OUR HISTORY
The progressive pedagogue and founder of OUTWARD BOUND Kurt Hahn (1886-1974) is referred to as the forefather of experiential education. His educational idea was based on the ideas of Plato, Goethe, Fichte, Pestalozzi and Lietz (founder of the rural education homes). According to Kurt Hahn, there was a remedy for the “deficiency symptoms” in the youth of his time, namely experiential therapy. The core of this educational concept was, to put it in modern terms, in compact, nature-oriented outdoor training. Kurt Hahn gave this program the name “OUTWARD BOUND”. This term comes from seafaring and describes the condition of a ship that is equipped with all the necessary equipment and ready to go on a great voyage. Hahn used this paraphrase as a synonym for the preparation of young people for the “Great Journey into Life”. In preparation for this “Great Journey into Life”, Hahn defined various elements of character formation.* The four (later five) individual elements cannot be exchanged with each other, but are all equally necessary from his point of view: