We developed three key objectives for this project. We sought to achieve: 1 Improved pedagogical capacities for developing new courses and programs to support effective, joined-up and inclusive strategy building for environmental and social actors; 2 Acquisition of new skills, practices and tools to support learners in building resilient, sustainable and regenerative approaches to social and environmental participation; 3 Increased organisational/program reach and impact, through digitisation, internationalisation and staff development. Through staff participation in high quality training, we enabled them to gain the innovative pedagogy, skills, knowledge, practices, techniques and tools to enable them to design and deliver training that is increasingly high quality, tailored to the needs of our learners, and more far-reaching - benefitting from the international and inter-cultural experiences and connections emerging from the European activities.
Through our educational activities, Gluaiseacht’s primary aim is to build and strengthen community initiatives in the field of environmental and social equity. Our learners are active citizens and community groups, working on environmental regeneration and community cohesion, who benefit from the support and expertise of our programs. Following a Strategy Development Process, catalysed by the Covid19 situation, we clarified some key challenges which needed our attention, at organisational, staff and learner levels. With the benefits to our learners at the front and centre, we designed this project, in collaboration with our host partner, tailoring planned courses and activities around these key needs and challenges. Through this project, we made the most of this fantastic opportunity to improve our educational programs in specific and focused ways, such that our learners and their organisations can better do their work, in building a more participatory, fair and ‘green’ Europe.