Testimony of a Grundtvig Assistant

7/28/2019 Testimony of a Grundtvig Assistant

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Testimony of a Grundtvig Assistant

Grundtvig Assistant: Iulia Socea

Sending organization

Peace Action Training and Research Institute of Romania (PATRIR)

www.patrir.ro

Host organization

Internationaler Versoehnungsbund/FOR (FOR Austria)

http://www.versoehnungsbund.at/

What is Grundtvig and why Grundtvig?

The Grundtvig programme is part of the European Unions Lifelong Learning Programme. It

supports individuals and organisations involved in non-vocational adult education to participate

in European training activities and projects.

The name of this Programme was inspired by Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig, most often

referred to as simply NFS Grundtvig, a Danish pastor, author, poet, philosopher, historian,

teacher, and politician. Rather than educating learned scholars, he believed the university

should educate its students for active participation in society and popular life. He advocated

for the advancement of a spirit of freedom, cooperation and discovery was to be kindled in

individuals, in science, and in the civil society as a whole. These are the same values that guide

the actions of this funding programme.

2013 is the last year the Grundtvig programme will offer funding, although programme activities

will continue after this date. It will be replaced by a new programme currently known as Erasmus

for All from January 2014 onwards.

There are a range of different funding opportunities that the Grundtvig programme supports,

among which one called Grundtvig Assistantship.

Do you want to be a Grundtvig

Assistant? Yes, you do!


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What is a Grundtvig

Assistantship and whats it

like to be one?

What is a Grundtvig Assistantship?

A Grundtvig Assistantship is a perfect opportunity

for individuals who are involved in adult education

or are starting a career in this field (such as

teachers, trainers, facilitators, but not only) to

spend between 13 and 45 weeks working in

another participating country, to learn about

different practices in the field with the aim ofenhancing their professional development.

Participants should also gain a better

understanding of the adult learning sector in

Europe, as well as enhance their knowledge of

foreign languages, other European countries and

their adult education systems and improve their

work-related and intercultural skills.

Being a Grundtvig Assistant in Vienna

In March 2012 I have submitted my Grundtvig

Assistantship grant application to the Romanian

National Agency. I had found a host organization

in Vienna the Austrian branch of the International

Fellowship of Reconciliation and I was quite

disappointed to see, in June, that my name was

not on the list of selected projects. But it was on the

waiting list, which gave me some hope. And for

good reason, because in September, when I had

almost forgotten about the application, I receivedan email from Ms. Andreea Samoila, Grundtvig

Responsible at the Romanian National Agency,

with whom I had communicated before submitting

my application, telling me that someone had given

up their funding and my application was now

accepted. In a matter of days everything was

sorted out and my Assistantship started on the 8 th of

October 2012 (not August, as I had originally

planned).

Choosing Vienna and the Fellowship o

Reconciliation proved to be an excellent

choice for someone starting a career as a

trainer/facilitator in the field of conflict

transformation or international relations in

general. Why? For a number of reasons:

1. FOR Austria longstandingexperience in nonviolent action work

Working with FOR Austria provided me with

the chance to get acquainted with a

number of ways of being active in

promoting a culture of peace and

nonviolence.

At the national level, FOR is promoting Civi

Peace Services in Austria and is doing

Advocacy for Disarmament and Active

Peace Policy without military means.

In order to increase awareness on issues

like active nonviolence, nonviolent conflict

transformation, FOR is delivering seminars

lectures and trainings on nonviolence in

daily and social life, both in Vienna and

across Austria, for young people, as well fo

adult learners.

Of the international projects, the

Accompaniment of the Peace Community

San Jose de Apartado/Colombia was one

that I found most interesting, as it involves

FOR sending trained volunteers to assist a

community in Colombia that is struggling

nonviolently against violence and forced

displacement.


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The GrundtvigAssistantship is a an

integrated

experience, a great

opportunity for

personal and

professional

development

SO WHAT DID I DO FOR 9 MONTHS?

Planning the Peace Event Sarajevo 2014Another geographic are that has been a major focus of

FOR Austria since the times of the war is the former

Yugoslavia. One particular project in this area, in which I

was very active during my Assistantship, was the Peace

Event Sarajevo 2014: From a World of War and Violence to

a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence. This international

event is meant to mark the anniversary of 100 years after

since the beginning of WW I and provide the space forexperts and practitioners in the field to come together and

review the achievements and challenges related to peace

and nonviolence in Europe, to present a Culture of Peace

and Nonviolence in its diverse dimensions, and to plan joint

initiatives for the advancement of a Culture of Peace. As

part of the group involved in the planning of this event, I

have helped with both administrative and logistical issues,

but also with content related tasks such as the drafting of

the concept note for fundraising purposes and designing

the promotional brochure for this event. I took part in Skypemeetings with the members of the project preparatory

committee and even attended a face-to-face meeting in

Sarajevo, which was an incredible experience from a

professional and personal point of view.

Planning team of the

Peace Event

Sarajevo 2014

March 2013

Receiving the Certificate of Attendance at

the end of the Gruntvig Assistantship from

Pete Hmmerle, FOR Austria Executive

Director


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Delivering workshopsFrom the professional development point of

view, preparing for and delivering workshops was

the most valuable component of the Grundtvig

Assistantship.

One week in an Austrian school

As I mentioned before, one of the main activity

areas within FOR Austria is Peace Education, but

this is not addressed only to adults. Two FOR

Austria members regularly organize Project

Weeks in Austrian schools, during which they

teach children about different topics connected

to FORs work, such as discrimination, dealing

with conflicts constructively, but also

environment and other Global issues, while also

providing them with film and editing workshops.

So when I was asked if I want to be part of that

team for one week, I was absolutely thrilled.

During that week I had the chance to improve

my facilitating skills, as I was required to

customize the methods and the content of the

workshops for that particular age group (12-14),

which is an essential skill for a trainer: flexibility in

ones approach and adaptability.

Taking it to another level

Working with FOR Austria also offered me the

space to design, plan, organize and deliver,

independently, but with the support of the FOR

Austria team, a one-day workshop with the

title Communication and Conflict - Effective

Communication Skills for Nonviolent

Management of Conflicts, on the 4th of May.

The workshop focused on the understanding

of conflict dynamics and conflict

management styles, as well as identifying the

most common communication breakdowns

in conflict situations and exploring effective

means of overcoming them, such as active

listening and nonviolent communication.

23 individuals from all over the world (Serbia

Canada, USA, Ghana, Republic of Korea

etc.), living in Austria attended the workshopwhich made it a very interesting multicultura

experience, both for myself and for the

participants.

This workshop was followed by another one

delivered on the 11th of May for a number o

24 participants, international members o

AIESEC Vienna, as well as one delivered on 1s

of June for the Universal Peace Federation

Europe's Youth Committee.

Preparing for and delivering these workshops

helped me improve my knowledge and my

facilitations skills, particularly with the help of

the very constructive feedback received

from those who attended my workshops.


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2. Vienna: the city where everythinghappens and networking is the key

wordAt the beginning of this testimony, I was

mentioning a number of reasons for which I

believe Vienna was an excellent choice for this

Grundtvig Assistantship. The second one is the

fact that being here provided me with the

opportunity to attend a great deal of eventson topics connected to my areas of expertise

as an educator/trainer.

Among these I would mention:

Europe and Russia Partners in aGlobalized World, organized by the

Universal Peace Federation/Vienna

International Center;

Enhancing the role of women mediators inthe OSCE region, organized by the OSCE

Secretariat's Gender Section, Vienna;

International Crisis Group (ICG) - ViennaForum on the MENA Region

United Nations Alliance of Civilizations 5thGlobal Forum.

The Second Humanitarian Congress inVienna

Forum on Migration and Development,organized by Africa Networking Platform

and the Vienna Institute for International

Dialogue and Cooperation.

These events, and other similar ones, allowed

me to significantly improve my knowledge on a

number of topics that are of great interest to

me, as trainer, but also to meet and connect

with professionals in the field. This last aspect, in

particular, made this experience an invaluable

one.

What did I do to become a Grundtvig

Assistant?

There are a number of steps to be taken if youre

considering becoming a Grundtvig Assistant:

1. Find a host organization, contact them, andexplain what Grundtvig Assistantship is al

about. Explain your motivation and send

them your CV;

2. Gather all the necessary information for thegrant application, including the requirements

and all the documents published on the

website of the National Agency responsible

for managing the Long-life Learning

Programme in your country;

3. Visit the website of the European Commissionand collect all the information that will help

you fill in your application form

http://ec.europa.eu/education/grundtvig/as

sistantships_en.htm

4. Fill in your application, with input/assistancefrom the host organization and submit it toyour National Agency together with your CV

and support letter from the host organization.

NOTE: These steps might not still be valid under

the new funding scheme that will be

implemented by the European Commission

starting with 2014.

Testimony of a Grundtvig Assistant

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