The project aims to raise competences of educators working with local communities by the method of community organizing. Competencies that will have focus of this project are following: public narrative, organizing effective social activities and using of innovative educational methods. The project will raise educators competences, as well as create interactive training tools that can then be used in thier everyday work. Improving the skills of educators is possible thanks to cross-border cooperation of partners. The specificity of social structures and the model of democracy in the countries of the former Eastern bloc require proper adaptation of the method of community organizing. The cooperation of partners will enable to develop results taking into account the specificity of the region. Due to lack the historical context of community organizing in Europe (compared to the United States where this method comes from) the aim of the project is to adapt the method by teaching about it in an interactive, comprehensible way. In this project, partners will create innovative training tools (game and mobile application). Improving the competences of the organizers and equipping them with training tools enabling the comprehensiveness of the OS method in a clear and understandable way will contribute to the promotion of community organizing and will help the organizers to work with groups in the field. As part of the project, partners from Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia will develop innovative educational tools: educational game, mobile application, publication. The project provides the organization of 4 international meetings and 3 trainings. The training topics are: engaging people in times of crisis, organizing people around the social problem and the strength of public narrative. The direct target group of the project is 120 social organizers cooperating in partner organizations and volunteers. The indirect group are the disadvantaged communities with which the organizers work. The project will affect the recognition of the method of organizing social networks in partner countries, but also will enable easier and more accessible education in this area.
The major objective of the "Story of Change - School for Active Participation" project was therefore to increase competences of adult educators working with marginalised groups, movements, communities from across Europe and equip them with innovative educational tools enabling to show community organising in understandable and attractive way.
Due to lack of historical context of community organising in Europe (compared to the United States where organising is well-known and recognised from 70') we wanted to adapt this approach to our environment and needs. We also wished to build the foundation for European network of more professional and effective community organisers who will be better prepared to support in particular vulnerable groups and communities in introducing social and systemic changes in their surroundings.