About Us
Mission
Outward Bound Croatia is a non-profit organization that delivers outdoor education courses. Our work and our courses follow the values of cooperation, compassion, courage, and responsibility.
Our Story
It was the scientist dr. sc. Stanimir Vuk-Pavlović who lives and works in the USA since 1984 who brought the idea of Outward Bound to Croatia. Our founder and head of Safety Board Vladimir Dado Mesarić and our current president Lovorka Šimunec Vlahovich liked it immediately.
On July 7th 2005, Outward Bound Croatia was formally founded as non-profit, non-governmental association.
Our first 7 years were marked by the volunteering work of enthusiasts who made a persistent effort to bring the Outward Bound method of non-formal education closer to parents, teachers, decision-makers, and youngsters in Croatia.
In 2016, we've opened our first Educational center in Velikom Žitniku and became a fully licenced member of the Outward Bound network.
Since then we've been continuously growing in numbers of our courses, participants, staff, and volunteers. We're constantly working on raising the quality of our courses and designing new ones, educating our staff and raising the level of safety in the field.
What Is Outward Bound?
The essence of the Outward Bound philosophy can be expressed in Kurt Hahn's famous saying: „There is more in you than you think. “
We believe in the power of learning and adventure in the outdoors – as a means of bringing out the best in our participants.
An Outward Bound course is all about learning and the impact this has on the individual.
With the instructors' support, the participants reflect on their experiences and draw conclusions about themselves and their environment. Based on these insights, they can change their mindset and behavior in different life situations to be able to realize their potentials.
Outward Bound is about much more than developing technical skills for outdoor activities – it's about adventure, facing the unknown, pushing your boundaries, developing courage, resilience, determination, responsibility, compassion, leadership and team-work skills.
In short - it's about developing life-skills.
The History of Outward Bound
Outward Bound courses were originally developed by the educator Kurt Hahn, who opened the first Outward Bound school in Wales in 1941. Initially, he had designed the courses to develop the skills of young sailors, who had a difficult time in the harsh conditions on the sea.
Hahn had noticed that, compared to their older colleagues, who had less physical strength but more life-experience, the younger sailors were struggling much more. “Outward Bound” is a sailor's term of a ship leaving the harbor and sailing out to the open sea.
A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are made for.
Outward Bound International
We're a proud member of Outward Bound International, a network of Outward Bound schools in 34 countries around the world. Outward Bound International builds on more than 80 years of experience and today stands for the highest level of quality in outdoor experiential education.
Find out more about Outward Bound International.
Who Is Outward Bound For?
Outward Bound courses are suitable for anyone who wants to develop their skills, push their boundaries, and unlock their inner potential.
You can apply to our courses individually, or in a group. Although a large part of our work is directed at children and youngsters, we’ve recognized the benefit of outdoor adventure education for adults, too.
We work with a diverse range of clients: schools, youth groups, social care institutions, businesses, and individuals.
Our Courses
Testimonials
I would recommend the program precisely because of the number of skills we gained here, such as responsibility, self-awareness and teamwork, that we do not develop in our everyday life. What I liked the most was realising the importance of teamwork, and what are my abilities and fears. I learned in practice the meaning of the verb 'empower'The participant of the 8-day program
... Thanks to this course he has developed some new skills, he became very confident when in nature. During the last years we haven't seen he has so much patience when achieving his goals ...Aleksandra Berberih Slana and Robert Berberih, parents of the participant
A mind broadened with experience can never be forced into its old frames anymore.Lucija Mlakar, 3.b
She did not mind the fact that during the course sleeping conditions, hygiene and nutrition were not the same as the ones she is used to, she accepted those conditions as a part of a course's task and did not perceive that as a problem. All in all, Lorena was very pleased and it is our impression that the program was of great benefit, primarily to her general satisfaction.Zoran and Višnja Loja, parents of the participant
... it seemed as if the days passed very quickly. By the end all participants wanted to stay longer and they couldn’t believe how quickly the time had passed. Over the eight days all the participants learned more than anyone would expect ...Marija Mažić, mag.paed.soc., educator
I liked to observe how our students are changing while being in new situations, how they help and support each other. I would like to see this approach implemented in regular school curriculum.Professor, Architectural Technical School Zagreb