Learning by... CONNECTing projects!

Below can be found the description of the projects that will be presented during CONNECTOR 2.015 in the UnConference during the "Learning results on good practice projects" session that will take place on the 1st of July from 14.30 to 15.30.

Body language as a tool of nonformal education
Mihaela Bordei, School Center for Inclusive Education "Elena Doamna"

Using creativity, action and teamwork we will approach alternative methods of communication using body language as a tool of nonformal education. This can help us to grow together, removing discrimination for people different from us, with special needs, helping for their social integration.
The workshop is about sharing knowledge, skills and attitudes through practical workshops, building a common world, accepting diversity and promoting tolerance to those different from us, improving education for the tomorrow generations, the foundation for a equal start in life for everyone of us.

COM’ON Cluj-Napoca – Participatory Budgeting for Youth
Andras Farkas, PONT Group

The project proposed by the PONT Group, in partnership with the SHARE Cluj-Napoca Federation, the City Hall of Cluj-Napoca and the Cluj-Napoca City Council is entitled Participatory Budgeting of Youth in Cluj2015, European Youth Capital. The Participatory Budgeting (PB) aims the inclusion of the citizens in the democratic process of consultation and decision-taking, with the goal of establishing optimal ways of spending (some part of) the public budget. The goal of the project is to conduct a process of participatory budgeting based on the inclusion of the young people; on the base of this process the City Cluj-Napoca will subsidize the implementation of the most agreed on (voted) projects under the EYC 2015. The strategic objective is to create a portfolio of 250 small projects with a total budget of approx. 500.000 RON, projects proposed by the young people, addressed to the local community (especially the peripheral areas of Cluj-Napoca), that contribute to the active participation of the inhabitants in the life of the community, that include the inhabitants in proactive activities, are happening in public and community spaces and assure free access to the inhabitants, without a financial barrier (a ticket).

The results of this project exceeded estimates. Over 250 groups involving 744 young people proposed over 437 initiatives. The workshop will about how this process might be scalable in other European cities. Participants will also work in how to draw up a catchy message to other cities regarding the importance of youth participation and participatory budgeting.

EVS4ALL – European Voluntary Service for All
Michael M. Thoss, Allianz Kulturstiftung
James Moon, Volonteurope

This Erasmus+ funded European project aims to take a first step in the implementation of a ‘European Year of Volunteering for Everyone’, as described in "We are Europe! Manifesto for Rebuilding Europe from the Bottom Up" (www.manifest-europa.eu). This pan-European initiative and campaign by the Allianz Cultural Foundation, implemented in cooperation with Volonteurope and Itinéraire International, and coordinated by IKAB-Bildungswerk, brings together 14 partners from France, Germany, Poland, Romania, Spain and the UK, to demand an enlargement of the current and future European volunteering programmes, including EVS. We want to ensure that European mobility and volunteering opportunities become truly inclusive of young people who have fewer opportunities and face different barriers to their real engagement as European citizens.

We are looking to engage with volunteers and professionals on what barriers they have experienced or perceive in cross boarder volunteering for young people. This will then feed into our European recommendation guidelines put to the European Commission on how cross border volunteering can be made more inclusive. We would also like to gather the views of those that have been involved in EVS, on their experiences and learning during the activity, in particular what tools, such as digital learning (and other) they have used and which ones they find most beneficial.

EVS challenge: enlarge your cultural diversity awareness!
Ioana Bere, Cluj-Napoca Volunteer Center

Year of the Youth Invasion and EUROPEAN volunteers in YOUTH CAPITAL - two European Voluntary Service (EVS) projects, 8 volunteers from 6 different countries, living and working for 12 months in a 7-th different one: ROMANIA. The focus of our presentation will be on how EVS projects are enlarging cultural diversity awareness both among volunteers and among beneficiaries that they directly work with. Skills and abilities gained in the process of living, working and interacting with people from different cultures and that have different mother tongues will be proved through small improvisation sketches and participants will have their nonverbal communication skills tested.

EU YOUTH AMBASSADORS
Esmé Clifford, Volonteurope
Constantin Dedu, Imago Mundi Association & Volonteurope

Volonteurope’s EU Youth Ambassadors campaign is a response to the need to increase the political engagement, active citizenship and knowledge of European Institutions, processes and EU Citizenship amongst young people in Europe, including those coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. The campaign looks to recruit 13-24 year old young Europeans from across Europe, whereby mediums such as the arts, sports, journalism and digital media will be used to meet the above-mentioned needs and objectives. We hope to create a “movement” of peer-to-peer awareness-raising and encouragement to get involved amongst young people, on local, regional, national and European levels, the latter through active engagement in pan-European events and activities organised by Volonteurope and its partners.

Through EU Youth Ambassadors, young Europeans will have the opportunity to learn by doing and exchanging ideas with other Youth Ambassadors from other countries. The campaign will be built into the context of Volonteurope’s wider work on “Europe for the Common Good” movement, which will also be discussed in the workshop. Young people engaged in these initiatives will benefit from an insight into political campaigning, how decisions are made and how they themselves can have a voice and influence decisions which affect their lives and wellbeing.

In Love with Learning
Georgiana Stoia, Urbaniac Association

In this workshop we will talk around different kinds of thinking and learning, from metacognition to learning styles and effective learning and we will try to apply it to nonformal learning methodology.

We will conclude our workshop with practical activities on our own learning process and we will get a glimpse at the Competence Passport – certificate for nonformal learning recognition. This session is part of the project International Alliance Towards Non-formal Learning Recognition (Erasmus+ strategic partnership)

Move to learn! Move to grow! E.U. go! - Join us and learn more about a successful international mobility!
Romina Matei, Timisoara Intercultural Centre

During the session, the project MOB G.A.E. will be presented. MOB G.A.E stands for MOBility as a source of personal and professional Growth, Autonomy and Employability. The main aim of the project is to evaluate and disseminate the impact of international mobility experiences on personal and professional development, employability, autonomy and awareness of European citizenship. The project is funded by the European Commission within the Lifelong Learning programme, action KA4.
For one hour, we will debate the main outcomes of the research. In the same time, we will explore various interactive working methods proposed by the project team in order to prepare a successful international mobility.

Open doors for nonformal learning
Simona Negru, Ghindeni School

We propose an interactive presentation of our project . The participants will find out about how the schools in our project welcome nonformal learning and for that we propose different active learning methods: „enthusiastic learning / The CAGA - Creative Analog Graffiti Associative" method, Collective Drawing, Fruit and vegetables, Formal meets non formal / Integrative learning in Romania: how can a subject answer different interests?

The short film with the non formal activities our partners organised will be also presented. The participants will receive the learning resources developed in the partnership.
As an evaluation activity, the group will be requested to make a movie based on the photo taken by the photo reporter of the group and thus experience the Stop Motion Method.

Professionalization of Volunteer Management through Validation of Learning and Skills
Cristina Rigman, Pro Vobis National Resource Center for Volunteerism, Romania

The project “Wake-Up Call: Volunteer Manager Role!” aims to increase the quality of volunteerism in general and in the youth filed in particular by taking volunteer management to the next quality level based on tailor-made occupational profile, comprehensive training curricula and competence validation procedure for experienced volunteer managers according to the new occupational profile, quality standards for volunteer management, and creation of support structures in the form of professional communities for volunteer managers.The project “Wake-Up call: Volunteer Manager Role!” is implemented by Pro Vobis National Resource Center Romania in partnership with Association for Civil Society Development SMART Croatia, Brivpratigais.LV, National Volunteer Centre Hungary and Platform of Volunteer Centers and Organizations Slovakia from November 1st 2014 until April 30th 2016,and funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ Program, Key Action 2 – Cooperation for innovation and exchange of good practices, Strategic partnerships in the field of youth.

The proposed workshop will explore the challenges of professionalizing the volunteer management process and the role that validation of learning and skills plays in this context. Participants will be introduced to the profile of the volunteer manager and will experience different validation procedures for selected learning outcomes related to the volunteer manager profile. 

The European Youth Capital - Long-term learning at local level
Mihai Floran, SHARE Federation

Since 2009, seven cities in Europe have had the opportunity to present themselves as the European Youth Capital. This year, Cluj-Napoca is the one, the city where you are right at the moment. Is it a learning model? Does this title develop the city, its people, its youth organisations? Join us and we will find this out together.

Transformational journey with Teach for Romania
Madalina Ursu, Teach for Romania

During this workshop you will find out how to start the educational system change, from the inside, by recruiting the most valuable young Romanians, training them as inspirational teachers and supporting them to become leaders in education. In Teach for Romania program they are living an extraordinary learning experience, become inspirational teachers, supported and empowered to offer new opportunities and perspectives to children with limited chances of success.

Upcycling as a tool of nonformal education
Georgiana Cremene, D'Advent

Through an active workshop involving creativity, interesting materials and instruments, together with a good team work, the participants will be introduced into the world of upcycling (www.reciclarecreativa.ro/en) as a tool of non-formal education, a walking statement for environmental issues, a support mechanism for activating professionals for green interventions.

We will talk about sharing knowledge through practical workshops, pushing limits through green constructions, and growing impact by creating a business niche, while everything revolving around a vital element called community.