"Give new life to environmental and cultural heritage: revitalization of parks, undeveloped urban and rural areas" is Erasmus+ VET strategic partnership two-years project created by six partners' institutions from Poland, Italy, Portugal, France and Estonia - 3 VET schools and 3 non-governmental organisations. Most of partners have experience in EU funded projects. VET school from Tuchola (Poland) has never previously been involved in a similar project as a partner. The coordinator of the project is EUROPEA Polska. There is obvious need for professional training of VET staff and students/learners - the main target groups of this project - to increase competence, to secure investment and to strengthen the employability in the future. Furthermore, the need is to be prepared better for tomorrow's chellanges. At the beginning of the XXI century, 85 percent of people were living in cities and metropolitan areas, and many are in desperate need of places to experience nature and refresh ourselves in the out-of-doors. Revitalization of parks, undeveloped urban and rural areas is an important driver of economic and social development. Knowing this, consorcium of partners with EUROPEA Polska as coordinator intends to exchange best practices and develop innovative training tools in order to support and train VET staff to become better and more successful in what they are doing in formal and non-formal education with their students and learners and potential employees in this big employment sector as revitalization with the aim to give new life to environmental and cultural heritage. The objectives of the project are to collect information about places in need of revitalization, share best practices of revitalization in the project partners' countries and Europe, to develop innovative tools for VET staff and students/learners, to increase professional development of VET teachers, trainers and mentors, to enrich partnership of VET providers in partners' countries and Europe, to support social and educational value of European cultural heritage. The project will involve VET schools from regions where green areas have been identified as a requiring development or revitalization, to restore their former functions or give new shape and functions after natural disasters. More than 300 people will be directly involved to this project and more than 1000 indirectly during dissemination activities. Participants with fewer opportunities will be involved to the project activities. There will be four transnational meetings and two short-term joint staff training events during the project, six multipliers events, local and dissemination activities. Partners will create two outputs - E-Handbook and four virtual lessons, test them and disseminate for own staff, students/learners, associated partners and other stakeholders. Partners will use the best methods of formal, non-formal and informal education during project activities. The main result of the project will be new competences of VET staff and their students/learners. Partner expect that the impact of the project will be strong to all involved. Staff members and VET students/learners will develop competencies to work in revitalization area. They will learn from best practices, from experts and from each other. Participants will have a chance to obtain new experiences and knowledge about European countries, nature and culture. Partners' organisations will improve capacity of teaching techniques and acquire a wider network. They will develop capacity in project management. All partners will gain experience in intercultural creative thinking, communication and European cooperation. The desired impact on local and national level is to inspire more people of all ages to be active in protection cultural and environmental heritage. Project activities on local and national levels will involve staff and students from VET providers and motivate them to take actions based on the project outputs. The desired impact on national, regional and European levels is to increase formal, non-formal and informal learning and support VET. The potential longer term benefit is that partners will create long-lasting transnational networks of organisations involved in VET. These networks will enormously contribute to the improvement of work with cultural and environmental heritage.
The partnership project, Give New Life to Environmental and Cultural Heritage: revitalisation of parks, undeveloped urban and rural areas, was implemented by six partner organisations from Poland, Italy, Portugal, Estonia and France. There were three VET schools and three NGOs related to education and training in the field of space planning, management and maintenance. We worked against the pandemic, adapting to new conditions and surprising situations. The project was coordinated by the Association for Agriculture and Forestry Education EUROPEA Poland, and the partnership consisted of highly internationalised organisations with an established track record, who supported those just starting out with their experience. Our activities met the training needs of the professional staff of the schools and their pupils. After three years of the project, our goal of increasing competence in the field of spatial development, or revitalisation, has been achieved. We’ve seen a delightful and constant growth of similar activities, seeming to acknowledge that the world has noticed a need to live in harmony with the space in which one lives and functions. Now, with 85% of the population living in cities and metropolitan areas, many residents are increasingly desperate to find places that encourage relaxation, meditation and share responsibility for the planet simultaneously. The regeneration sector of parks, and undeveloped urban and rural areas, is an important driver of economic and social development. Our consortium has gathered the best practices and made strong efforts to develop innovative training tools to support VET professionals to be better and more effective in what they do in both formal, and especially informal, education with their students or employees. Note that the informal education element is being increasingly used in a growing employment sector, such as regeneration, which we promote as “giving new life to natural and cultural heritage.” The aim of the project was to collect and transmit information about places in need of regeneration, to share best practices in the project partners' countries and across Europe, to develop innovative tools for VET professionals and pupils/students, and to stimulate the professional development of VET teachers, trainers and mentors. In this way, the project contributed to the development of VET in the partner countries and Europe, and it supported the social and educational value of European cultural heritage. Schools from regions with green areas in need of development or revitalisation, e.g. after natural disasters, abandoned areas, were invited to join the project. Around 300 people were directly involved in the project, and the dissemination activities covered a group several times larger. Special attention was paid to the inclusion of people with fewer opportunities. Partners held four international meetings and two short-term staff training sessions. There were a total of seven online meetings. Each partner organised dissemination and promotional events and carried out local activities. The main products of the project were an E-book and a set of virtual lessons/tutorials. These tools can be used by staff, trainers, students, associated partners and other stakeholders. The materials use both formal and informal education methods. This will disseminate informal competences in VET teaching and among people interested in or responsible for the space, who will develop competences for understanding regeneration as a landscape of memory, myth, freedom, expression and cultural embeddedness, embedded in sustainable development. Participants of the events learned about native and other experiences of natural and cultural heritage. As a VET partnership we developed competencies in teaching techniques, living lab approaches and project work methods. The three-year cooperation sparked creativity, new contacts were made, we worked in an international environment, and we improved our communication and cooperation skills. The pandemic certainly tested project management skills and improved crisis management competences. The visible effect, at both a local and national level, is to inspire more people of all ages to protect cultural and natural heritage. The project activities involved staff, pupils and local authorities, not only those professionally linked to vocational training. The project motivated people to take action based on the project’s results. The desired effect at a national, regional and European level is to increase both formal and informal learning, and to support vocational education and training. A potential long-term benefit is that we have created long-term transnational networks of organisations involved in VET. These networks will contribute enormously to the inclusion of cultural and natural heritage in spatial planning.