Partnership Meeting in Finland - Photo Report by Portuguese Team

Common Study Program

               

Study Program for the Project

European approach – Exploring – Experiencing - Exchanging

Common study program has been planned together with the partner organizations. The program consists of facts about the European Union and facts (e.g. history, geography, climate, nature, population, culture and economy) about partnership countries.  When they study issues above they can also have motivation to learn English and computer skills. Each partner can adapt this program to their study group according to the composition and needs of the group.

Background

The common rationale of the project is increasing the feeling of European togetherness by offering adult learners opportunities to study facts about EU and explore European countries and get experiences of international living. Increased mobility, studies of English and IT skills and new networks with the project partners help to achieve these goals.

Adult learners need more facts about the European Union to get a better understanding of the politics, aims and functions of the EU. They need also more facts about member countries of the EU and the everyday life of people to get a better understanding of different cultures and problems that may occur because of lacking data and / or different attitudes and prejudices. They also need to become familiar with big questions to be solved in the future, e.g. population, climate change, nature environment, working life, social issues, family life and health.

Objectives

The project is for adult learners a chance to learn more facts about their partner countries and the European Union and get readiness to understand needs and problems which are to be solved in the wide European Union now and in the future. They will have the opportunity to rethink their attitudes and reduce their prejudices through new friendships and cooperation with other countries.

Many elderly people have not learned enough foreign languages and IT skills. When they study issues above they also can learn closer English and computer skills in order to participate in the various tasks of the project. They need to collect material from the Internet. The learners will need ICT skills to communicate with their partners. They will be more motivated to study when they are working with concrete issues.

For teachers / tutors the project will give a chance to develop their methods to activate and motivate adult learners to study in groups and to become familiar with the learning method of project work.  They will have a chance to benchmark their colleagues from abroad, because possibilities of LLL are different in the participating countries.

For the organizations the project will give a way to find new approaches and aims for their learners, as it is sometimes difficult to get people to study complicated social matters. Through the mobility and partnership meetings the organizations and learners can establish continuing cooperation with other partners after the project has finished.

For a wider public in participating countries the project gives a chance to become familiar with distant countries and open to different cultures - and to some extent also reaches the same aims as the learners in the project. In the course of the project and after that we are going to inform also other elderly people around about the results of our project in the form of exhibitions and meetings.

Methodology

The studies consist of working in the study groups and participating in the partnership meetings.  In connection with the partnership meetings the matters learned in the study groups will be presented in the form of portfolios. The participants will get acquainted with the hosting country through study visits and cultural program.  Each partner's own country will be presented according to the theme of the meeting.

Each partner will organize study groups (study circles) of adult learners. The groups will study in couples, after studies of about three months the groups will change partners. E. g. in the first phase Estonia will work with Poland, Finland with Greece and Italy with Turkey, while Portugal is preparing the first partnership meeting. When working in pairs the intention is to offer a possibility to interchange and deeper discussion between the groups during the study period as well as at the partnership meetings.

In the first phase the Estonian partner has to collect material about Poland and the Polish partner about Estonia etc. Material found on the internet, music, recordings, films and also literary sources will be used as material for the studies. As for current issues e. g. newspapers and magazines will be used as a source of information. The scope of the studies is 15-24 lessons during one period of working in pairs and the total length 90-120 lessons covering seven study periods.

Each partner will organize a partnership meeting in their own country. The partner organizations and tutors have a chance to evaluate the progress, the methods used and the feedback from the earlier phase. The learners will have a chance to learn more about the target country and continue discussions with their couples and to make friends at a personal level. With the aid of portfolios the study groups will indicate the others what impression they have got about their working partner.  The portfolios can include folders of study material, Power Point presentations etc.

Connected to each meeting there will be arranged an International Fair where the partners can present their own organization, their home region and culture as well as themes of the meeting for the participants and local public.

Common themes for the partnership meetings

                             Lisbon, Portugal; History of Portugal, and especially the Age of Discovery

                             Athens, Greece; Arts

                             Białystok, Poland; Gastronomy

                             Palamuse, Estonia; Dance and Music

                             Konya, Turkey: Handicrafts

                             Naples, Italy; Europe and us

                             Kouvola, Finland; Nature Environment

Example of the contents of the first study period about Greece in Finland

14 Sep 2010	Our ideas about Greece and the Greeks  x), general information on Greece, current news from Greece, a few words of the Greek language. Greek music as a starter
28 Sep 2010	Greek history, general information on Greece, current news from Greece, a few words of the Greek language.  Information about EU. A representative of an EU information office as our guest. Greek music as a starter
5 Oct 2010	Greek history,  a few words of the Greek language. Greek music as a starter
19 Oct 2010	Natural environment and geography of Greece, a few words of Greek. Greek music as a starter
2 Nov 2010	Greek student's opinions about Finland – politics, economy, industry, population.  A few words of Greek. Greek music as a starter
16 Nov 2010	Greek culture:  Arts, music, items on the UNESCO list.  Greek language – food vocabulary. A Greek exchange student was as our guest. Feedback of the study period. Greek music as a starter

Discussion between groups

x) Our preconceptions about Greece and the Greeks (questions):

WHAT VIEWS OR IMAGES DO YOU HAVE ABOUT GREECE AND THE GREEKS?

HOW / ON WHAT BASES HAVE YOU FORMED YOUR OPINIONS?

WHICH OF THESE VIEWS ARE MOSTLY POSITIVE?

WHICH OF YOUR VIEWS ARE MOSTLY NEGATIVE?

HOW WELL ARE YOU ACQUAINTED WITH GREECE OR GREEK PEOPLE?

WHAT WOULD YU LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT GREECE AND GREEK PEOPLE?

Questions from Greek study group to Finns

Our preconceptions about Finland

What do we want to learn or/and know better:

               - How the people’s behavior and habits are affected by the climate?

               - Waste management system

               - Food and drink

               - History of sauna

               - Is there any official religion?

               - Are there migrants in Finland?

                    - Are there conflicts with the neighbored countries?

                    - More info on the educational system

               - More about finish culture and everyday life

               - Distances between villages and sometimes between houses are long. We are wondering how you develop your human relationships.

Updated by Kuusankoski Hiking Club / Seppo Tahvanainen

Partner meetings

European Approach – Partner meetings

Summary of the partner meetings through Finnish eyes

During the project seven partner meetings were arranged, one in each country.  The partners took it in turns to host a meeting, each partner in their own country. In each meeting there was a presentation about things which had been learned during the previous period. The idea was that the partners (except for the hosting country) worked in pairs and studied topics about each other’s country and presented their work (portfolios) to other participants.

Connected to each meeting there was an International Fair and Cultural visits where the partners presented their own organisation, their home region and culture as well as themes of the meeting.  Naturally the program also included Staff meetings where the process of the project was evaluated and the future activities were planned.

In November 2010 the series of meetings started in Lisbon, Portugal.  The common theme was the History of Portugal, and especially the Age of Discovery.  We also had the opportunity to listen to Fado music and to try typical Portuguese cuisine.  History became familiar to us at some impressive destinations during the study visits.  With our Greek partner we also discussed the refugee problem of the Mediterranean region.

The second partner meeting was in Athens, Greece, in February 2011.  The theme was Art.  The many cultural destinations in Athens and the Peloponnesus were really apt for this purpose.  Also the discussion about illegal immigration continued among the participants.  The trip to the partner meeting was quite something else than just a tourist trip.  This was partly due to the critical situation in Greece, demonstrations, strikes and symptoms of the economical crisis.

In May 2011 it was the Polish partner's turn to be host for the third meeting.  The meeting was held in Białystok.  The common theme was Gastronomy, but in addition the participants were provided with a comprehensive presentation about the multicultural history and rich natural environment of Northeastern Poland.  The bus trip from Warsaw to Białystok lasting several hours also gave a good picture of the Polish countryside with its small towns and villages. 

At the shift of July-August 2011 the fourth partner meeting was arranged in Palamuse, Estonia.  The common theme, dance and music, could be experienced also in practice.  The Estonian countryside, the natural environment, folktales as well as the biggest cities Tallinn and Tartu were presented from aspects which were new even to Finnish participants. The Finish study group returned to the Tartu region again in October for a weekend when we visited new places and also met our Estonian partners for a quiz about Estonia and Finland.

To the fifth meeting we travelled as far as Konya in Turkey in November 2011. The common theme was handicraft, but we also had the opportunity to acquaint ourselves with Mevlana culture, Sema performance and places of some very early settlements in the known human history.  Some of them can still be seen in Konya region.  The difference between the Turkish and the North European cultures was inspiring and gave reason to new thinking and rechecking of our attitudes.

The Finnish people's sixth and the last trip was to Naples, Italy, in March 2012.  The future of Europe is very much under public debate, and so it was discussed also at this meeting.  Also here the difference in the way of action compared with our ways enabled us to learn something new about the European integration and the problems connected to it.

The seventh meeting was held in Kouvola in June 2012.  The theme was Nature and Environment.

The topic had been prepared by different partners by collecting pictures of the photographers' favorite places and also places where the human activities are not in harmony with the natural environment. The photographer also had to give reasons for why he or she had taken this particular picture.  A large number of our own members took part in the hosting and in various events of the meeting.

Evaluation of the meetings

At all the meetings feedback was collected from the participants. The evaluation includes the program, organisation and interaction. The evaluation of the Palamuse meeting is not available. The participants used the scale: ”very good” - ”good” - ”fair” - ”poor” - ”not enough information”.  At all points of evaluation the answers accumulated to the levels”very good” and”good”.  There were differences between different meetings.  These were due to e.g. different program, organisation, or the combination of the participants.

As regards content, objectives and methods, the highest points were given to”Interest of the subject” and”Cultural visits related to the subject”.  A clear majority gave the mark”Very good”.  The clear need for improvement was in ”Time management”.  Here the most common answer was”Good”, but”Fair” answers were more frequent than in other cases.

In the evaluations concerning”Interaction” the best marks were given to”General atmosphere of the meeting” for which the majority gave the mark ”Very good”. ”Communication/cooperation between participants” and”Possibility to take part as an active participant” gathered the most”Good” answers.

English was the common language in the meetings, but what we can gather from the feedback shows that there have been gaps in the command of English and the communication between the participants has partly relied on expressions and gestures and partly on the interpretation of those who speak English better.

In evaluations connected to”Logistics” the”Accommodation” and the”Transport” gathered the most”Very Good” marks. The biggest need for improvement was in”Support equipment”, although in this question the level was above”Good”. Poor compatibility of the equipment and programs caused also problems in time management in some cases.

The hosting organisation was responsible for the program but the head coordinator composed the agendas of the staff meetings.  The evaluation forms differed from each other on”Meeting Program”.  Generally the best marks ”Very good” were given to some cultural visits, like the culture program in Lisbon (including Fado), the Cappadoccia tour in Turkey, the Peloponnesus tour in Greece and all events organised in Finland.  In Poland the highest marks were given to the ”International Fair” with a big selection of food, musical program and active participation of the members of the project. Unfortunately, the Italian partner did not ask for evaluations of the specific items of their program.

For the”Overall assessment” of all meetings was accumulated on the scale ”Very good” -”Good.

”Very good” gathered most answers.  ”Overall assessment” was given by 137 participants.  The answers of Palamuse are missing from this figure.  All in all the number of foreign participants in the partner meetings was more than 160.  In addition there were the participants of the hosting organisations, which is estimated to be almost the same as the number of foreign participants.  Therefore we can be very satisfied with the mobility part of our project, both for numbers and outputs.  Text: Seppo Tahvanainen

Naples Meeting - PhotoReport by Portuguese participants

CULTURES MET IN KONYA

The 5th Project meeting of European Approach was held in Konya between the dates 9th-14th November,2011.30 participants from six different countries and 11 participants from the host country attended the meeting during these days.

On the first day they visited some cultural places in Konya such as Zazadın Han,Sille and Meram  and after the lunch in Meram they returned the city.In the evening they exhibited their cultural products in Meram Halk Eğitim Merkezi.They offered their food and drinks to the guests and to each other.

Ali Kemal Dönmez,the headmaster of Meram Halk Eğitim Merkezi,said” We intend to share and exchange our cultures with our partners and get experienced.And he added “People will get to know each other better through this Project  and one of our biggest aim is to eliminate the prejudice among people in Nations.

During the process of our Project all the partners are visiting each other in their homes and they are observing the lifestyle,cultures of the host country.

The next day they are going to visit Kapadokya region.On Saturday they will have a chance to visit Mevlana Museum and they will be able to see Sema Show.

By Journalist Metin Oralöz

Italian participants’ impressions

Italian participants’ impressions about Turkey

 “It was the second time that the programme LLP took me to Konya. After four years found the city in full development: there are open building yards and I sow public works made with great taste and with the respect for places and for tradition. I think that if Turkey wants, it will be fully part of our shaky Europe (from the financial, political and administrative point of view), even because the peace philosophy, that has found in Mevlana a great supporter, is very current and it has been and it is the reason for the existence itself of Europe (don’t forget that when the European Economic Community CEE was born in 1957, with the Treaty of Rome, Europe was getting out of the world War) and it is my personal approach to Europe and to my work”.

Giovanna Romaniello

 “It was a very beautiful experience thanks to the wonderful hospitality of the Turkish friends. We had the knowledge of wonderful places and works, showed by a learned person. Even if we were of different ethnicities and even without knowing the language very well, I came back to Italy full of knowledge. Thank you to the wonderful opportunity and I hope to repeat it with you as guests”.

Wanda Cunzo

 “I didn’t think to see and to live for four days in a country of fairy tales. You are exquisite people, thanks for having let me visit, explained in a wonderful way, monuments and places that I didn’t know – your hospitality exceeded all imagination. Again thanks to you and to other nations participating in the meeting”.

Gabriella Cunzo

Project meeting in Konya

EUROPEAN APPROACH   - Project meeting in Konya

9 - 14 November 2011

Notes by the Finnish group

Wednesday 9 November

The Finnish group travelled via Istanbul to Konya on Turkish Airlines flights.  To start with we were pleased to notice that TK offered a very good service in the way of food and drinks. During our stay in Konya we stayed at Hotel Selçuk. The groups from other countries stayed there, too.

Thursday 10 November

We walked through the city centre to our host School called Meram Halk Egitimi Merkezi Ve A.S.O. Müdürlügü - Meram Education Centre.  We were taken by bus outside the city centre.  There was a guided visit at Zazadinhan Caravansherai, a guest house/fortress from 13th century.  Then the bus took us to Sille, a place where early Christians had had dwellings inside caves and also a church.  There was also a mosque and a synagogue in the area and people of different religions lived in peace with each other at that time.

In the afternoon we visited Meram Park and river area, Ince Minare mosque (from outside) and Karatya Medrese museum.

In the evening there was the meeting and exhibition customary to our project. The groups from different countries had exhibition tables plus typical products for tasting.  The theme of the exhibition and the meeting was handicraft, although delicacies from each country played a considerable part.  The food table of the hosts was really abundant.  The most outstanding product on it was the typical Turkish desert Baklava - sweet and fatty but very delicious.  A group of young people performed a traditional wedding dance. It was an impressive performance.

Friday 11 November

We made a day-tour to Cappadocia region. On the way we visited Sultanhani Caravancherai, another guest house/fortress from 13th century.

In Cappadocia, in the Uchisar valley, there are mountain peaks of different sizes caused by a volcano eruption and erosion, and an ancient castle.  In the old times people made caves inside the mountains as dwellings for themselves and for their animals. Caves were also used for storing food etc.

Nowadays, especially in the town of Göreme many of the caves are enlarged and hotels are built partly inside the caves.  Some of the hotels are so expensive that only world-famous celebrities and other rich people can stay in them. The area is also suitable for air balloon flying.  This service is profitable for the local entrepreneurs. Our bus ride continued via Göreme to the village of Avanos.

On the way we visited a jewelry factory which makes e.g. vases and other products of local onyx. Avanos is the handicraft centre of Cappadocia.  We visited a 350-years-old pottery workshop located in a cave. We followed pottery making with traditional methods.  The clay for the products comes from the surrounding area.

Saturday 12 November

There was a lecture about the history of Konya at the school.  Afterwards we walked through a big bazaar area to a restaurant where we were served a traditional Konyan wedding meal.  Especially the ocra soup, wine leave rolls and the dessert were very delicious.  The main dish was lamb stew which had been cooked for three hours.  Good but rather heavy.  After the five-course meal it was appropriate to do some walking.  We visited the Mevlana Museum 

In the evening we watched a "Whirling Dervish" dance performance at Mevlana Cultural Centre. Both the building (over 2000 seats) and the performance were a unique experience.

Sunday 13 November

There was the presentation of the portfolios at the school.  Each country presented what they had learned and done during the previous course period.  The Estonian group showed a DVD on Finnish music, Poland had a presentation on Greece, Portugal on Finland, Greece on Polish Christmas and Italy on Estonia.  The Italians also showed some handicraft - how to make paper flowers and decorations of "magic dough".  The Greeks showed us how to make ceramic products without a wheel.

We were reminded of the fragility of life as we learned that one of our hosts had perished quite unexpectedly. We honor his memory.

In the afternoon there was the coordinators' meeting and in the meantime the others had an opportunity to go to Turkish bath. - And indeed we did have several refreshed ladies with rosy cheeks to company us for dinner, which was served in the Stadyum Restaurant. There was Turkish classical and also modern music performed by a band and a singer. 

Monday 14 November

No good things last forever and nor did our stay.  We had to leave the hotel and our host Tahir at 07.15, pack ourselves and our luggage in a bus and head for the airport for a flight to Istanbul and on to Helsinki.

We extend our sincere thanks to our hosts Tahir, Nazir, Kemal, Azis and others, the names of whom I don't have.  (Unfortunately, the Turkish family names are beyond my capacity).  We also thank our good guides who gave us a lot of interesting information at the places we visited.  The hosts had really done great work in preparing the meeting and other programme.  We keep the good memories for a long time to come.

Liisa Nyqvist

KONYA IN BRIEF

* Konya is situated in Central Turkey, appr. 200 km south of Ankara. The city of Konya has 1.2 million inhabitants. The Konya province has about 2.5 million people.

Konya lays over 1000 meters above sea level.  The actual Konya area is very flat but surrounded by mountains. The climate is continental.

* The general impression of the city is dominated by several mosques and the call for prayer coming from the minarets five times a day. Otherwise a visitor cannot notice a big difference compared eg. with a West-European city. In many places in the city one can see new and handsome apartment buildings. Many are also under construction.

* Economic life is brisk.  There is a big bazaar area, shops owned by international companies, but also a lot of small private businesses. Konya also has considerable industry.  Outside the city there are three industrial areas where the factories produce eg. spare parts for cars, electric and electronic equipment, tractors, textile products and food products, eg. dairy products and sugar. Making bricks is a traditional industry. As source of energy coal, natural gas and oil coming eg. from Russia and Iran are used. There are some hot springs in Turkey.  They have also been used for heating.  In the countryside many people use wood and straws.  

* Agriculture is important.  Eg. turnips, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat, barley, corn, apples, plums   and pears are grown in Konya region. The farmers also keep Cattle and sheep.

* Education system in Turkey in general is the same as in the countries of Central Europe. May be one difference is that high school last for four years.  There are two state universities and two private ones in Konya. 

* Vacation: People who have permanent employment have 30 days holiday a year. Nowadays also many women with family go to work. Depending on the economy of the family people like to spend at least a part of their holiday on the seaside.

* The culture in the Konya region is very old.  The recent excavations show that there have been people in the area as early as 6800 BC. Konya, as other areas of Turkey, have in the course of the centuries been concurred and ruled by different tribes and nations. The most outstanding period of history from which buildings and data has been preserved seems to be the Selçuk period. On 11th, 12th and 13th centuries Konya was the capital of the Selçuk Sultanate. From that period are preserved eg. Zazadinhan and Sultanhani "Caravansherais" - Guest houses.

* Caravansherai was a combined accommodation building and fortress guarded by soldiers.  Such buildings were built in 13th century.  The region was on the Silk Road and there had to be caravansherais at every 40 km distance, so that travelers could get shelter for themselves and their animals. Normally, there were two different areas in the building: one to be used in winter and one in summer.

* Karatay Medrese museum is one of Konya's many museums.  Originally it was a school where Koran, Islamic law and astronomy was thought. Now it includes a collection of ancient ceramics.

* Mevlana (Rumi) was a great poet and humanist, the most esteemed representative in the history of Islamic thought. He was born in Belkh in 1207.  He arrived in Anatolia with his father and settled in Konya. Mevlana had many students and connections to other teachers. He has written several famous books.  In his works, the predominant themes are love, the Universal meaning of Islam, and the mystical soul.  Mevlana died in Konya on 17 December 1273.  His life and his work is presented in the Mevlana museum, which also comprises his mausoleum.

* Whirling Dervish:  Mevlana founded the Sufi Mevlevi order which became famous for a specific dance of its members.  The dancers repeat a whirling movement and thus reach different stages of mind.  This "whirling monks" dance tradition has been preserved until today.  The performances can be watched eg. in the Mevlana Cultural Centre in Konya. The performance consists of five different parts.  These parts together form a unity called SEMA