YOUropean: What's Europe to you?
The project aims at improving adult education raising the knowledge and awareness about the EU, particularly about its values and the opportunities it offers.
PROJECT’S START DATE: 01/01/2023
PROJECT’S END DATE: 31/07/2024
TOTAL BUDGET: 30.000,00 €
PROJECT CODE: Small-scale partnerships in adult education: 2022-2-ES01-KA210-ADU-00009245
Description
The main objective is to raise awareness of the opportunities offered by the European Union and to increase the sense of belonging to the European Union among adult education students, by sharing the knowledge and methods of organizations from different countries that will participate in the project.
The objective of this project is in line with the horizontal priority “Common values, civic engagement and participation”. It address the following topics:
- – European identity, citizenship and values.
- – Awareness about the European Union.
- – Bridging intercultural, intergenerational and social divide.
Expected results
The project will attain the following results:
- Study visits to different adult and young education centers from different parts of Europe.
- Increasing of teachers’ and trainers’ knowledge about European Union opportunities and how to promote European values in adult education.
- Sharing good practices from different contexts and discussing new methodologies in education.
- Drafting of good practice guidelines.
Planned activities:
During this project, we will follow this planning of activities:
- Online kick-of-meeting.
- Study visit to Alzira (Spain): IDEA office and adult education institutions.
- Study visit to Vasto (Italy): Workshops and discussions.
- Study visit to Łódź (Poland): Workshops and discussions.
- Study visit to Ankara (Turkey): Presentations, discussions and evaluations.
- Online final event.
Dissemination of the project in the Spanish press
First study visit: Alzira (Spain)
The 1st transnational meeting of Erasmus+ project YOUropean: What’s Europe to you? was in Alzira, Spain. Alongside our partners Polaris from Italy, Level Up from Poland and K-Gem from Turkey, we conducted an intense study visit throughout multiple entities that work on adult education and promotion of European values.
On the first day, after the institutional welcome and kick-off meeting at IDEA, we visited the Natural Setting of La Murta. Pablo, from the organisation Interpreta Natura, talked us through the historical and cultural heritage of the place. Later on, we moved to the FOREST LAB, where Interpreta Natura let us discover more on its projects related to environmental conservation and awareness.
On the 27th of September we went to Valencia where we first visited the “Fundación CEDAT”. With the project “La cistella responsable”, this Foundation promotes consumption of local products while offering job opportunities to people with intellectual disabilities. That is how they unite diversity, inclusion and sustainability in a single project.
After it, we visited Josep Valero, headmaster of the project Escena Erasmus, an initiative started at the University of Valencia. Escena Erasmus is an example of civic engagement and construction of the European identity throughout theatre. We finished the day by visiting the Centro de Formación de Personas Adultas Vicent Ventura. Interculturality, respect and diversity are the main values of the centre, worked both inside and outside lessons. It has been inspiring to see how the teachers are going out of their way to help their students, making time in order to offer the students the opportunity to live a unique European experience.
The last day of this intense study visit was devoted to getting to know two local entities which stand out for their hard work on the promotion of European values. Firstly, CEFIRE explained the type of training courses it offers to teachers. CEFIRE has courses about gender equality, promotion of democratic participation in class, peaceful conflict resolution, inclusion, diversity and interculturality. A teacher trained on these types of topics will undoubtedly know how to pass them better to students.
We finished by visiting the adult education centre CFPA Enric Valor, which stands out for its intense work in promoting active ageing, participation and intergenerationality.
Undoubtedly, this was a great visit with a lot of good practices to extract from our entities, related to adult formation and promotion of European values.
Second study visit: Vasto (Italy)
The second transnational meeting of the Erasmus+ project YOUropean: What’s Europe to you? was held in Vasto, Italy. Our partners from Polaris (Italy) organised a week full of activities and study visits for us and the other partners, Level Up (Poland) and K-Gem (Turkey). During this week we visited different organisations working in adult education and promoting European values.
On the first day, after the institutional welcome by the municipality, we visited the Palazzo d’Avalos and its Neapolitan gardens, where we learnt more about the history of the city. Later we visited the City Employment Centre, where we got know more about the employment and training policies that they carry out thanks to the contribution of the European Union. At the end of the day we visited the UniTre Vasto, an adult education centre.
On Wednesday 29th of November, we visited the Punta Aderci nature reserve with the president of the ARCI Vasto association, Lino Salvatorelli. After the visit to the nature reserve, we participated at a training at the Polaris office on the “Sangro Aventino” pact, which aims to link European funds with the territory and the business network. After the training, we had a visit to the historical centre of the city of Vasto, where we were able to admire and enhance the artistic and cultural heritage of the city.
On the third day we visited the CPIA, the provincial centre for adult education, where we learnt about the different types of courses they offer. What surprised us the most was that there are students from 80 different nationalities, a clear example of interculturalism and inclusion, key values of the European Union.
We ended the study visit full of ideas and good practices to apply from now on to the training courses we provide in Alzira.
Third study visit: Łódź (Poland)
The 3rd transnational meeting and study visit of the Erasmus+ Project YOUropean: What’s Europe to you? was in Lodz (Poland) between the 12th and the 14th of March. Our partners from LEVEL UP prepared for us a complete agenda, visiting many educational centres to see how they spread the European Values.
The first day, we were talking with the professionals and volunteers of LEVEL UP, how they work and how they manage volunteers from all over Poland and Europe. We also visited the Factory of Urban Activity, a public place for social consultations and a space for non-governmental organizations, and the Activation Foundation, a foundation supporting people with disabilities in preparing for and entering the job market.
The second day we visited the Lodz University of the Third Age, the MeMo Media Library, the OPUS Center and the Social Entrepreneurship Incubator. These organizations are focused on different ways of adult education and help and spreading the European values.
The last day of this intense visit we meet the Hippocampus Association, an association of intergenerational cooperation and integration depending on the University of Lodz, and the Educational Mosaic Foundation, a foundation that promotes an alternative approach to teaching.
Our team ended this study visit full of ideas and new ways of seeing the educational techniques and the spread of the European values, all ready to share our new knowledge and share what we learned from different parts of Europe.
Forth study visit: Ankara (Türkiye)
The fourth and final study visit of the Erasmus+ Project YOUropean: What’s Europe to you? took place in Ankara, Türkiye between the 10th and 14th of June, 2024. K-Gem’s project partners organised a full agenda of study visits to centres and organisations in the Turkish capital. This study visit focused more than ever on how, although Türkiye is not part of the European Union, it does a great job in disseminating and promoting the values of the European Union.
On the first day of our stay we visited the Ankara Bilim University, a university that goes beyond formal education and offers non-formal education to the entire population, while at the same time disseminating and promoting European values.
On the second day we were talking with professionals from the Ministry of National Education of Türkiye and the General Directorate of Lifelong
Learning. Thanks to this visit, we discovered how the Turkish education system adapts to the needs of society, regardless of its educational level. We also visited the Altindag Public Educational Centre.
On the last day we visited the Pursaklar Municipality Public Eduacation Center in the neighbouring town of Pursaklar. This centre, which is dependent on and financed by the local municipality, focuses on non-formal education for the entire population.
The visit was an eye-opener to learn about adult education and the promotion of European values outside the European Union.
Good Practices Guide
After the four study visits that the professionals from the different organisations have carried out, and after the work of analysis and synthesis, here is the guide of good practices to disseminate the values of the European Union in adult education.
As you know, these good practices have been extracted from the different centres that all the organisations have presented to the consortium. Below you will find the good practice guide in English, but it is also available in Spanish, Italian, Polish and Turkish.
Final Dissemination Event
On the 31 July 2024 took place the final event of the project YOUropean: What’s Europe to you? This project, which has allowed us to meet many organisations, comes to an end with this event that took place in Alzira (Spain) and was attended by different people interested in the opportunities offered by the European Union.
In the event, the different study visits were presented and explained, and we counted with the intervention of different professionals who attended these visits throughout the project. These professionals talked about their experience, the new things they learned, and answered the questions of the audience. The good practice guide was also presented and the calendar that was designed was distributed, with different good practices included in the guide.
This event was also attended, telematically, by different partners and colleagues of the project. From which we can highlight that, not only a good practice guide has been obtained that will serve to improve adult education and the promotion of the values of the European Union, but also the collaborations with different organisations in the participating countries have been strengthened.
Erasmus+ project 2022-2-ES01-KA210-ADU-000092457 “YOUropean: What’s Europe to you?” has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.