Empowering adult educators - exchange of best practice for the benefit of local communities

The main goal was to strengthen and develop the competences of adult education staff – educators, animators and leaders. It was assumed that their personal, social, creative, linguistic and learni...

The main goal was to strengthen and develop the competences of adult education staff – educators, animators and leaders. It was assumed that their personal, social, creative, linguistic and learning competences would be improved. The project aimed to equip educators with various, practical methods of working with local communities, including in the context of working with groups of diverse nationalities, migrants and refugees. These methods included Neighbourhood Activity Zones, storytelling, SELcoaching and participatory art. By developing the competences of educators, the project was to have a positive impact on adult members of local communities, strengthening their civic competences and sense of initiative. The aim was to create more engaged, competent and active societies. Additional goals included transferring the acquired knowledge to other educators in institutions, social organisations and ensuring social inclusion through citizen participation. In the long term, we planned to include the methods learned in the organisation's permanent offer.

The first activity was a training workshop for trainers, which took place in Bulgaria. Its aim was to exchange and learn the best methods of working with local communities used by each partner. The workshop was attended by 11 educators, animators and leaders from partner institutions, who strengthened their competences and acquired new tools. The second activity concerned the creation of a guide with practical tips. This guide was a practical description of the work methods presented at the workshop, available in PDF format, translated into the languages ​​of the partners and English. Its aim was to make the new methods available to a wide group of educators in Europe. The third activity was to organize a Neighborhood Forum in Poland, in Łódź. The aim was to practically apply and test the learned methods of working directly with the local community and to disseminate the project results among other professionals from the adult education sector. The last activity was project management. It included all necessary administrative and communication tasks, such as regular online meetings, preparation of contracts, risk management, reporting and dissemination of information about the project and its results.

The project results include primarily: - Training of 11 educators, animators, leaders from partner organizations - Participants were equipped with new methods of working with diverse communities. - Development of a guide with work methods (PDF in 5 languages). - Organization of a Neighborhood Forum with the participation of approx. 70 people - The Forum enabled practical application of the methods learned and dissemination of the project results, supporting cooperation and networking. - Practical implementation of the methods learned in local work, in partner countries, which enabled integration and stimulation of civic activity of adult members of local communities (residents) - Talks between the VVI Foundation and the city of Sofia on the creation of Local Activity Spaces. - Implementation of the methods learned in Łódź in the new place of activity of the VVI Foundation. - For the STREFA Foundation - the first experience of participation and coordination of an international project resulted in gaining new skills and strengthening language competences