Learning for a better world
Posted: May 17, 2013 Filed under: Grundtvig | Tags: Adult Learning, Europe, grundtvig, Lifelong Learning Programme, NIACE Leave a comment »Ahead of Adult Learners’ Week 2013 which begins on Saturday, Grundtvig senior project manager, Ieva Mais, visited the NIACE Learning for a Better World Conference in Cardiff.
Learning for a better world
I attended the Learning for a Better World conference organised by NIACE in Cardiff on 28-29 April. It brought together practitioners, policy makers, researchers and adult learners from several European countries to discuss the UK’s contribution to the Agenda in three main areas:
Making the most of your Individual Mobility
Posted: May 3, 2013 Filed under: Grundtvig, Transversal | Tags: grundtvig, in-service training, Lifelong Learning Programme, llpukecorys, mobility, Study Visit, transversal, Visit & Exchange Leave a comment »The Lifelong Learning Programme is drawing to a close; over the last 7 years it has funded countless organisations and individuals. Throughout the year, we are still funding opportunities through Grundtvig and Transversal: In-Service Training, Visits & Exchanges and Study Visits.
Breaking the ice
These three opportunities have their similarities: they all fund individuals to develop skills and exchange expertise with their peers. If you have recently been successful with your application, or are due to go on your Mobility shortly, there are things that you can do to ensure you are prepared and make the most out of your experience. For example, Alison Walton-Robson of Headway Arts, before attending her In-Service Training course in Italy, not only read the required reading provided by the host organisation but also:
On my own initiative I looked at travel guides of the Bologna region. I also used iPad apps and other online language preparation/research such as ‘Easy Italian’, I wanted to be able to speak basic sentences.
Our opportunities are not only about enhancing your CV they are also the chance to add a European element to your training. Basic cultural preparation can make the difference in those first few minutes of meeting your host and fellow participants. At our Transversal Briefing Seminars one of our top tips is to find out about the group: Read the rest of this entry »
Read the latest edition of edUKation
Posted: May 1, 2013 Filed under: Apprentices, Erasmus for All, Grundtvig, Leonardo, Lifelong Learning Programme, Transversal, Uncategorized | Tags: Ecorys, Erasmus for All, EY2013, grundtvig, leonardo, llp, llpukecorys, transversal Leave a comment »The latest edition of edUKation is now available to download. edUKation is our quarterly newsletter containing updates from the Leonardo, Grundtvig and Transversal programmes.
In this edition
In issue 21 you can read about how Borders College scooped the International Award at the 2012 Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) ceremony for their links and partnerships developed through mobility projects. You can also read about:
- Enhancing skills and employability of UK Apprenticeships
- Erasmus for All: moving closer to the new programme
- 2013 European Year of Citizens
Download issue 21 of edUKation
Subscribe to edUKation
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Previous editions
You can find previous editions of edUKation in our resource centre.
‘This has given me 10 extra years’ – Arthur’s Grundtvig experience
Posted: April 26, 2013 Filed under: Grundtvig, Lifelong Learning Programme, Uncategorized | Tags: active ageing, Adult Learning, digital, Inclusion, Lifelong Learning Programme, llp, opportunities, silver surfers day, spring online week Leave a comment »Arthur Mills age 83, undertook a Grundtvig Visits & Exchanges activity in Spain, where he met other adult learners from a variety of countries, all eager to participate in the “E-skills to change the lives of 50+” activity.
Arthur has always been interested in technology, and the new knowledge gained from the visit to Spain has further enhanced his interest and enthusiasm. Arthur had never used a keyboard until he was 76 but his life has been transformed by technology over the last 7 years.
The green side of Grundtvig
Posted: April 19, 2013 Filed under: Grundtvig, Lifelong Learning Programme, Uncategorized | Tags: active ageing, Adult Learning, green projects, grundtvig, Lifelong Learning Programme Leave a comment »With Spring in the air, our latest edition of edUKation explores some of the many green projects supported by the Grundtvig programme over the last seven years.
Dr Nick Owen MBE, Director of the Aspire Trust, who runs the Forests for All, All for Forests project, gives us an insight into how the project connects adult learners from seven partner countries in the teaching of the environment, culture and volunteering, all with a focus on the local forests. Nick explains:
European forests have become for us and the wider partnership, a source of questions, surprises, and many powerful learning moments. Veteran forests, exterminating agents and the effect of coppicing have been a phenomena we have learnt about which act as a constant reminder of the power that forests have over our minds, bodies and psyches.
From the project’s recent partner meeting in Vilnius in Lithuania, the participants were inspired to produce a range of artistic products reflecting their visit including the following poem:
Artist Knowledge: Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Knowledge of the first kind is the stats,
the dates, the measurements.
The what, the when, the where.
Knowledge of the second kind
is the interpretations,
the rational analysis of observable events.
The scientific, analytic, predictive.
The regulatory, the politic.
The how, the whether.
Artists knowledge is knowledge of the third kind.
Sensory and sensitive,
Intuitive and imaginative,
Magical and miraculous.
Generating meaning and stories
which bestow ownership of knowledge of the first kind
and give purpose to the knowledge of the second kind.
The what-if? The why? The If-not, then why-not?
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Springing into sustainable and inclusive growth
Posted: March 20, 2013 Filed under: Grundtvig, Leonardo, Lifelong Learning Programme, Mobility | Tags: Europe, Europe 2020, growth, Inclusion, Leonardo Mobility, llpukecorys, senior volunteering, sustainable growth Leave a comment »Today is officially the first day of spring, the time where the roots have bedded down and the first shoots start appearing. This might be a rather tenuous link but it started me thinking about the opportunities for growth and how the lifecycle of our projects enable new branches to sprout and develop.
Growth is a priority under the EU2020 objectives with sustainable and inclusive growth a focus. Continuing on the theme of growth, I thought I’d highlight some of our projects that look at the greener side of things. Many of our projects focus on conservation, nature and the environment, working to help communities and individuals through green-centered education. Looking first at Leonardo, the 2011 Mobility funded Parks & Gardens Apprenticeship Scheme, organised by Cardiff Council, provided apprentices with a new understanding of the techniques and processes involved in horticulture: Read the rest of this entry »
Like us on Facebook and win a goodie bag!
Posted: February 25, 2013 Filed under: Grundtvig, Leonardo, Transversal | Tags: facebook, grundtvig, leonardo, llpukecorys, transversal, Your Story Leave a comment »We’ve recently launched our Facebook Page LLP UK Ecorys and are looking forward to seeing your project outcomes, results and testimonials that you share on Facebook.
To celebrate the launch we are giving away 5 Goodie Bags. To be in with a chance of winning one of our Goodie Bags simply Like us on Facebook by 10.00am (GMT) on the 1 March and we will pick 5 lucky winners:
Like us on Facebook to win this goodie bag!
Liking you on Facebook
Creating a Facebook Page is another way for us to see your successes. Share your Facebook Page with us so we can read the experiences of your Mobility participants or watch a video explaining the latest developments in your Transfer of Innovation project.
Not on Facebook? Don’t worry you can still get in touch with us on our blog, by tweeting @llpUKecorys or by submitting a case study to appear on our Projects around the UK map. Share your successes today!
Leonardo, Grundtvig and Transversal in 2012
Posted: February 18, 2013 Filed under: Grundtvig, Leonardo, Transversal | Tags: 2012, annual report, funding, grundtvig, In Focus briefing papers, Inclusion, information days, leonardo, social media, transversal Leave a comment »Each year we produce a final report that highlights everything that we have achieved over the past year. Building on the success of the previous year, 2012 saw a rise in applications, an increase in funding across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as increased engagement on our social media channels.
This year we’ve produced an interactive map that showcases some of our key moments from 2012:
Looking to the future
2013 will see Leonardo, Grundtvig and Transversal draw to a close under the Lifelong Learning Programme and be replaced by the next funding programme, Erasmus for All. However, we will still be working hard in 2012 and will be sharing our, and our projects’, successes with you on our websites, our blog and Twitter as well as on our soon to be launched Facebook page.
If you have a statistic about your project that you would like to share with us why not leave a comment below or tweet @llpUKecorys? We’d love to hear, for example, how many participants you have been able to send abroad due to Leonardo Mobility funding or how many days you spent job shadowing thanks to Grundtvig Assistantship funding. Share your successes with us!
Looking at the lighter side of Active Ageing
Posted: January 30, 2013 Filed under: Grundtvig, Lifelong Learning Programme | Tags: active ageing, Ecorys, grundtvig, Lifelong Learning Programme, llp, Partnerships Leave a comment »Is laughter is the best medicine? It certainly seems to be for one of our projects. Health and Humour through the Arts for Seniors, or more often known by their snappy acronym, the HAHA project, looks at the lighter side of active ageing by focussing on humour techniques as a form of health education; using laughter as an antidote to stress and as an aid to promote relaxation and improve the self confidence and general well being of its participants. Recently I spoke to Norma Raynes from Intergen about the inspiration behind the laughter:
As the number of older Europeans increase, there is a need to find new ways of improving the quality of life of older learners and enhancing active ageing. The health benefits that laughter brings are well-known and I was interested in creating a project on this theme, whilst also finding out what promotes laughter in different cultures – so, the HAHA project was born.
