In the time of COVID-19 global pandemic, countries are watching with uncertainty the negative impact of the pandemic on the cultural and creative sector. The negative impact of the pandemic reflects also on organisations that carry out non-formal educational programmes for adult minority members and adult learners in the field of culture and arts. Possibilities for accessing to artistic and minority educational have further deteriorated with the crisis. The project partners are facing similar challenges, related to the reduction of the number of educational workshops for learners, the reduction of financial resources for quality educational programmes and the cancellation of cultural and artistic activities for our participants. As a consequence, the most affected by the crisis are our minority members and learners as their access to education, creativity and socializing, which is also important in the context of their integration, has worsened. The participating organisations in the project "Open Hands" joined forces to deal with COVID-19 crisis recovery. The main goal of our project is to showcase that art and creativity, even in the most critical times, present an opportunity, inspiration and motivation to create and promote various forms of networking and education. The partnership consists of artistically and minority-oriented educational organizations. Each organization will contribute to the realization of the following project goals with its knowledge and experience in the field of (minority) cultural heritage and contemporary art: - carry out an educational process in the field of minority cultural heritage and contemporary art, which will include flexible approaches to the education of adult minority members, derivated from the exchange of good practices between partner countries, - carry out international staff training events in Slovenia and Serbia, organize mobilities of adult learners in Croatia: ''Open hands - Art academy Erasmus Istra 2022'', organize a final online exhibition ''Open hands'' and design a catalogue 'Creativity Catalog', - actively involve at least 9 educators and 30 adult learners from participating countries in project activities, aiming to improve the use of digital tools and creative approaches in teaching and improving the knowledge, skills and competences of adult learners to widen their cultural, educational and economic opportunities on the labour market, - to develop an international minority-cultural partnership of diverse organizations from Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia and to improve the quality of work in the field of non-formal adult education, - to establish active cross-sectoral cooperation between civil society and public, aiming to improve information about different educational possibilities for adult learners. The target group of the project are educators, mostly also minority members with an immigrant background, minority adult learners and other adult learners. The specific target group are older women, unemployed and / or less qualified from rural areas, who preserve minority cultural heritage by making artistic traditional handicrafts, but who lack adequate knowledge about contemporary artistic approaches, use of a digital tool, project management and dissemination in order to empower themselves economically and to extend the outreach of the visibility of their cultural products. The methodology in the project is based on the specific needs and desires of minority members and adult learners, taking into account their specific cultural, social and educational characteristics. The project combines classic educational workshops and attractive online communication tools, including the creation of an online project platform, which will include an online art gallery of created products, 'Creativity Catalogue'. This will enable the participants to present the learning process, their products and their personal reflections. Additionally, the project foresees tangible results such as art products and art postcards, which will be also used as a dissemination tool for different stakeholders. The result of the project will be the establishment of an international project partnership with developed guidelines for strategic learning development and a better focus on minority members and adult learners. Further on, the project will have a positive impact on improved approaches in encouraging end-users (educators, learners and other participants) in various forms of non - formal education, the use of online tools and creativity in education. This will be reflected through gained knowledge, improved skills and competencies, better exploitation of (minority) cultural heritage and developed abilities of adults for self-initiative, entrepreneurship and creativity in times of crisis.
With their knowledge and experience related to (minority) cultural heritage and contemporary art, each organization contributed to the realization of the following project goals: - the implementation of an educational process in the minority cultural heritage and contemporary art, which included flexible approaches to the education of adult minority members, based on the exchange of good practices of partner organizations, - the implementation of international staff training activities in Serbia and Slovenia and the implementation of the mobility of adult learners in Croatia Open Hands, - Art Colony Erasmus Istra 2022, the creation of the final online gallery Open Hands and the creation of the online publication Catalog of Creativity, - the active involvement of at least 9 educators and 30 adult learners, to improve the use of online tools and creative-artistic content in teaching and improve the knowledge, skills and competences of the target groups for more effective use of cultural, educational and economic opportunities on the labour market, - developing an international minority-cultural partnership of various organizations from Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia to improve the quality of work in non-formal adult education.
The partners of the Open Hands project decided to apply as a response to the crisis of the COVID 19 epidemic, which had consequences for the actions of all organizations. The central goal of our project was to show that art and creativity, even in the best times of crisis, represent an opportunity, inspiration and motivation for creation, as well as a stimulus for various forms of education and networking. Before applying for the project, due to the restrictions of the epidemic, our partners were faced with the cancellation of the activities of implementing informal education programs for adult minority members and learning adults in the field of culture and art. We faced limited access to minority and artistic content, a reduction in the number of educational workshops, a reduction in financial resources and the cancellation of cultural and artistic activities of our participants. The consequences were felt most by our participants, as they were denied education, artistic creation and socializing, which is essential for their social inclusion. We addressed the need for skills development and social inclusion through creativity and art. Specifically, we celebrated cultural differences, social differences and geographical distance.