Guidelines and Handbook for Orienteering
This Handbook was designed to support future orienteering events, alongside the Beyond Maps Guidelines, dissemination activities, and collaborations beyond the project's conclusion, thereby ensuring that the focus on physical activity, mental health, social inclusion, and the reduction of gender stereotypes remains active even after the end of Beyond Maps.
The main goal of this project consisted in giving tools and knowledges to teachers, youth workers and participants in order to help them create their own orienteering events.
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Local Multiplier Event
In March 4C Cooperate Communicate Create Change implemented one multiplier event about the Beyond Maps. In this event the participants were local organisations, NGOs, Youth Workers and Educators.
Beyond Maps is co-funded by the European Union.
Local Workshop by Move to Be You (Austria)
On 24 November 2025, Move To Be You organised a one-day training course in Vienna where participants learned how to plan and run their own orienteering activities. The workshop began with a short theoretical session at the office, introducing key elements such as objectives, route planning, checkpoints, and safety, supported by examples from the Vienna event. Participants then worked in groups to design their own orienteering challenges, applying what they had learned in practice. The day concluded with presentations, feedback, and reflection on the experience.
Beyond Maps is co-funded by the European Union.
Beyond Maps is co-funded by the European Union.
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Local Workshop by Smart Nest (Latvia)
In March 2025, a group of educators and trainers gathered in Riga to take part in an orienteering training event. The event was organised by the Latvian partner as part of the Erasmus+ project.
The main aim of the training was to approach orienteering not only as a sport but also as a valuable learning method that supports the development of cooperation, spatial awareness, and an independent thinking.
Beyond Maps is co-funded by the European Union.
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Local Workshop by 4C (Greece)
In March 2026, 4C Cooperate Communicate Create Change implemented one more interactive workshop about orienteering and about how the participants will organise their own event. Similar to the first workshop, the duration of this one was 3 hours including also outsite practise of how to create youur map for an orienteering game.
Beyond Maps is co-funded by the European Union.
Local Workshop by 4C (Greece)
In January 2026, 4C Cooperate Communicate Create Change invited participants to an interactive workshop where they could learn how to organise their own orienteering event. The workshop began with a presentation at the office about orienteering as a sport and what to consider when planning an event. Afterwards, participants went outside to actively learn by creating their own orienteering challenge using photos that served as checkpoints for the route. The entire workshop lasted a total of three hours. At the end, the results were shared and the experiences reflected upon.
Beyond Maps is co-funded by the European Union.
Local Competition Event by Smart Nest (Latvia)
A local competition was organised by Smart Nest at Riga Teika Secondary school with high school students. The main objective of the event was not only to give students the opportunity to try photo orienteering but also to involve school subjects in the tasks. At the same time, students also had an opportunity to learn to work in teams and solve practical, everyday challenges.
Beyond Maps is co-funded by the European Union.
Local Competition Event by 4C (Greece)
On the 23th of November 4C Cooperate Communicate Create Change organised the Local Competition Event in Athens, Greece. The participants were 36, seperated into smaller teams, and they had an amazing experience trying to find the hidden clues, using only one paper map! The event was a great success as 4C collaborated with the Scouts of Greece, SWEN Travel (hiking organisation) and the NTUA Runners (Running team of National Technical University of Athens).
See more here.
Beyond Maps is co-funded by the European Union.
Local Competition Event by Move to Be You (Austria)
Move to Be You hosted two Local Orienteering Competitions Events, one in Raches, Greece, and another in Vienna, Austria. Both events aimed to promote teamwork, navigation skills, and physical activity, while also helping participants become more aware of their surroundings.
These activities were inspired by earlier successful orienteering experiences but were carefully adapted to create something both fun and educational. The idea was to combine movement with exploration and problem-solving, fostering an environment where participants could enjoy themselves and learn together.
Beyond Maps is co-funded by the European Union.
Orienteering training in Latvia
The organisations, 4C, Move to be You, and Smart Nest organised an orienteering training in Riga, Latvia, that was included in the European Project “Beyond Maps”. The event aimed to introduce the concept of orienteering, highlight the benefits of orienteering, and provide guidance on how to organise such an event.
The training featured three main activities. The first day, Smart Nest explained to the participants what orienteering is, the tools, and the methods of organizing an orienteering event.
The next day, small teams took part in an urban photo orienteering game in Riga’s Art Nouveau district, where they used maps and photo clues to locate and document architectural details. Participants then reflected on strategies, discussed challenges, and shared insights with each other.
The last day, the orienteering training took place in a forest environment, which included a short lecture on maps and symbols, guided practice, and team discussions. It was a rewarding and insightful event that will help the participants organise their own orienteering event back in their country. The next step is to organise local competition events in Greece, Latvia, and Austria.
Beyond Maps is co-funded by the European Union
Austria's Focus Group
The focus group was conducted in May 2025, with people ranging in age from 19-71 discussing their experiences and perceptions of οrienteering with valuable insights based on the Austrian context. Furthermore, the focus group expressed eagerness to practise orienteering in nature-based settings primarily in the spring season, as they saw it as an opportunity to enjoy nature, have physical activity and fun with friends in small groups of three. They believe that it would be the best way to develop further friendships and create lasting memories while having to overcome the challenges together, and enjoying beautiful nature sceneries especially next to water by lakes, rivers or with green views.
Beyond Maps is co-funded by the European Union.
Latvias's Focus Group
The focus group conducted in May 2025, involved active runners discussing their experiences and perceptions of orienteering. While all participants engaged in running multiple times a week, their exposure to orienteering varied significantly, from frequent and occasional participation to rogaining events (a type of orienteering) to one-time or no experience.
A recurring theme among several participants was a preference for pure running without the added cognitive demands of map reading and decision-making. As one participant expressed, “When I run, I like just running and not doing anything else. In orienteering, there is too much mental effort”
Beyond Maps is co-funded by the European Union.
Greece's
Focus Group
The focus group of Greece, organised by 4C in March 2025, collected a diverse group of participants involved in youth work, outdoor sports, scouting, and education. Held at the office of 4C, the organisation welcomed the participants who had different experiences with sport.
The majority of the participants had little to no previous experience with orienteering as a formal sport. However, a few of them had indirect exposure through scouting, educational outdoor activities or previous experience in physical activities. Although most participants were unfamiliar with orienteering as a sport, the general concept was associated with navigation skills, map reading, and adventure. Participants found the promotion of adventure and competition through the completion of different checkpoints within a limited time appealing.
Beyond Maps is co-funded by the European Union.
Kick-Off Meeting
On the 11th and 12th of January, all partners from the Beyond Maps project met for the kick-off meeting in Athens.
Hosted by 4C, the kick-off meeting created and welcoming and collaborative environment wherein all partners could discuss the ins and outs of the project.
A project overview was discussed, along with project management elements such as a timeline, budget, planning and scheduling. This kick-off meeting formed the foundation of the project's management and developed the ideas of all the collaborative aspects of the project.