A new partnership will allow Canadian and Norwegian university students to benefit from interdisciplinary nature-based recreation and outdoor wellness education programs offered in both countries.
This new initiative builds on Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) membership within the University of the Arctic consortium and ongoing collaborative research with colleagues in Scandinavia associated with VIU’s World Leisure Centre of Excellence.
“I’m excited to see that work progress to involving colleagues across disciplines at VIU and the creation of opportunities for Canadian and Norwegian students from partner institutions to enhance their educational experiences,” says Rob Ferguson, VIU Faculty of Management Acting Associate Dean.
Students from VIU have an opportunity to take friluftsliv studies at the University of South-Eastern Norway in Bø, and the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo, and their students can come to VIU to further their studies in courses related to Child and Youth Care (CYC), Recreation and Tourism Management and Kinesiology.
Friluftsliv, pronounced free-loofts-liv, coined by renowned Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen in 1859, loosely translates to free air life.
“It is the philosophy that you're the best version of yourself when you're out in nature doing something,” says Steve Javorski, VIU Child and Youth Care Professor. “This is an immersion experience for VIU students to go and learn about living and being in the outdoors in a culture that values it as an integral part of life.”
To read the full article, please visit: https://news.viu.ca/viu-students-benefit-norwegian-collaboration-outdoor-studies