RESULTS
1
Result: Broadening the substantive, social, civic and linguistic competences of the educators participating in the project and deepening the skills of working in an international environment.
Description: Employees of partner organizations and volunteers cooperating with organizations, thanks to the exchange of experience during training meetings held as part of the implementation of the project "Catch the balance", broadened their professional qualifications and developed psychological, interpersonal, and methodological skills, necessary in working with groups of adults, including disadvantaged people. In implementing the project, the partnership focused on creation, action, and the original process of idea formation, which leads to the restoration of cognitive skills and thus the willingness to learn. The project effectively used slow and eco life approaches as an antidote to stress and fatigue. All educators participating in the project, using the work tools learned as a result of the exchange of experience between the partners, using activities in the area of slow and eco life, confirmed the effectiveness of using these methods to calm down, reduce physical and mental overload. People conducting classes are exposed to a lot of stress, which results from being in frequent direct contact with another person. The partnership activities did not negate the need to develop ICT competences and the presence of new technologies, they however emphasized the need for the mentioned "catching the balance", necessary to find a place and energy for new skills or the use of new media as a tool, not a way of life. An interesting tool for expanding our own civic competences was the use of story telling methods so as not to be a passive observer when it comes to events that happen around us on a micro and macro scale – from simple, everyday events to the political ones. As a result of the project realization, there was also an increase in the level of English language skills of participants taking part in the training and project meetings, because each planned meeting required careful language preparation.
2
Result: Partner organisations have increased the use of local cultural heritage resources. People participating in the "Catch the Balance" project increased their intercultural competences.
3
Description. The "Catch the Balance" project assumed the use of local cultural heritage resources by partner organisations. While the roll out of the project, we decided to go back to what was once the material necessary for the creative process to occur, to the heritage, to tradition. The project assumed openness to other cultures and drawing on the resources of their heritage. The resources of cultural heritage were used in the project to implement the idea of slow-life. People participating in the project increased their ability to establish and build positive intercultural relationships, increased communication skills, and the ability to listen. The participants’ desire to learn about other cultures has also increased.
Result: Acquiring new recipients for activities in the field of culture and non-formal education.
Description. The result was achieved through the exchange of experience between partners during training and project meetings, dealing with the subject of matching appropriate action programs to recipient groups and implementing the methods learned at the local level.
Result: Partner organisations have developed a code of ethics for the educator.
4
5
Description. In order to take care of a satisfactory level of events during the training meetings, the partners developed a basic code of ethics for the work of educators in culture. Thanks to the exchange of experience between partner organizations, we learned about the difficulties that other educators face, and then we tried to find a solution for them.
Result: The material result of the "Catch the Balance" project is an e-brochure.
The e-brochure contains examples of good practices used by partner organisations, methods of activating participants to informal learning and to lifelong learning. The publication also contains the basic code of ethics for educators in culture developed by the partners, as well as answers to questions developed during the exchange of experiences between partners: how to gather a group for permanent forms, how to lead a topic in a group of recipients in a difficult life situation, how to pursue one’s passion without feeling burned out, how to create a group and maintain interest of its participants. The publication also contains examples of tasks for educators outside the circle of project participants.
6
Result: We have learned new methods and tools of work using activities from the area of slow life, eco, and implementing the idea of returning to nature in order to calm down and rebuild the desire to learn and develop.
The mentioned story telling methods, which not only develop our civic competences, but also strengthen our mental activity, our being here and now - help to cope with the routine of everyday life, add to our creativity. A good method that strengthens the sense of our belonging, e.g. at work or in another environment, is preparing a meal together and then having it with our colleagues. There may not always be time for this, but the implementation of this element, even to a limited extent, promotes our health and supports interpersonal contacts. By preparing dishes from our childhood, perhaps we want to return to the positive values that were passed on to us. Being together while preparing meals tightens bonds and mutual care for one other, it can be a cultivation of being in a relationship. It is needed to pause in the rush of everyday life, it promotes the conscious fulfillment of our duties, social and family roles. It can give our lives a deeper meaning. Another interesting method that allows us to be more aware, creative, healthy and open to new challenges is working with our own body, which is not a simple gymnastic exercise (which can also be beneficial), but which engages our mindfulness and sense of kinesthesia – awareness of movement and proprioception – the feeling of the position of the body in space and defining other internal sensations of our body. All you need is a short 5-minute long daily practice, which can be a break at work or at other time more convenient for us. These can be exercises in mindfulness, yoga, qigong, shiatsu, voice exercises involving body awareness (all of which we learned during classes). Of course, it is worth devoting some more time to a similar activity once a week, then 5 minutes of exercise will be a form of a reminder of our practices for the body and mind and will set us positively to the upcoming activities during the day.