Viristar provided two Experiential Learning Trip Risk Management courses in Lithuania in May, hosted by the American International School of Vilnius (AISV), and held at their Upper School campus in Vilnius.
Participation was opened to schools in the Central and Eastern European Schools Association (CEESA), and the trainings were attended by faculty and staff from AISV and the Belarus-based QSI International School of Minsk.
One course, held over two days, offered safety guidance for trip leaders and chaperones. The second course, targeted to school administrators, provided managerial-level guidance on developing an effective safety management system for experiential learning trips.
The trainings illustrate the commitment of AISV and the CEESA schools community to quality and safety of experiential learning trips for their students.
Course participant Amanda Sunderman, Director of the American International School of Vilnius, said, “The risk management training provided an excellent workshop with depth which will help AISV take our experiential learning up another level.”
The trainings covered risk management measures and safety system development for a variety of experiential learning trips, including:
- Outdoor adventure like skiing, kayaking and paddleboarding
- Athletic, cultural exchange, and creativity experiences
- CEESA and Nordic League international tournaments, events and academic competitions in Milan, Istanbul, Prague, Sarajevo, Riga, Warsaw, Krakow, Tallinn, Budapest and elsewhere
Experiential Learning Risk Management Curriculum
Course content was informed by curriculum from Viristar’s Foundations of Adventure Safety course, Viristar’s flagship in-person training on risk management of experiential learning and outdoor programs and excursions.
The Foundations of Adventure Safety class is a complement to Viristar’s online Risk Management for Outdoor Programs training, which Viristar has provided to experiential education, travel and adventure professionals in over 80 countries on six continents.
Course lessons covered how trip leaders and administrators can develop effective safety management systems for their trips. The classes introduced participants to the Risk Domains model of incident causation and prevention, and explored the safety standards in Viristar’s Adventure Safety Accreditation standards as a model for safety system development for experiential education trips.
Many international schools collaborate with third-party providers in offering experiential learning activities to students, such as a school working with an athletic league or Model United Nations event organizer along with venues and accommodations. Because of this, extensive coverage of overlapping health and safety duties between schools and third-party providers was provided, including an evaluation tool to help schools assess how they are working with external suppliers.
Regional Safety and Security
Regional health, safety and security concerns were also a consideration in preparing for and delivering the trainings in Lithuania, which declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1990 and joined the EU and NATO in 2004.
On May 19, an air raid alert forced Lithuanians into underground shelters, prompted by a drone incursion from Russia’s directing armed drones into Baltic airspace.
Viristar addressed AISV’s well-developed Drone Alert Response Procedure for field trips and on-campus activities.
Viristar staff prepared by reviewing short-term shelter (priedanga) locations identified by the Ministry of the Interior, as well as security alert messages from the Smart Travel Enrollment Program (STEP) of the U.S. State Department and OSAC (formerly Overseas Security Advisory Council). Viristar is an organizational member of OSAC, whose security resources Viristar has used for in providing consulting and training services, from expeditioning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to school programs around the world.
Safety considerations for school trips to a Lithuania site a few kilometers from the Russian exclave of the oblast (region) of Kaliningrad were also discussed in pre-course planning.
Viristar and AISV leadership
Viristar provided risk management training six years ago to education professionals in Taiwan, one of whom would go on to assume the top leadership role at the American International School in Vilnius. Remembering the course from 2002, AISV leadership reached out to Viristar to bring their acclaimed training to the international school community in Europe.
Lithuania and Experiential Learning
The Experiential Learning Risk Management trainings were held in Vilnius coincidentally at the same time the nation’s remarkably picturesque capital city hosted its famous Pink Soup Fest, a celebration revolving around šaltibarščiai, Lithuania’s iconic and delicious cold beet soup.
Lithuania has a rich cultural history spanning centuries, with cultural assets ranging from ancient hillfort sites to cathedrals, museums and other sites rich in experiential learning opportunities.
The country, a Baltic nation of some 3 million person, also has sparkling lakes, forests of spruce, birch and pine, and diverse opportunities for outdoor education.
Tess Reichart, course participant and teacher at The American International School of Vilnius, said, “[The facilitator] is a profoundly skilled communicator of quite challenging topics. Their organization of material and various simulation activities was clear and highly relevant to our needs. I left the training with a deeper sense for safety and procedures.”
Schools—and other providers of experiential learning, adventure, outdoor and travel experiences—can find more information on the Viristar website about the Foundations of Adventure Safety, Risk Management for Outdoor Programs, Adventure Safety Accreditation and other consulting and training services that Viristar offers.
