The theme for 2009 is Creative and innovative ways to overcome barriers to learning.
Access to and participation in adult learning and education has been one of the main topics for policy makers, educators and providers in the adult learning sector for years. There are still too many people not participating in learning activities, and the less education they have, the less likely they are to participate. Problems and barriers to adult learning encountered by the learners can fall into several categories such as costs and motivators, learner support and services, lack of experience, time and geographical situation.
Over the years, many efforts have been made to remedy this situation, but the general trends seem to be very persistent. Nevertheless, looking into student demographics and understanding motivators helps organisations to target new adult learners appropriately. As a result many organisations have developed creative and innovative ways to reach out to new target groups, to find new methodologies and infrastructure for learning, to make adult learning and education more fun/an enriching experience for adults facing barriers to learning and with negative learning experiences.
For excellent adult education and learning projects with the topic ‘Creative and innovative ways to overcome barriers to learning´ in two categories:
1. European projects:
- EU + candidate countries need to be transnational (a minimum of 3 countries involved)
- All other European countries need to be either transnational or have a strong national partnership with a diverse range of stakeholders
2. Projects from outside of Europe
Projects can but need not be supported by the European Commission (and can but need not be Grundtvig projects)
Criteria:
- The project must clearly demonstrate creativity and innovation in overcoming barriers to learningt must have evidence of outcomes, such as a report, DVD, or any form of verification
- It is desirable that the project is transferable and/or useful for others
- The project or the initiative should be up and running for at least 1 year and/or be close to completion.
What do we expect?
A description of your project:
- The main goals of the project
- What you actually did and how you did it
- Your target group(s)
- What was innovative and creative about your way of working
- What processes or partnerships were important
- How you got people involved
Some explanation about the impact:
- The impact for the participating organisations and the target group(s)
- How you recognised and tracked success
- What you have learned - what would you do again or differently next time
And finally:
What made this project innovative and creative in overcoming barriers to learning and what could others learn from it?
The deadline for submissions to the 2009 award was April 21, 2009.
What do we offer?
- The Award and a certificate
- An invitation to 2 persons of the winning organisation to the EAEA General Assembly 2009, including travel and accommodation. The EAEA General Assembly this year takes place in Germany.
- Publicity for the winning project(s) via the EAEA website and the mailing list to 130 organisations in 41 European countries
For more information about EAEA and the Award, please visit www.eaea.org
