Projects

@Learn was a multilateral Grundtvig project which united partner organizations from five European countries with the aim of fostering the idea of active ageing and lifelong learning. The project’s goal was to promote an understanding of ageing as an enriching part of the life course and to establish an active aging learning community which raises awareness about and educates on topics like health care, social inclusion, new media and intergenerational solidarity. To reach this, we brought together older adults aged 60+ and younger people aged 16-35 in all partner countries to create a vibrant and rewarding cross-generational learning community.

As many people as possible from all Danube countries were invited to crochet a woolen carpet that symbolizes the river Danube. The challenge: To make the so called “river carpet” as long as possible and to integrate people regardless of their age, social background, education and language skills. The aim was to demonstrate the solidarity amongst the Danube countries. The big finale was a cultural performance in which all the small parts of the big carpet were exhibited on the Cathedral square in front of the Ulm Cathedral during the international Danube Festival in 2014. Once the project was finished, the so called “Danube-Rivercarpet” was divided into small pieces. These pieces were given away for donation.

The members of the participating groups in the partners` locations, seniors as well as younger adults, prepared 3-5 personalized Town Tours on subjects of their choice and present them to members of partner groups from other countries as well as to other local older and young people and give them an understanding of their town. Cross-national exchanges enabled the projects` learners to gain know-how in the linguistic, cultural and historical backgrounds of other project members` living environments.

The ODDA Project took place from February 2017 until February 2018 and it was coordinated by the Institute for Virtual and Face-to-face Learning in Adult Education at Ulm University (ILEU e.V.), President Carmen Stadelhofer. Five regional teams of the international educational network Danube-Networkers worked together in the project and contributed to fostering the intercultural communication in Europe and in the Danube area in particular. The regional teams were from Bulgaria-University of Ruse ”Angel Kanchev”, Center for Life Long Learning, Croatia -The Public Open University Zagreb (POUZ) University of the Third Age, Germany- DANET e.V. c/o ILEU e.V., Romania -The Association “The Writers League” Timisoara Banat Branch and Serbia- Youth Club of Backa Palanka.

In the framework of the »Personal Town Tours«, a European Grundtvig Programme project (2012 - 2014), seven older students from Slovenian Third Age University gained knowledge and learned methods for exploring and then introducing their town. Under the mentorship of an architect they decided on three thematic itineraries thus validating their already gained knowledge of architecture and urbanism.

CINAGE – a Grundtvig multilateral project, supported by the EU Lifelong Learning Programme – was composed of interlinked activities resulting in the production of a learning package, for use by adult educators and aimed at empowering older people towards achieving a more active ageing.

DALEC was a “Media Project Old and Young” with the thematic focus on “Values and Paths along the Danube” across five countries. Five scientific lectures were prepared by scientists for lay people, held live to an audience in the respective locations and transmitted over the internet in an online-lecture series. The lectures were discussed face to face and via internet forums nationally and transnationally. The accompanying discussions, therefore, also contributed to a better understanding between old and young. In mini-projects some of the young and old participants worked with different methods based on the topics of the lectures. In the end, more than five mini projects were accomplished and complemented the online-lectures.