TOURISM AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES AS A TOOL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NON-FORMAL EDUCATION IN YOUTH NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (ON THE EXAMPLE OF YOUTH NGO «UAYG»)

Abstract

The relevance of the comprehensive implementation of tourism and recreational activities as a systemic and innovative tool for the development of non-formal education within the functioning of youth non-governmental organizations is substantiated. The scientific and practical problem of the lack of unified methodological recommendations and clear algorithms for the effective use of spatial and recreational potential for the practical consolidation of knowledge and youth socialization outside the classical school education system is investigated. Modern domestic and foreign experience of non-formal learning processes is analyzed. Based on the analysis of the practical experience of the Youth Non-Governmental Organization "Ukrainian Association of Young Geographers" (Youth NGO "UAYG") and the latest theoretical and methodological approaches, a comprehensive methodology for organizing educational and recreational events has been developed. An integrated four-component model, which combines cognitive-interpretive, interactive-gaming, practical-research, and socio-therapeutic aspects, is proposed and characterized in detail. The specifics of applying tools such as semantic simplification, microlearning, field volunteering, and outdoor activities across various youth work formats are revealed. It has been proven that the systemic combination of geo-interpretation methods, location-based gamification, direct environmental monitoring, and horizontal peer-to-peer communication enables the most effective development of participants' spatial awareness. It is established that such an applied methodological approach directly contributes to the rapid acquisition of specialized skills (in particular, the basics of working with GIS tools) and provides deep psycho-emotional relief for youth in an emotionally safe, natural environment without academic pressure. It is concluded that implementing the developed tools transforms the standard tourism and recreational component into an effective multidisciplinary space for the development of key youth competencies, with significant prospects for scaling in the conditions of post-war recovery of territories.