Agneta M.
  Last name: Lindh
  Gender: Female
  Nationality: Sweden
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Hammarbacksvägen 26 c Lgh 112
  Town: Västerås
  Postal code: 72467
  Country: Sweden
  Direct Tel: +46 (0)793564885
  E-mail: info@agnetamlindh.se
  Website: http://www.agnetamlindh.se
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: https://www.facebook.com/agnetaml
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): #MindingTheMoment
- URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agnetamlindh1/
In case my initiative is selected as a finalist of the NEB Prizes 2023, I agree to share the name (individual and/or organisation’s), email address, website and social media accounts indicated above with other NEB Prizes finalists. I also agree to publish the name (individual and/or organisation’s), website and social media accounts indicated above next to the public description of my initiative in the channels of the European Commission.
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
Social Media

Description of the initiative
Please provide a summary of your initiative
Mindful photography is a way to reconnect with nature. For the beginner or already hooked on photography, this is a nature workshop where you will find inspiration and structure to get out and get going. Work the scene. Catch that fleeting feeling. The happiness from experiencing the light filtering through the leaves in the forest turns your photos into haiku poetry. With a camera, pen, and all your senses open - welcome!

Learning by doing and using all your senses are cornerstones of this workshop, as is wellness. Photography is about seeing, and this is about Seeing More. We learn together. We inspire each other and are part of a group, of something bigger than ourselves.

The nature workshop takes place in Norse country at an ancient site, the Viking tumulus Anundshög in Västerås, Sweden. It is a deliberate choice. This site is open to the public around the clock. Still, there are always people here for recreation and fun. The place is all history, and this is where I feel I belong to the land. That is important when we reconnect to nature.

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with 5 key words.
Nature connection

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Wellness

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Creativity

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
Beloning to the Land

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
An Experience of Beauty

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of sustainability and how these have been/will be met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
Nature connection: nature belongs to everyone, and the experience is free. When spending time in forest, we want learn how to take care of it. It is imperatative that we as a unity protect our environment.

Wellness: spending time in nature is of highest value for our health and wellbeing. You move your body on a photo walk; you walk through the seasons and experience the seasonal changes. In the workshop you learn how to See, how to go close. My key words are all connected.

Creativity: the brain loves to learn new things. Creativity is a source of joy and a great healer.

Belonging to the land & An experience of beauty: when you spend time in nature you will experience that some places are in need of love and care. In my workshop, this is not in the focal point but what I hope people will think about later on, when they take their photo walks. The Nordic countries share by law the Right of Public Access. We must take care of our forests, mountains, and lakes for the future.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people (through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
Nature connection: nature is healing and is part of our wellness and self care. We experience positive emotions when we are in nature and are replentished from it. Mindful Photography is a nature workshop at an ancient site open to the public where people come for recreation the year around.

Wellness: spending time in nature is healing. The forest, in the city or the countryside, is a place to do mindfulness and practise forest bathing. It's a place to exercise and a place to relax.

Creativity: the brain loves to learn new things and to be creative. The nature workshop is for the beginner and the more seasoned photographer. Both will find something new. The set up of the workshop is to create a structure and routine for mindful phototography, which in turn makes you feel safe.

Belonging to the land: this nature workshop is in the original set in Norse Country, in Middle Sweden, by Lake Mälaren. The Viking tumulus Anundshög and the ship setting grave field, is the biggest and oldest in Sweden. It is open year round, and it is free to access it. The energy here is beautiful, and the people of Västerås come here at every hour of the day, year around. We have a need to feel we belong and are part of something bigger.

An experience of beauty: to be in nature is to experience beauty. Every sunrise is unique, and so is every sunset. Standing on the top of Anundshög, a winter sunrise with frost on the ground and droplets glttering like diamonds on the old grass. That is an experience that gives you hope.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of inclusion (ranging from accessibility and affordability for all to inclusive governing systems, design for all principles or new societal models) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
The nature workshop is at three levels, and the cost is highest for businesses and lowest for the County Council sponsored workshop:
1. Kickoff and event for business.
2. Study Associations weekend workshops: 3 meetings.
3. Workshop, 6 hours at a Folk High School (not at Anundshög tumulus)

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the initiative and civil society have been/will be involved in the initiative and what has been/will be the impact of this involvement on the initiative
Option two is holding the workshop at a Study Association, which is a Swedish pedagogy that stems from making knowledge and learning accessible to all and everyone. The first Study Association formed in 1894. In this form of learning, you learn together. The study leader does not have to know much or anything about the subject, making it a mutual quest. I'm a certified Study Association leader, and I had my first group when I was twentyone. We learn together. Due to the pandemic, things changed from on-site to online, and it's been slow getting back to normal. I will work on developing the concept for this new world and present it to the study organizer.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and implementation of the initiative.
I work together with the Study Association Studieförbundet Vuxenskolan, for adult courses in a group setting with the sole purpose of having fun learning together. They asked me for a workshop for their kickoff, which is where it started. I have since offered the course to the public and am writing a book (the first edition will be in English for an international audience). This spring, I will give the workshop at Tärna Folk High School, which is part of the County Council. This means it is open to the public and at a low cost. I love Tärna Folk High School, and am thrilled to work with them.

Please explain which disciplines and/ or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and implementation of your initiative. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was
Multi-disciplinary Learning:
Photography - creative writing - nature experience - wellness.

I make mindful photography easy, uncomplicated and fun. It is a joy to see participants who have never used a camera suddenly know How-To. A few simple instructions, and soon they are in flow. In the group I see how differnt personalities take to the information and how they use it. Some are thrilled that structure excersises makes them free to be in the moment. Others learn about compositin, and some write and perform the haiku poems wvwn though they are timid about it. I give them the keys - they open the treasure to their own strenghts. They also add to the process by asking questions and helping each other. The group is important to how the workshop develops.

Please highlight the innovative character of the initiative, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the initiative
In Sweden you usually see a course about either photography, creative writing, or wellness. I connect the creative arts with wellness, and I use the best classroom I know - nature - be it the forest or by Lake Mälaren. Moving the body is essential because you feel happy, and that happy feeling you put into the click of the shutter. It is a kind of programming: when you grab the camera and press the shutter, you connect it to a memorable moment in nature, and feel happy.

Please describe which elements of your initiative could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and contexts. This may involve, for example, aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings, etc.
The whole workshop can be transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and contexts.
My goal is to publish a book on this theme, and develop and reserach for an online course. Both in the English language.

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your initiative.
Pedagogic strategies and practices in use:
- A multi-sensory experience to experience nature fully.
- John Dewey's pedagogy of learning by doing for the photography beginner. No experience of photography needed to participate.
- Howard Gardner's theory to speak to people's different ways of learning.
- Mindfulness and forest bathing exercises.
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's study on flow.
- Ikigai: the Japanese concept of a reason for being, having a sense of purpose based on one's interests and talents, and what you can give to the world.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the initiative addresses by providing local solutions
My plan is to self publish a book, and out together a course for international learners.
- Health challenges such as stress, burn out, mental illness, and lack of exercise.
- Lack of city forests and green areas in the neighbourhood.
- Lack of knowledge on how to approach and be in nature.

I do not use the health issue as a pain point. The workshop does not work with personal health problems.

Please detail the scope of progress in the implementation of the initiative. This can include already demonstrated results/outputs related to the chosen Prizes category, and the already achieved benefits from the initiative for direct and indirect beneficiaries. This can also include a development plan of the initiative, with a particular attention to the steps envisaged in the year following the application, and including envisaged results and benefits from the initiative
Implemented:

THE PUBLIC
I cooperate with a study association for adult learning, Vuxenskolan, and I work with the Folk High School Tärna, which is part of the Health Services County Council.

SCHOOLS & STUDY ASSOCIATIONS I have educated teachers at the nature pedagogy school Mistelskolan in Västerås. The personnel at the regional office of the
Study Association Vuxenskolan have done the workshop with me.

CULTURE PROJECTS
There is interest from the County Council Culture Department that I work with librarians on creative writing in a reading promotion project. The focus will be on literature, nature, and wellness.

Steps envisaged in the year following the application:
1. Continue giving workshops on-site in Sweden
2. Finish writing and self-publish book in English
3. Start online course development & find an educational platform
4. Launch online course: find international collaborations & umbrella organizations
5. Create Community: for the creative and curious who seek a nature connection.

The results I look for is sustainable personal wellness, and a creative outlet. Everybody benefits from this. Nature connection and art is healing.

Please provide documents that demonstrate the maturity level of the initiative and commitment to implement the initiative in practice (e.g.: evaluation report, final or mid-term initiative report, certification, publications, building permit, grant agreement, letter of support, partnership agreement, etc.)
Both
PDF
- pdf-1-18904.pdf
Web link
- https://tarna.fhsk.se/mindfulness-med-kameran/
If relevant, please describe how your initiative contributes to developing new competences, especially in the context of the European competence framework on sustainability.
Learners and educators who participate in the workshop get tools to utilize for themselves or in the classroom for a more sustainable society and life concerning wellness and self care. Mindfulness and foresth bathing are part of the workshop.

Multidisiplinary creative expressions and interest in camera skills is combined to suit several learning styles. The multimodal learning style is paramount in a classroom for everybody.

The importance of reconnecting with nature needs to be open to all and everybody. The knowledge about how to be and act nature is something we need to talk about to take care of nature . Equally important is to talk about the importance of feeling safe in the forest, how to choose your spot, and to relax.
Please attach at least 6 high resolution images or visual representations of your initiative to your application.
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload or write below.
- Nature Workshop_Mindful Photography.pdf
- Freebie_Three tips using photography to connect with nature.pdf
By submitting your application you confirm that you are the copyright owner of the images provided and that they can be used by the European Commission for the purposes of promoting the New European Bauhaus on all platforms (websites, print, social media and other).
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.
Yes

By submitting this application, I declare that I am not related to the entities subject to EU restricted measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and subject to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)1, and entities covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05), which are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed initiative has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the initiative and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary
Yes

By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their initiatives, initiative, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted initiative, initiative is found to infringe third party’s rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
Yes

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you read and understand that the ‘Guide to Applicants’ of the NEB Prizes 2023, available online in the website of the NEB Prizes 2023, is an integral part of this application form and that it must therefore be observed when completing and submitting your application.
Yes