A new exciting collaboration has just started for us; “TEACH FOR FUTURE”, an Erasmus+ initiative that aims on the educational transformation of adults in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece through Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship.

Dr Emmanouel Garoufallou, Assistant Professor at the Department of Library Science, Archives and Information Systems, School of Social Sciences at the International Hellenic University and Project Manager of “TEACH FOR FUTURE”, shares with us a few words about the project. 

Teach for the Future: what is this project about and when did it start?

“TEACH FOR FUTURE” is a strategic project on the educational transformation of adults in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. Starting with November 2019, the National Association of Public Librarians and Libraries of Romania – ANBPR and its partners Global Libraries Bulgaria Foundation, Bulgaria, and the Heritage Management Organization (HERITΛGE) have started to implement the project.

Who are the partners of this project?

The project is funded under the European Union Erasmus+ program, Key Action 2, Strategic Partnerships, and foresees activities in the partner countries – Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. The initiator of the project, ANBPR, has the status of consortium leader, having as partners Global Libraries Bulgaria Foundation, Bulgaria, and the Heritage Management Organization (HERITΛGE), Greece, as well as associated partners from all three countries involved: National Library of Romania, Metropolitan Library of Bucharest, County Library “Octavian Goga” Cluj, “Panait Istrati” County Library Brăila, “Kájoni János” County Library Harghita, Bulgarian Library and Information Association (Bulgaria), Learning for Life (Greece) and the American Farm School in Thessaloniki (Greece).

What purpose does it serve?

Through “TEACH FOR FUTURE” Erasmus+ initiative, the consortium of partners aims to contribute to improving and extending the offer of high quality learning opportunities on innovative educational topics, with potential for economic growth, acquiring and recognizing new skills, knowledge and behaviors in line with the demands of the labor market by adults with a low level of training, so that they better respond to the demands of the current working environment, governed by technology, interdisciplinarity and transnational cooperation.

Who is this programme for?

The project represents an educational intervention dedicated to adults, which aims to create a transnational and multisectoral network through which a number of facilitators from Romania, Bulgaria and Greece, multipliers of skills training in the fields of IT, Management of Innovation & Network Collaboration and Entrepreneurship & Leadership, will transfer specialized knowledge from these thematic areas to heterogeneous communities of adult learners from the three countries, but also from the region.

How has the pandemic of Covid19 affected the programme?

Despite the unfavorable context determined by the COVID-19 crisis, the TEACH FOR FUTURE team ensured the project operational continuity, focusing in particular on the activities that did not involve face-to-face participation, but only remote consulting and technological modern means.

What actions have been taken so far?

Three Centers of Excellence have been created, one in each partner country, starting with January 2020. ANBPR Romania, Global Libraries Bulgaria Foundation in Bulgaria and Initiatives for Heritage Conservation in Greece, as members of the consortium, have agreed to establish three Centers of Excellence in Bucharest (Romania), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Thessaloniki (Greece), with the purchase of 3D Printing equipments for the use of these centers. At the same time, in early March 2020, the partners have started to set up a transnational and multisectoral network consisting of 10 facilitators with mixed competences, which will subsequently become training multipliers for 210 adults from partner countries. These trainers will transfer specialized know-how to heterogeneous communities of adult learners through local sessions and mentoring campuses hosted in each of the three countries.

In February 2020, ANBPR Romania, with the involvement of partners from Greece and Bulgaria, started developing an innovative educational tool, in order to standardize the digital education of adults. Designed to facilitate to the trainers the use of various ICT teaching methods and techniques, this Methodology will address four educational topics – 3D modeling and printing, image editing, digital marketing and online collaboration tools – aimed at stimulating learning and facilitating the assimilation and consolidation of this knowledge by adult learners.

Also, HERITΛGE, assisted by the Romanian and Bulgarian partners, started developing a training curriculum for adult learners in the field of Management of Innovation & Network Collaboration, following the adults’ understanding of the management of innovation principles and its intersections with other management areas.

Comment from our director:

The ‘Teach for the Future’ is particularly important for our organization as it improves our capacity in two key sectors that we are interested in for the sake of the Heritage Management Organization: Distance learning and Entrepreneurship. The latter, when combined with heritage management, can turn heritage into a powerful and sustainable resource for economic development. Through this program, HERITΛGE will be able to deliver higher quality education in this field to heritage managers. We thank Manolis for his continued engagement and his attention to detail.