GIE - The Group for European Integration

Danube Networkers

Title: Danube Networkers

Project type: LLP / Grundtvig - Learning Partnership
Ref. no.: 08-GRU-P-LP-51-AG-DE

Promoter: Group for European Integration [GIE], Romania

Coordinator: Centre for General Scientific Continuing Education of Ulm University (ZAWiW), Germany

Duration: 2 years
Actual stage: in progress

Total value for GIE: 15000 Euros

Summary:

The goal of the planned partnership "Danube Networkers" is to create through joint activities of older adults from the neighbouring states an intercultural network of older adults from the various Danube countries and to make them into networkers in the way of the European idea. The learning partnership should make civil participation and determination processes possible, should open them to this target group. The partnership will act in a parallel way to the contacts created in the area of economy and culture (Danube offices) along the Danube and should provide the foundations for a larger European “Danube Networkers” project.

In the sense of activating seniors'education, developed in the participating organisations should be seniors’groups that will work on jointly selected themes about the river Danube. Through texts and images they will document their personal relationship to the river, and also the importance of this river for their country. Historical, geographic and economic aspects of the Danube should be examined and presented in a creative way. Active computer and Internet application will be trained in a target-oriented way and practically applied. Translations of the texts into the common language will be made possible by the creation of language learning groups. Getting to know each other in the partner meetings on international level, transnational virtual communication and cooperation, basics of text and image processing on computer, creative writing and time witness work, activation of knowledge of foreign languages, in-process-development of a website with the groups’ work results  and at the end the creation of a printed brochure and a CD-ROM are the most important activities. Besides this, aspired will be cooperation with pupils and youth groups concerning text work and translations (intergenerational dialogue).

Objectives:

- Increase of the participants’ creativity through writing texts and the preparation of the contents for the website,

- Fostering of participation of older learners through application of methods which are designed according to the needs and requirements of older people such as self-directed learning, oral history and time witness work, and with it appreciation of personal life experiences and fostering own learning competences,

- Fostering digital competence of older people through targeted application

- Activation of given language skills through task-oriented application (communication with the partners, translation tasks)

- Exchange of personal knowledge, experiences and researches about the common subject “Danube/Danube country” to foster intercultural and intergenerational dialogue and civic engagement

- Comparison and learning about other countries and cultures, reflection of intercultural competences and their their widening

- Fostering European integration on the level of regions

- Becoming familiar with what were up to now foreign cultures and rediscovery of joint old cultural roots

- Introduction to networking – development, structure, enlargement

Partnership:

1.      Centre for General Scientific Continuing Education of Ulm University (ZAWiW)– DE (Coordinator)

2.      Wiener Volkshochschulen GmbH, Volkshochschule Ottakring – Hernals, Wien – AT

3. European Management Centre (EMC) Sofia - BG

4.      Group for European Integration [GIE] - RO

5.      Cultural Non-profit Ltd. Of the 13th district of Budapest – HU

6.      Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Library and Information Science - SK

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