The project wants to respond to adult learning priority: Inclusive training as it aims to develop, by the medium of adult educators, social and civic competences among the project second target: adult new migrants and refugees. In addition, this project is designed to contribute to the adult priority of promoting high-quality of adult education, as it is going to design, implement, test and disseminate an effective educational tool able to support adult educators in developing their daily activities and their channels of communication, In this respect, the specific objectives of the project are: The project is going to work on two intellectual outputs: a series of comic strips focused on the project topics - EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy - and an annexed guide. The medium of the comic strips has been chosen because comics are known to be one of the most powerful and effective communication tools, above all in the adult field; the guide has been planned in order to support adult educators in their role of multi-target and multi-topic providers of non-formal learning opportunities. The guide will accompany adult educators, step by step, through the process of using comics to communicate. Through it, adult educators will be able, without outside help, to re-process the comics and exploit them with a wide range of different target profiles (in general disadvantaged adults in society ) in different contexts and starting from different topics. The intellectual outputs implementation will be improved by the partnership with the support of a multicultural adult educators representing, at the best, European multiculturalism and diversity. Starting from these core priorities and objectives, the project profile widens its horizon looking at the world around with the aim to promote effective educational tools able to get positive results with people of different backgrounds; to experience an alliance between adult educators centers, educational providers, NGO including immigration and refugee centers an public bodies on the focused issues and finally to experience and promote an innovative cross sectorial partnership (one NGO dealing with immigration issues; a social communication agency, an association whose core mission is integration and European cooperation in the adult field of education) able to reinforce the dialogue among highly different, but complementary entities. In addition, the multicultural and multisectoral partners profile will let the project to involve an active range of stakeholders. The project activities will take place over 20 months, in three countries across Europe from Sweden to Lithuania, passing through Romania. The partnership has been built as a "melting team" made by complementary competences and expertise, background and missions in order to achieve a common goal: the willing to implement and disseminate innovative and effective educational tools tailored made on adult educators needs and their target needs. The participants to the project, during its whole cycle, are about 300 including also people with fewer opportunities. The participants will actively take part to a focus group phase, to the testing phase, to a series of dissemination labs in adult education centers and NGOs (involving at least 150 adult educators) and to the multiplier events: - meetings for “insiders" and professionals that are going to be a medium to valorize, within a multi-target network, the importance of the high quality of adult learning. The project main results are the release of the project outcomes on the main OER platforms, on ePALE tools area, on the project website and on each partner's website; a strong local dissemination plan of actions supported by the most popular media among adult; the direct involvement of about 300 people; the establishment of an alliance network among all people involved in adult education and the development of a “word of mouth” network on the project topics. The biggest challenge of the partnership is to bring the intellectual output into the mainstream. To let the IOs and the project results to circulate and strengthen as a best practice among the Erasmus+ program.
The IPNA-MAR project was implemented over 24 months from 1st September, 2017 to to 31th August, 2019 in three countries across Europe, from Sweden to Lithuania and passing through Romania, through a partnership of three non-governmental organizations (NGOs) built around complementary missions,institutional competencies and expertise in order to achieve a common goal: to develop, implement and disseminate innovative and useful educational tools tailored to adult educators teaching and training needs and new adult migrants’ and refugees’learning priorities. Comics are known to be one of the most potent and useful communication tools, particularly in the field of adult education, thus the medium of comic strips was chosen to support the delivery of the first project output whereas a guide in the form of a digital book was designed to accompany adult educators, step by step, through the process of using comics to communicate. Adult educators would also be able to, without outside help, reproduce the cartoons and exploit them with a wide range of target profiles in different contexts and using various topics. In this respect, the specific objectives of the project were: 1) To design, develop and implement a useful educational tool comprising a series of comic strips focusing on the integration of refugees; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; and access for disadvantaged; 2) To design, develop and implement an accompanying guide for adult educators in their role as providers of non-formal learning opportunities. The total number of participants in the project was 400, including adult educators and new adult migrants and refugees. The adult educators came from backgrounds representing European multiculturalism and diversity at its best, while the new adult migrants and refugees represented a cross-section of a population from different socio-economic and political contexts, including educational status – school dropouts, or did not complete high school – disadvantaged, underemployed, unemployed, socially excluded. The participants actively took part in the whole project cycle, from the preparatory / focus group phase, to the testing phase, to a series of dissemination laboratories in adult education centres and NGOs (involving at least 150 adult educators) and to the multiplier events - meetings for stakeholders and professionals to validate, within a multi-target network, the importance of targeted adult learning. The main project outputs were the production of an educational tool comprising a series of comic strips and an accompanying adult educators’ guide; dissemination of the outputs on the main Open Education Resources (OER)platforms, ePALE tools area, the project website and each partner's website; a healthy dissemination plan supported by the most popular media among adults; the establishment of an alliance / network among actors involved in adult education and the development of a “word of mouth” network on the project topics. The project’s outcomes were as follows: 1) Enhanced pedagogical skills among adult educators brought about through an innovative adult learning approach based on comics: and 2) Increased understanding and awareness among adult educators of new adult migrants’ and refugees’ learning priorities brought about by a bi-directional learning process in which both the newly arrived and the local people appreciate and respect each other’s background. In the long term, this project has the potential to contribute to promoting high-quality adult education targeting new migrants and refugees.