Context/background In the Europe of the subsidiarity, municipalities play an ever more important role: cooperation at local level, across and outside Europe is a key element to overcome the actual international crises and municipalities are the public administrations that firstly have to face this, proposing effective internationalization strategies at a local level. Municipalities are nowadays more aware of their role and they also realize the steps to be made by them before they can more effectively play this role. The project takes care of a key element of the implementation of local internationalization strategies – the training of public clerks. According to the experience made by the partners so far, there is no standard training program in reach which would have been proven successful in the context of public administration (PA) requirements. This is why the project is relevant to the single partner on local and regional level. Objectives The project focuses on training modules for skills and knowledge needed for internationalization of public administration. AGE+ (Administrations go Europe +) will offer some effective methodologies, learning/teaching/training materials and tools for enforcing civil servants skills on intercultural dialogue, international project management and internal/external communication. AGE+ will create a multilingual e-learning-platform. AGE+ wants to facilitate the implementation of internationalization strategies for public administrations and will in that way contribute to the growing competitiveness of the European Union in an even more globalized world. Number and profile of participants The partnership consists of: two EU municipalities Magdeburg and Vejle, VET agencies dedicated to PA training (CSCI), ICT and VET experts (isw), associations connected with the most important EU municipalities umbrella association CEMR (AICCRE and RGRE) and connected with wide PA networks (ÉARDA), covering Central-Northern, Eastern and Mediterranean EU areas. The majority of the partners have already collaborated in previous EU projects, especially in the LLP- "Administrations go Europe - AGE!" – project, basis for the AGE+ proposal. Description of activities For reaching its aims, AGE+ partnership will perform the following activities: a. Study of the state of the art of the existing technology (ICT) and updating data collected during AGE-project b. Construction of the learning/teaching/training materials starting from the existing AGE curricula (intercultural competencies, international project management and internal/external communication) c. Construction of a multilingual AGE+ e-platform (with 2 functions: 1) teaching platform based on MOODLE; 2) e-twinning among municipalities/ PA for exchanging ideas, good practices, documents) d. Testing of e-platform and contents (international classes organized and managed by the partners - working remotely) e. Training of trainers: it will be organized a mobility to Germany to train the trainers of Magdeburg, CSCI and Vejle to use AGE+ e-learning platform and contents f. Wide range of dissemination activities involving European networks of municipalities for the adoption of the platform and its maintenance even after the end of the funding period. Methodology to be used in carrying out the project Methodology to be used in carrying out the project A project management based on the Logical Framework Approach and the Project Cycle Management will ensure the success of the project through appropriate coordination of the organizational, technological, methodological and financial activities. It is led by the coordinating partner, and lasts throughout the project. All partners will contribute to the work involved. Results 1. AGE+ learning/teaching modules (see description in intellectual outputs) 2. AGE+ e-platform (see description in intellectual outputs) 3. Teacher's manual (see description in intellectual outputs) 4. Learner's manual (see description in intellectual outputs) 5. Teaching of trainers’ event (see description in learning, training, teaching activities) Impact envisaged and potential longer term benefits AGE+ platform will improve the exchange of ideas, best practices, dialogue on common problems, developing a sort of “e-twinning” among municipalities. AGE+ training environment will offer them methodologies, materials and tools for facing with the internationalization issues through an effective training of civil servants. Thanks to AGE+ methods and tools, the partnership envisages these impacts and potential long term benefits: 1. Intensifying the dialogue and debate among EU municipalities/PA 2. Developing more EU –project proposals with the involvement of municipalities/PA 3. EU municipalities/PA international relationships deepened 4. ICT and e-learning solution increasingly used for blended learning approaches in EU civil servants' VET 5. EU municipalities/PA strengthening of competitiveness on the international scenarios
Context/Background of the Project Internationalization is an important factor of competitiveness not only for enterprises but also for public administrations in a globalized world. The complex environment of public administrations gives room for manifold ways of understanding and approaching internationalization. Fields of action are working with international investors, the integration of migrants, foster the attractiveness for foreign tourists, just to name a few. On the other hand internationalization and in that case especially Europeanization also opens the way to find joint solutions to the central challenges public administrations face such as integration of migrants, elderly care, demographic change and environment. Public administrations are committed to create and offer the appropriate framework conditions to enable their citizens to live in an optimal environment. EU does absolutely not only mean the application of EU-legal norms on local level. In order to enable public administrations to actively take on their role in Europe some prerequisites in different fields of action need to be met. As we analysed that staff of public administrations is not yet well prepared to act in European and international contexts the core topic of the project is to further “improve, increase and strengthen municipalities’ staff to face these challenges and chances through lifelong learning (LLL)”. In general the development of new skills and competencies in the field of internationalization is of vital importance to fully exploit the potential of the local level for the global goals of the EU. These skills and trainings cannot be analysed and prepared just by the own experts of the individual organization, but have to be developed on European scope covering a multitude of different experiences and mentalities. Objectives The overall objective of AGE was and is to increase the competiveness of local municipalities through promoting lifelong learning in the context of local internationalization strategies. And as the key element of successful implementation of internationalization strategy is suitable vocational training for employees. Therefore the aim of AGE is and was: exchanging experiences and good practices in the fields of identification of needed skills, teaching methods, training content verification of acquired skills of the employees and the improvement of HR-strategies of municipalities the development of appropriate, tailor-made training content for some of the skills needed. Number and profile of participants The partnership: two municipalities Magdeburg (DE) and Vejle Kommune (DK), a VET agency dedicated to train staff of public administrations (CSCI) from Novara (IT), an ICT and VET expert especially for the field of public administrations (isw) from Halle/S. (DE), two member associations of the most important EU municipalities umbrella association the Council of European Municipalities and Region (CEMR) (AICCRE, Rome (IT) and RGRE, Cologne (DE)) and one highly experienced partner in the field of consultancy, training and support for public administrations from Eastern Europe (ÉARDA then HBMO, Debrecen (HU)). The majority of the partners have already collaborated in previous EU projects, especially in the LLL-"Administrations go Europe - AGE!" – project. Description of activities, outputs and impact achieved, sustainability • Customizing of the three training modules, starting from the existing curricula of the former Leonardo da Vinci partnership AGE-project. (A survey was successfully completed to identify the skills that are needed to actually meet the challenges of internationalization. On that basis training modules were jointly developed, namely for - Intercultural competences, - International project development and management and - Internal and external communication.) • Development of an AGE+ e-platform (https://ageplus.magdeburg.de) The main part of the project was the development of an “e-platform” which enables virtual twinning of public administrations. This open platform helps to exchange ideas and documents and learn from good practice. The core of it is the teaching platform “MOODLE” which hosts the training and teaching material produced in the project. (This included the testing of the e-platform and its content as well as a training of trainers.) • As it is good European practise, adoption of the e-platform and dissemination of project result was and is another core of the project. Impact envisaged and potential longer term benefits Thanks to AGE+ methods and tools, the partnership envisages these impacts and potential long term benefits: • Intensifying the dialogue and debate among EU public administrations • Developing more European project proposals with the involvement of public administrations • ICT and e-learning solution increasingly used for blended learning approaches in EU civil servants' VET • Public administrations are strengthened in competitiveness.