GELYDA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2025 The Science and Practice of Extended Learning, Youth Development and Wellbeing. How can we empower children and youth to ignite their passion for discovering their true selves as individuals and as active members of society? About Dr. Jakob Frímann Þorsteinsson Jakob has worked extensively in the field of education, including in youth centers and compulsary schools in Reykjavík, in business development, tourism, and universities. He has also worked with the education and training company KVAN. Jakob has worked at the University of Iceland since 2004, conducting research, teaching, and development work in outdoor learning, outdoor recreation, leisure studies, experiential learning, and event management. Jakob holds a PhD degree and his docroral project was about “Affordances of Outdoor Education in Iceland: How nature contributes to place-based experience, reflection and friendship.” Outdoor Education: What kind of extended education happens outside the door? The aim is to offer insights into how outdoor environments can afford unique opportunities for learning, development, and well-being. Based on the research project “Affordances of Outdoor Education in Iceland: How nature contributes to place-based experience, reflection and friendship.” The project sheds light on a range of outdoor education activities that can be found as vital components in leisure and schools and tourism. The research aims to explore different aspects of outdoor activities in Iceland and highlight some key factors that have educational value and simultaneously place it in the context of children's outdoor life. Nature itself takes precedence, but social interaction, personal experiences, place, and reflection are all key components that ensure that the outdoor activities become significant as outdoor education. In his presentation the focus will be on the value of outdoor experiential education in Iceland and how it relates to place, reflection and friendship in the context of nature. Emphasis will be placed on the practical significance of this research and the value of being active, relationships with yourself, others and nature, and the importance of collaboration between those working in education in both traditional and non-traditional sense will be discussed. About Dr. Ragný Þóra Guðjohnsen Dr. Ragný Þóra Guðjohnsen is an Associate Professor at the School of Education, University of Iceland. Her journey began in Law School and after graduating she worked for the District Commissioner of Reykjavik were she gained valuable experience in family law. Her passion for the welfare of children and young people however led her to transition into an interdisciplinary path, working in policy making, preventice measures and education for a decade as part of a municipal council. Later she pursued a master’s and doctoral degree in pedagogy and education and became an academic in the School of Education at the University of Iceland. Her teaching and research revolve around children’s and young people’s wellbeing and their active roles in the broader society and global world. Ragný is the academic leader of the Icelandic Youth Study in Iceland and the PI for HBSC and ESPAD in Iceland. Now as so many times in worlds history it is crucial that citizens of the world work together towards finding good solutions. In this presentation I will address the importance of nurturing the children´s and young people´s citizenship and give them opportunities to practice their abilities to engage as individuals and global citizens. The focus will be on three main concepts: freedom, justice, and peace, and how best to prepare the civic vision and skills of children and young people in their local communities and the communities of nations. In addition how these aims resonate with contemporary individualism. It is claimed that more attention needs to be put on diverse forms of education, on building up knowledge and understanding of societal challenges and practising solution-oriented critical thinking and creativity. The technological advancements of the present calls for heightened emphasis on dialogue and skills of people putting themselves in other people´s shoes. In this way, the moral dimension of education can be meaningfully enhanced in all educational work with children and youth.