Reimagining an inclusive earlychildhood development system

When: 19-28 August 2022
Where: Hungary, Nógrád county, Terény
Duration: 10 days
Participants: 20-25
Fee: €400–800 (see details below)

application deadline: 8 June

Imagine the Visegrad region’s nature at the end of summer, away from the busy city, deepening your design practice and focusing on issues that really matter. 

For 8 years, Holis has been providing an exceptional educational format - the Holis Summer School - where participants have been working on social issues that might cause real change. This year, we continue working on early childhood development, drawing on knowledge and experience from last year’s hybrid format (click here to know more). We will be focusing on 3 countries that need systemic changes - Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

The Holis Summer School is never lonely and individual work. We always work in teams - international and interdisciplinary - to collaborate. You will receive support from experts, facilitators, team leaders, and organizations that operate in the given countries on the given topic. This year’s edition of the Holis Summer School is part of a bigger international project supporting 11 organizations that work with the topic of Early Childhood Development on a daily basis. 

At Holis, we are always trying to maintain the right work-life balance. This means that you can expect 70% collaboration and 30% fun.

Our main goal is to find easy-to-implement solutions that are sustainable at their core. Results should fundamentally support the early childhood development organizations from the Visegrad region.

Although we have different topics for each of our summer schools, they all focus on learning skills that will strengthen your ability to solve complex problems — regardless of the field you come from.

This program is a non-profit endeavor.
We receive a lot of volunteer work and get support from our sponsors and grants. Nevertheless, your contribution is essential to making it work. We kindly ask that you pay as much as you can within the following ranges.

What's included in the price - access to experts, materials, approach, teamwork, delicious food, accommodation and the venue.

‍What's not included in the price - travel costs and insurance. Due to climate challenges that we are all facing, we suggest using the most sustainable ways of traveling - by bus or train. We know that it’s not always the easiest or most accessible option.

Cancellation policy
We might cancel the event if there is no sufficient participants or no sufficient funding. We do everything possible to not to cancel any of our events.
If you have to cancel your participation, here is the deal. If you cancel up to 2 weeks prior to the beginning of the event we will refund 90% of the participation fee. If you cancel 2 weeks or less before the beginning of the event, there will be no refund. This is due to the short notice to reassign your place.

Student/Unemployed: €400-500
(Self)Employed: €500-600
Corporate: €800

We have limited opportunities for scholarships (60% discount)!
Check the FAQ below!

Besides the obvious part of learning the previously mentioned skills, you will become a part of an ever-growing Holis alumni community.

The Holis alumni consists of team facilitators and participants who are spread across the world. It’s a network of like-minded people who are helpful and occasionally even collaborate on projects. Additionally, you will be working on projects that might be executed in real life.

You will be working on a real project in an interdisciplinary team because learning soft skills should be experience-based. 
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You will attend a 10-day/ 9-night on-site workshop with both preparatory work and post-workshop assignments. You will produce project deliveries that might be used for further development and implementation, thus achieving real impact in the long run. Commonly, a day in the life of the Holis Summer School contains yoga, meditation classes, family-style meals, social activities, and the right amount of a good time while talking about life and other things. We will also have some small excursions, study visits and meetings.

Feedback — An important part of the learning process when working with other people is to be open to, aware of, and efficient when giving and receiving feedback.
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‍Team development — Understand the various tools and research regarding team development and group dynamics. Increase your confidence in utilizing team-building tools.
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‍Social impact — Understand how your project might have a positive effect on the social fabric of the community and the well-being of individuals and families.

Your application will be evaluated 5 days after submission. If you are selected, you will have to pay 50% of the fee in 3 days to secure your spot. The other 50% needs to be paid 30 days before departure. It’s important to remember that if we don’t receive the necessary number of applicants, we won’t run the Holis Summer School.

Step 1 — RegistrationThis is you saying that you are interested in participating. We will ask you for some basic personal data and nudge you to complete your application.

Step 2 — Motivation letter and project portfolioIn your motivation letter, please tell us why you would like to attend Holis, what you expect from it, your relevant experiences, what you find interesting about the topic of this year’s summer school and how you can contribute to the summer school and your team. Your motivation letter should be around 500 words. In your project portfolio, you should present projects that you were part of and that are relevant to the summer school. Your project portfolio should be a one-page document.

Step 3 — Video interviewWe will have a 30-minute interview with every shortlisted applicant to understand each other better and to answer any questions.Why Holis?The Holis approach is different from traditional courses. We pay attention to every aspect of your well-being and learning. Our venue is in nature, away from the rush of big cities; we prepare all of the delicious food you will eat ourselves; there are opportunities to participate in sporting activities, games and evening bonfires. All of this is purposefully planned to deliver a unique and unforgettable educational experience.

The Holis approach is different from traditional courses. We pay attention to every aspect of your well-being and learning.

Our venue is in nature, away from the rush of big cities; we prepare all of the delicious food you will eat ourselves; there are opportunities to participate in sporting activities, games and evening bonfires. Al of this is purposefully planned to deliver a unique and unforgettable educational experience.