It was an interesting and fruitful exchange—practitioners were there, as were migrant organizations, community platforms, outdoor sports providers, sports coaches, and inclusion experts.
We witnessed how powerful outdoor experiences can be when they are designed to be inclusive, low-threshold, and open to everyone – especially refugee and migrant women.
In her keynote, Sarah Pallauf, founder of dunya.at and Bahn zum Berg, showed us how simple shared moments in nature can connect people who would otherwise never meet.
Her model is accessible in its best sense:travel together by public transport, choose easy routes, share food and time, and create spaces where curious, open people can connect.
One of her strongest messages was: Just start – even if it’s imperfect. Groups grow with the people. Feedback helps.
And accessibility means: signing up via WhatsApp instead of long forms, clear and friendly information, affordable group tickets, simple equipment, and an atmosphere where everyone feels welcome.
The Out4In project builds exactly on this idea. Its goal is to improve resilience and social participation for refugee and migrant women through safe, guided, affordable outdoor experiences. We learned about the barriers they face: lack of accessible information, cost, equipment, stereotypes in outreach, language challenges, time pressure, and the lack of safe spaces.
Out4In responds with a dual approach:
- working with educators, guides, and organisations through mapping needs, sharing inclusive practices, and offering a new EU-developed Educator Toolkit;
- and working directly with women through non-formal learning and hands-on outdoor activities.
We also heard during the discussion from Max Binder (Climbing and movement trainer) and Stefanie Maczijewski (Social worker and founder of Diversoviel) about the strong potential of outdoor sports and community meet-ups.
The two showed us the examples climbing and the Community Space DIVERSOVIEL.
Climbing: Although it is an individual sport, it fosters community, encourages empathy, and bridges differences across cultures, ages, and social groups.
DIVERSOVIEL Community Space offers a warm, low-threshold environment with activities ranging from community lunches and meet-ups to workshops and peer projects. By creating opportunities for intercultural exchange and shared experiences—especially for girls and women with migration experience—Diversoviel strengthens community bonds and celebrates diversity in everyday life.
Throughout the day and not only this project, there were and arose important questions like
How do we address target groups without excluding others?
How do we ensure accessibility for people with disabilities?
And how can outdoor activities help break through loneliness – a challenge many newcomers face?
Throughout the day, one message was clear:
- Inclusion happens when people feel welcome.
- When barriers are low.
- When spaces are safe.
- And when we dare to begin before everything is perfect.
Out4In is just getting started. But the tools, insights, and partnerships presented today show how outdoor experiences can become a powerful pathway to inclusion, community building, and resilience.
Thank you for joining the Out4In project and the ongoing Conference.
