Prometheus
Camp Association
The Prometheus Camp Association
arranges Prometheus Camps for young people in order to give them
an opportunity to build their own life stance.
About the camps
At a Prometheus Camp, 15 to 20 people, including the camp leaders,
spend eight days together discussing, contemplating and exchanging
views and ideas. The objective of our camp is to give young people
at their threshold to adulthood an opportunity to work on their
own life stance. We believe it’s essential that they do it
themselves. We have no ready-made answers to give.
At the camp we strive for a secure
and trusting atmosphere. We want to give our participants a chance
to freely evaluate and develop their ways of thinking, and to talk
about their feelings, hopes and concerns.
Prometheus Camps are also called
“coming of age” camps, even though nobody becomes
an adult in a week. After the camp the participants can hopefully
better
understand their own and other peoples’ choices and opinions,
and have tools to find and develop a personal conception of the
world.
Prometheus Camps are primarily intended
for young people without a religious denomination, but anyone who
is interested is welcome. Our camp participants must have passed
the 8th grade (of the Finnish basic school) before coming to the
camp, so most are about 15 years of age. The camps are held in the
summertime. Most camp sites are located by the water, at places
of natural beauty.
During the camp, we discuss issues
important to young people. The topics include: differences, prejudice
and racism, drugs and alcohol, addiction, society and social issues,
the future, environmental issues, personal relations, sex and sexuality,
dating, world views, and how one can make a difference in the society.
Prometheus camps are not only about
discussions and work, there is of course also lots of time for play,
swimming, sauna and getting to know each other. Lifelong friendships
are not rare among former camp participants. The camp ends in a
Prometheus Ceremony, where our participants celebrate, with their
parents, relatives and friends, their journey towards adulthood.
Participate in a camp
If you want to participate
in a camp, see: www.protu.fi for
info about the available dates and venues. You can register by filling
out the registration form, printing it and sending it to our office
by fax +358-9-458 4633 or by mail to:
Prometheus-Leirin Tuki ry
P.O.Box 33
FIN-03601 Karkkila
Finland
International Camps
Each year we also prepare for international camps, were the languages
are English and Swedish. Most of our camps are of course held in
Finnish.
Organisation Prometheus
Camp Association
The Prometheus Camp Association
is a politically and ideologically independent civic organisation.
Prometheus Camps are primarily intended for young people without
a religious domination and who have ethics & life stance as
subject instead of religion at school. The idea of the Prometheus
Camp was born among some these youngsters.
The majority of Finnish schoolchildren
traditionally go to a Lutheran confirmation camp during the summer
between the 8th and 9th grades. The non-religious pupils don’t,
and the Prometheus Camp was created to meet the demand. The first
camp was in 1989, and the Prometheus Camp Association was established
the following year. During 2002 our number of members had grown
to 4000, the number of camps to 54 and attendees to 689.
The Prometheus Camp Association is
mainly financed by membership and camp
participation fees. The ministry of Education contributes with a
small subsidy. The work we do is voluntary. The association has
one office secretary on monthly salary, and the camp chefs get a
small monetary compensation.
The majority of our active members
are young, about 15 to 20 years of age. Many of them have participated
in a Prometheus Camp themselves, during which they have become enthusiastic
about our activity. They’ve become eager to organise, to be
team members and to develop our mode of operation, to make sure
that there are camps also for future age groups to go to.
The Prometheus Camp activity has
become a meaningful and rewarding part of life for many. Numerous
local activity groups have emerged, where our members meet regularly.
At these meetings we talk, play, discuss topics with guest speakers,
print textiles and do other things of interest. The local groups
also arrange hiking trips or visits to museums and sights.
Other Activities
NuFit, the annual
Youth Philosophy Event, has become a popular occasion. At NuFit,
young people challenge prominent Finnish opinion leaders and public
figures on given topics. The 2002 topic was Justice and the 2003
topic is Freedom. Our Association is the main organiser of the event.
Unfortunately the www.nufit.org web site is only in Finish.
Training young volunteers
The coming team
members go through three mandatory training weekends during the
winter-spring season. We feel our comprehensive training is one
of the main factors to our success. The team consists of two adult
camp leaders and five young assistant leaders. The summer is the
most hectic time, during which some 400 volunteers carry out 55
to 60 camps. In the fall, we gather feedback from all the teams,
in order to improve our practises. Also, we start preparing for
the next summer by searching suitable for camp sites.
Contact Us
If you want to support our work or participate in our
activities you are welcome to become a member. For more information
see our web page at http://www.protu.fi.
If you have anything you want to ask, please e-mail us at info@protu.fi.You
can also contact our office at toimisto@protu.fi
or by fax +358-9-458 4633. Our board members can be contacted directly
at hallitus@protu.fi.
The newsletter to our members (Protu) is published six times a year
@written by Alina Mänttäri
Involvement in IHEYO
Prometheus Camp Association is
a full member of IHEYO.
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