What makes Source Conference unique is its methodological diversity. Participants can work with experiential, outdoor, creative, and improvisational tools, as well as a solution-focused and trauma-informed approach. All of this is complemented by practical aspects of child and youth protection guidelines, which are now indispensable in responsible professional work.
Source is an unconventional, bilingual (English and Hungarian) conference where learning takes place not only through lectures but also through personal experience. Workshops, outdoor programs, and guided reflection groups provide participants with the opportunity not only to acquire new knowledge but also to process it more deeply and integrate it into their own practice.
During the Source Conference, this year you will be able to attend 3 workshops each day. In every time slot we offer one workshop on all of the following topics:
In addition to the workshops, you can look forward to discussions and outdoor activities. During the guided sessions, we’ll focus on your personal growth in small groups. We’ll help ensure that the conference is as beneficial as possible for you.
An interpreter is available for this workshop
How can socio-psychological theories move from textbooks to real life? And what happens when we put them into practice – do they live up to expectations?
Join us for an interactive workshop where we will explore insights from Bori’s social psychology research alongside the practical experiences of the KacsaKő Association, a nonprofit organization that brings together children and young people from diverse social backgrounds, including Roma and non-Roma youth, as well as participants from socially disadvantaged and middle-class families.
Through fair-play team sports such as ultimate frisbee, capture the flag, and quidditch, we create opportunities for meaningful encounters, democratic participation, and mutual understanding. Drawing on both research and practice, we will examine how social psychological theories can help reduce prejudice, strengthen communities, and support social inclusion, and where the challenges lie when theory meets reality.
We will play, reflect, play, and reflect again. Expect movement, discussion, and hands-on experiences that bring the concepts to life.
Come discover how theory meets action on the playing field – and how sports can become a powerful tool for social change.
Please come in comfortable clothing and be ready to participate actively.
This workshop offers an insight into the world of inclusive Erasmus+ youth exchanges, with a special focus on the involvement of young people with intellectual disabilities. We will demonstrate how outdoor experiential learning activities such as hiking, rope courses, canoeing, horseback riding, sightseeing, and community games can become accessible to everyone. A central question we explore is what accessibility truly means for participants with different needs. We will compare the support requirements of young people with intellectual disabilities and those of participants with physical disabilities, such as wheelchair users. Through concrete examples, we will illustrate how the same program can be adapted to ensure meaningful participation for all.
We will share proven methods, facilitation techniques, and practical solutions that foster genuine inclusion and autonomy. Special emphasis will be placed on preparation, support, and the creation of an enabling environment. Participants will also gain insights through inspiring stories that highlight both the opportunities and challenges of inclusive mobility. The workshop aims to equip participants with knowledge and tools that can be applied in their own practice. Ultimately, we seek to show that with the right mindset and approaches, shared experiences can truly become accessible to everyone.
A space becomes truly inclusive when everyone – regardless of their background, special needs or neurodiversity – can feel safe and experience that “my presence matters here.”
In this workshop, we will work with the tools of applied improvisation. You can participate without having to speak through non-verbal exercises, simply by giving your attention to others. We will explore how the method fosters the creation of trust in a short period of time, where people become more open, connect more easily with one another, and feel safe enough to make mistakes and take interpersonal risks. These are the conditions in which psychological safety begins to emerge.
We see diversity as a resource and shared play as a bridge. We believe that play remains a powerful catalyst for learning, connection, and growth in adulthood, and that some of our deepest insights emerge when we enter a state of playful flow.
You will leave the workshop with practical tools for fostering an inclusive group atmosphere, intentionally building psychological safety, and creating spaces where people from diverse backgrounds can feel welcome, engaged, and safe to participate.
How do we build truly inclusive international mobility projects for highly vulnerable young people, not just in theory, but in practice? This workshop starts from a simple provocation: imagining that it is 2035, and that the most inclusive Erasmus+ project we have ever seen is already happening. What does it look like? What made it possible? And what is still standing in the way today? The session explores how future orientation — the ability to imagine desirable futures and work backwards from them — can become a powerful tool for inclusion, hope, and agency in youth work. Participants will reflect on the barriers that currently exclude highly vulnerable young people from international mobility, and on the systemic and relational changes needed to overcome them. The workshop treats inclusion not as a fixed goal but as a continuous, collective commitment — one that requires youth workers, organisations, and young people themselves to act together. By the end of the session, each participant will leave with a concrete personal commitment for the week ahead, as well as a shared vision of what inclusive mobility could look like if we dare to imagine it differently.
Consent is often understood as a simple “yes” or “no,” yet real-life situations are rarely that straightforward. This interactive workshop introduces youth workers to practical, ready-to-use activities for exploring consent, boundaries, communication, pressure, and digital safety with young people. The workshop will also offer facilitation tips for navigating sensitive conversations and creating safer learning spaces.
An interpreter is available for this workshop
How do you work as a support worker? Out of routine? From experience? On intuition? Out of a sense of mission? Through strength – and sometimes even sheer physical effort? You’ve probably experienced most of these, as groups – young people and adults alike – come and go, along with individual and community stories, projects and assignments, and you yourself are changing too.
On this occasion, we’re bringing a tool from the TANDEM practice that opens up a space for you to walk towards the innermost reality of your helper self and be recharged by whatever you encounter there, or during the walk.
The labyrinth is a tool for contemplative walking. It is the longest path leading towards the centre of the circle. If you like, it involves letting go, transformation and renewal. Or life, death and rebirth. If that suits you better, it is simply a leisurely walk where you can connect with nature, with those walking alongside you, and calm your nervous system. A place where you can rest in every sense of the word.
Labyrinth walking, as a method, can be applied in an extremely wide variety of ways, ranging from healing and mediation to wedding ceremonies. It can serve as a setting for individual or group self-discovery processes, as a tool for introductory or closing rituals for groups, and the list goes on. The workshop will also provide an opportunity to marvel at the diversity of these methodological possibilities.
From Emotions to Support: Emotional Well-being and Peer Support in Youth Work
This workshop explores emotional well-being, resilience, and peer support in youth work through experiential and non-formal education methods. Participants will begin by reflecting on their current emotional state and identifying factors that influence their well-being while working with young people. Through emotional mapping and group discussion, they will explore common sources of emotional pressure, such as the expectation to always be available, emotionally strong, and supportive to others. A practical case-study activity will introduce the difference between genuinely supporting someone and taking responsibility for solving their problems. Participants will explore how active listening, appropriate boundaries, and trauma-informed communication can help them support young people without neglecting their own needs. A short input will provide practical insights into emotional boundaries, burnout prevention, safeguarding, and self-care in youth work. Through the experiential activity “Quiet Moments of Support,” participants will reflect on the importance of recognition, trust, and supportive relationships within a group. The workshop will create a safe space where participants can share experiences without pressure and learn from one another through peer reflection. The session will end with a grounding exercise and personal reflection, allowing participants to identify one idea or practice they can take into their own youth work.
An interpreter is available for this workshop
Are you familiar with the situation where, in a group of teenagers, you run up against a wall of apathy—a “I don’t care” attitude—or sudden outbursts of anger? As professionals, we often feel like we’re running out of tools when young people visibly push us away or test our limits. But what if this resistance isn’t directed at us, but is actually a cry for help hidden behind a mask? This workshop shows how we can interpret adolescents’ challenging behavior as expressions of their true needs through the lens of Connective Education. Together, we’ll explore how humor and playful connection can become the quickest ways to relieve tension and open doors with 12- to 18-year-olds. We’ll try out teen-friendly, experiential games drawn from our own experiences that can help alleviate anxiety within the group. At the same time, play doesn’t mean there are no boundaries: we’ll also learn the steps to setting loving yet rock-solid boundaries. We’ll explore how you can remain a supportive presence amid your teenager’s emotional storms without taking on the stress yourself. I’ll share practical tools that will help you be both a relaxed, connected companion and a stable, reassuring adult—even in the most challenging situations.
An interpreter is available for this workshop
How can play help us stay grounded and understand ourselves better? At first glance, play may seem simple, light or even just fun — but it can quickly show us a lot about how we pay attention, how present we can be, how we respond to pressure, and what helps us keep going when something does not work right away. In this workshop, participants will step into playful situations where focus, persistence, flexibility and connection all come into play. The aim is not to perform well or “win”, but to notice what our way of playing reveals about us. Through hands-on experience, participants can explore their own patterns around frustration, trust, learning and trying again. In this context, learning through play is not just a nice idea, but a real and practical approach: play creates a safe space to experiment, make mistakes, reflect and grow. By the end of the workshop, participants will take away not only shared playful experiences, but also personal insights into steadiness, resilience and connection.
Discover how a low ropes activity can create powerful learning experiences and meaningful outcomes in your training practice. Through hands-on participation, you will explore how low ropes challenges help individuals face their fears, plan and act together, build trust, and strengthen team cohesion. The focus will not be on the technical aspects or construction of low ropes elements, but rather on how facilitators can support group learning and make the most of the developmental opportunities that emerge through group dynamics.
This workshop is designed for trainers, educators, and facilitators who want to better understand how a simple challenge can become a powerful tool for learning, growth, and team development.
This workshop explores how grooming risks may emerge in youth work, particularly in situations where professional boundaries are unclear or gradually crossed. Participants will learn to recognise warning signs, reflect on common “grey zones”, and examine how group culture can either safeguard young people or normalise inappropriate behaviour. Through practical examples and discussion, the workshop will support participants in strengthening boundaries, shared responsibility, and preventive practices within youth work settings.
This workshop offers participants a hands-on, experiential introduction to Nature-Based Therapy (NBT) and Adventure Therapy as evidence-based frameworks that can be adapted to different contexts, goals, and target groups in youth work, as we do in Experientia.
The session will have two connected parts:
1. **Experiential phase** — participants engage directly in outdoor/nature-based activities drawn from NBT and Adventure Therapy practice, experiencing the methodology from the inside.
2. **Transfer phase** — guided reflection and theoretical grounding, exploring how these approaches can be applied to different areas: mental health and well-being, trauma-informed work, inclusion, and professional burnout prevention for youth workers.
The workshop connects directly to the thematic areas of experiential learning and outdoor education, safety and mental health, and well-being of youth workers.
An interpreter is available for this workshop
Being a parent is a challenge at any age, but it is all the more so when parenthood arrives early, in some cases during the teenage years. The central question of the study visit held in France in June 2026 was how social institutions and those working in the social sector can support young parents, and what responses they provide to which needs. Following a brief introduction at the workshop, we will use various creative methods to explore which groups of young parents we can identify in Hungary today, what their needs are, and what we can learn from best practices abroad that can be adapted. There will be storytelling, a group association exercise, an emotional map, a problem tree, plenty of discussion and sharing of experiences, all with the aim of bringing us closer to answering our question. Following a brief introduction at the workshop, we will use various creative methods to explore which groups of young parents we can identify in Hungary today, what their needs are, and what we can learn from best practices abroad that can be adapted. There will be storytelling, a group association exercise, an emotional map, a problem tree, plenty of discussion and sharing of experiences, all with the aim of bringing us closer to answering our question. What does it mean to be a young parent in Hungary today, and what non-financial support is needed – regardless of social background – to ensure that the needs of both the parent and the child are met?
*We define ‘young parents’ as those who have their first child before the age of 24 and are not yet 30. They may become parents whilst still in their teens or in their early twenties.
An interpreter is available for this workshop
Do you know that feeling when you’ve been doing what needs doing for so long – putting out fires, helping those who aren’t well, and the list of important, urgent tasks never seems to end – that you no longer even know exactly how you’re feeling?
And that moment when you’re walking slowly and leisurely through a forest, breathing in the scent of the earth and the plants, feeling the air on your skin, and suddenly it all feels a bit quieter inside?
We’ll explore the Rest – Reconnect – Restructure – Flow process: how to first create space for rest, then for reconnection, for reorganising our lives, and finally for a more sustainable flow.
Next, we head out into nature to try out two methods that can easily be incorporated into everyday life. Forest bathing is a slow, sensory immersion in the atmosphere of the forest, based on Japanese traditions, which promotes mindfulness and tranquillity. Self-Coorie is a Scottish-inspired self-care practice: we connect with our surroundings in small, quiet and joyful ways, whilst following whatever feels nourishing and uplifting to us at that moment.
By the end of the workshop, you’ll take away two exercises you can use straight away and a simple map to help you recognise what you need more quickly, find your way back to yourself more easily, or even help others to do the same.
Youth work: the crossroad of competences and values, invites participants into a reflective space where the practical and the principled sides of youth work meet. Rather than presenting a fixed framework, the session is built around reflective process, allowing participants to examine the competences they already use in their daily practice and to consider which ones they want to strengthen further. Through individual and group exercises, attendees will explore how skills such as communication, facilitation, and conflict management are never neutral, but are shaped by the values underpinning them. The workshop also creates dedicated space to discuss core values associated with youth work, such as inclusion, empowerment, participation, and respect for diversity, and to consider how these values translate into everyday practice.
The activity also encourages to share experiences from diverse contexts, surfacing both common ground and the tensions that can arise when competences and values pull in different directions. The session is designed to be participatory rather than lecture-based, relying on discussion, small-group work, and structured self-reflection tools.
By the end of the workshop, participants will have a clearer personal understanding of how their professional competences connect to their underlying values as youth workers. They will also leave with practical reflection tools they can revisit and adapt in their own organizational settings. The workshop is suitable for youth workers, trainers, and anyone engaged in youth work or non-formal education who wants to deepen their self-awareness in this field. Ultimately, the session aims to strengthen participants’ confidence in navigating the crossroad between what they do and why they do it.
An interpreter is available for this workshop
Topic:
A trauma-informed approach, safe spaces, mental wellbeing and emotional regulation for support professionals
Workshop description:
One of the fundamental questions in support work and youth work today is: how can we create a sense of safety for young people and communities who are often overwhelmed, living with uncertainty or under chronic stress — whilst we ourselves are working under ever-increasing emotional strain?
Building on the approach of trauma-informed support, this workshop takes a practical and experiential approach to creating safe spaces and supporting emotional regulation. Through creative, non-verbal and reflective tools, we will explore how safety, connection and containment manifest in the work of a support professional.
Through the use of picture cards, relaxation and visualisation exercises, creative activities set to music, and group reflection, participants can experience the fundamental principles of trauma-informed presence, which they can then incorporate into their day-to-day work.
Healthy relationships are an important part of young people’s wellbeing and personal development. In this workshop, we will explore how care, respect and diversity can help us create safer and more inclusive spaces for young people. Through participatory activities and group reflection, participants will share experiences and learn practical tools to promote healthy relationships in their educational and community work. We will talk about communication, empathy, boundaries and respect for different identities and experiences, including sexual and gender diversity. The workshop will also invite participants to reflect on the challenges that young people may face and how we can support them in a positive way. This session is based on non-formal education methods and active participation. Participants can expect a safe space for dialogue, exchange of ideas and practical learning. The workshop is open to educators, youth workers and anyone interested in promoting inclusion and wellbeing among young people.
The workshop “Arts Therapies: Fostering Flexible Perspectives to Enhance Intrapersonal, Social, and Cognitive Abilities in Youth” offers an immersion into the heart of the Marchio Patti Method, an innovative approach that uses artistic mediation as a catalyst for emotional and cognitive growth. Designed with a highly experiential focus, the session is built around a strictly hands-on laboratory dynamic, where participants will work synergistically across three specific sensory and expressive channels: music listening as an emotional activator, graphic-pictorial action to give visual shape to the inner world, and creative writing as a tool for processing thoughts. The practical activities will be constantly supported by targeted insights of theory, essential for decoding the neuroscientific and psychological processes activated by this multi-sensory experience. Through this blend of action and reflection, participants will experience how the method stimulates flexibility of perspective, acting on three key levels: deepening the relationship with oneself (intrapersonal), strengthening relational skills (social), and developing mental functions (cognitive) in young people.
Price of accomodation at the conference venue: 7620 HUF/person/night.
We are able to offer twelve 4 bed rooms.
