IRENE project is tailored to 72 people with professional experience and/or education in the area of religious pedagogy/dialogue education (educators, RE teachers, theologists, operators of international cooperation, pastoral workers, clergy, active members of religious communities or parishes). Furthermore researchers, people with national assignments on the topics of dialogue and hospitality, pastoral workers and community animators will be involved. 1000 members of civil society organizations, interested in the theme of dialogue and coexistence of people from different cultures/religious background , but also people in need are indirect project beneficiaries. The training and education activities carried out by the project (international training mobilities, meetings, etc.) are also intended to at least 5000 people - general public and in particular those people who works in Europe and in the contexts of the southern hemisphere within international/development cooperation projects, students in European, cultural studies, professionals in theology, people who are in disadvantaged situations and many others. IRENE objectives are: to improve the teaching methods of RE teachers and professionals in theology to deal with diversity and multiculturalism; to facilitate the exchange of experience and the transfer of innovative RE knowledge and methods; to increase the digital, social and learning to learn skills and multicultural competences of the target groups; to foster the inter-religious practices to deal and educate in religious diversity and social exclusion at local level; to train RE teachers/professionals to play active role in the society; to create strategic partnership and increase the volume of cooperation between the partners. In order to achieve these objectives the following activities will be implemented: 1) Mobilities: 4 blended mobilities organized for adults learners, members of the target groups will take place in Greece, Estonia, Finland and Italy; 2) 5 transnational meetings will be organized in Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland and Italy; 3) 1 International conference will take place in Italy to promote the project results; 4) Intellectual outputs: IO1 Comparative study, led by Finnish partner; IO2 Collection of articles in English and translated in partners' languages, led by Greek partner; IO3 Open e-learning platform, led by Italian partner; IO4 Pilot training course in English, translated in partners' languages and in sign language, led by Bulgarian partner. IRENE involves an appropriate mix of complementary participating organizations, belonging to different sectors of education, with necessary experience to successfully cover all project aspects. It has 6 partners: 3 recognized universities, including the Institute of Theology of the EELC - Estonia; University of Eastern Finland (UEF) and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece; 3 NGOs - Vasiliada Association, established under the patronage of Oltenia`s Archbishopric; Istituto di Studi Ecumenici San Bernardino della Provincia Sant’Antonio dei Frati Minori - Italy, which is the higher education and training institute belonging to the Province of Sant’Antonio da Padova of the Franciscan Friars; Regional Development Foundation (RDF - Bulgaria), which hosts the local EDIC-Vidin - one of the official partners of the European Commission. IRENEs project implementation will lead to the following expected results: Created conditions for exchange of experience and transferred good innovative practices in teaching religion between the participants, involved in the project; increased knowledge (historical, cultural, theological) about the existing denominations/religions in the partner's cities/communities; increased key competences (leadership, multicultural, social, learning to learn skills) of the target groups to deal with religious diversity and social exclusion at local level; improved inter-religious practice of those who are directly and indirectly involved in the project; increased knowledge of the contents, terms and languages of ecumenical and inter-religious matters; improved education to religious diversity in educational settings, in those of care as well as in general in living communities; improved methods in teaching religion; shared new vision of cultural and religious pluralism by researchers and trainers participating in the project (helping to interpret religious diversity with appropriate language and categories that prevents any forms of discrimination and or racism); established long-lasting strategic partnership between the representatives of the partners' organizations and the participants involved directly or indirectly in the project. The lead partner of IRENE project is Vasiliada Association, Romania. The project will be implemented for 30 months.
By implementing this project we wanted: • To improve the teaching methods of RE professionals to deal with diversity and multiculturalism • To facilitate the exchange of experience and transfer innovative RE knowledge and methods • To increase the digital, social and learning to learn skills and multicultural competences of the target groups • To foster inter-religious practices to deal and educate in religious diversity and social exclusion • To train RE teachers/professionals to play active role in the society • To create strategic partnership and increase the volume of cooperation between the partners In addition to the objective of a general religious literacy required also by the Council of Europe, the project through learning, teaching and training activities aimed to promote collaboration among different confessional and religious institutions and people in order to understand the cultural richness of religions, recognize their contribution, also in every single local context, promoting respect for others and grasping the contribution of religions in solving the problems of individuals and in the search for meaning.
We are living in no longer mono-confessional society and both the religions education teaching and the education to the religious diversity become important commitments for educational institutions and people. Intercultural/inter-religious dialogue has become more and more inevitable and important. While an inter-religious pedagogy is called to develop a method, clarify the guidelines, set the right objectives and attitudes to encourage a dialogue among diverse people, the education to the dialogue became part of a proposal of public theology that reflexes on socio-political life for the plural society as a whole, without limiting itself to the members of the Christian community. The project intended to respond to the need of building a new model of relationship with cultural and religious diversity; to a new and different self-understanding of religions, because the current one often hinders coexistence. It also intended to respond to the need to enhance and to know more about the different religions, to overcome the difficulties of dialogue between people of different cultures and religions. Finally, it intended to respond to the need for cultural and spiritual growth at the service of the communities we live in.