Back in April 2023, a capacity building needs assessment of the managerial staff of 12 Institutions of Adult Learning and Education (IALE) was conducted within the frame of the Regional project in four countries. In consultations with Regional and Country offices in Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine it was decided to adapt selected topics of the Module 2 on Needs assessment and strategic planning and Module 3 on Internal Management and Leadership Skills and Competencies of the Curriculum managerALE for the implementation of a capacity building training on a regional level.
The regional capacity training based on Curriculum managerALE held during 16 - 21 October, in Ureki, Georgia, was co-organised by the Regional office of DVV International for Caucasus and South-East Europe (Tbilisi, Georgia) and the Regional project “Eastern Neighbours” (currently based in Chisinau, Moldova) and hosted 26 participants from Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
At the end of June 2023, a visit was held to exchange experience between the adult training and education centres of Ukraine and Georgia. Thus, representatives of the Ukrainian delegation, including leaders and managers of adult training and education centres from Mykolaiv region, Zaporizhzhia and Poltava region, visited the ALE-Centres in the cities of Bolnisi, Jvara and Keda. There they had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the work experience of Georgian educational centres.
The second Regional Academy on ALE-Advocacy of the Regional Project "Eastern Neighbours" was held from 30 May to 3 June 2023 in cooperation with the European Association for Education of Adults (EAEA) and the International Council on Adult Education (ICAE). The event was hosted in Sarajevo and co-organised by the office of DVV International in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 30 representatives from six countries of the regional project - Armenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova and Ukraine - attended the event.
Due to the status of EU candidate countries, both the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine tend to align their policies in the field of Adult Learning & Education (ALE) and Lifelong Learning (LLL) with those of the European Union. In this context, a hybrid workshop on the state of convergence of ALE-policies in the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine with the ones in the European Union took place on 25 April 2023 in Chisinau. The event was organised within the Regional project "Eastern Neighbours" of DVV International, the Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association.
In the past years DVVI has developed several tools designed to support and develop Institutions of Adult Learning and Education (IALEs) in its partner countries, such as Curriculum GlobALE for the professional training and development of teaching staff, Curriculum InstitutionALE as a referencing tool for organizational development of partner structures, and Curriculum ManagerALE, designed to train and further develop managers of IALEs.
Within the regional program DVVI is aiming at designing and implementing capacity development activities to the managers of IALEs also applying the Curriculum ManagerALE.
Fourteen representatives of adult education institutions and city administrations, as well as city councils from Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, visited Germany in March 2023. The aim of the trip to Norden, Nienburg and Hanover was to give new impetus to the regional exchange between adult education centres in Eastern Europe and their cooperation with the local self-governments.
For this, the colleagues wanted to learn more about the cooperation between adult education centres and city administrations, municipalities and other authorities. They were interested in the role of adult education in stabilizing democracy, but also in models for financing adult education centres.
From 4 to 8 March 2023, representatives of the Armenian office of DVV International, the Dilijan Community Centre and the Sisian Adult Education Centre visited 6 of the 14 Adult Education Centres in Georgia to exchange experiences: Bolnisi, Shaumiani, Koda, Leliani, Akhalkalaki and Akhaltsikhe.
The purpose of the visit was to get acquainted with the experience of the Georgian AECs and then to apply new and different approaches in the Armenian centres, and to use this experience to design a concept for a new AEC in Armenia.
The visit, which focused on the exchange of experiences, provided a new opportunity to make comparisons between the activities of the AECs, to analyse strengths and weaknesses, and to consider new approaches to involving beneficiaries in educational programmes.
On February 7th, 2023, the online webinar on the topic of “New European Agenda for Adult Learning 2021-2030 and EU’s New Skills Agenda” took place. The conference was organised in cooperation with the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) and the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE).
The main objective of the event was to build awareness on the current discourse in ALE policy in the EU and the role of civil society in the development of the sector. Furthermore, the webinar should be seen as a kick-off for events on identifying the state of ALE-convergence in the field of ALE in Moldova and Ukraine.
During 13-15 December, in Istanbul, Turkey, the Regional Academy on ALE-Advocacy for representatives of six countries from East and Southeast Europe (Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Ukraine and Moldova) took place. The organizer of the event was the Regional project “Eastern Neighbours” and was held with the engagement of the European Association for Education of Adults (EAEA) and the International Council on Adult Education (ICAE).
The objective of the Regional Academy on ALE-Advocacy was to gather representatives of key partners of DVV International from national associations/alliances/NGOs working on the promotion of ALE in the six countries of the Regional project and the ALE advocacy experts to enable mutual learning, exchange, and elaboration of new advocacy approaches, methods, and strategies each considering national contexts of participating countries.
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The International Conference conducted on 9-10 November 2022 in Chisinau (Republic of Moldova) presented and discussed successful cases of promoting Adult Learning and Education (ALE) through community-based centres and efficient cooperation with local authorities. The Conference served as a communication and discussion platform for interested specialists working in ALE and lifelong learning with an emphasis on the non-formal education sector from 12 countries of Europe.
On 4th of October 2022 the Eastern Neighbours Regional project organised its first event in cooperation with the European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA). The online Workshop provided an opportunity for local civil society organisations (CSOs) and public agencies from Armenia, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Ukraine and Moldova to receive a general overview of the CONFINTEA processes, discuss approaches for advocacy and share ideas on implementing the Marrakesh Framework for Action (MFA) recommendations.