Meeting in Italy

The students knew that the visit to Scandiano meant that this time they, too, would travel. In order to prepare the meeting they started long before to think about some questions to include in a computer game that would test the knowledge every partner country had about each other.

Therefore, groups were created and each one searched for themes that could be the trigger of good questions.

The result was a computer-based cultural game about the European countries, concerning some themes such as national symbols, history, national governments, geography, culture and others.

The game was presented in Italy and played by all partners.

Meeting in Finland

When September arrived and year 2 of the Grundtvig Program begun the whole group got together again, this time in Laihia, Finland. Kyronmaan Opisto received Ana Clara Santos and Andreia Brandão that represented our school - Forave.

The main goal of the meeting was to analyze the results of year 1 and to prepare the tasks of year 2.

Some German learners who are having Finnish lessons in Hannover have also participated in this meeting and in workshops prepared for that purpose.

The group had still time to visit some historical places around Kyrönmaa area by bus, to visit
Terra Nova – Nature Centre in Vaasa, to walk to Palosaari and to taste a wide range of herring dishes.

European Identity

To "measure" the impact of the Grundtvig Project on our learners by the end of year 1a questionnaire about European Identity has been created by the Spanish partners. Here are the results:

100% regarded their nationality PORTUGUESE
100% regard their home country as PORTUGAL

29% are strongly connected to Europe
85% are strongly connected to Portugal
71% are normally connected to Europe
7% are normally connected to Portugal

14% strongly feel European
78% are strongly connected to Portugal
7% don't feel European at all
21% regularly feel connected to Portugal
78% normally feel European

21% strongly felt European 30 years ago
21% strongly felt Portuguese 30 years ago
14% normally felt European 30 years ago
14% normally felt Portuguese 30 years ago

93% find European citizenship important
85% find it important to be Portuguese
7% find European citizenship normal
14% find not at all important to be Portuguese

7% visited 0 European countries
42% visited 1 European country
29% visited 2 European countries
7% visited 3 European countries
7% visited 4 European countries
7% visited more than 5 European countries

64% feel that the experience was positive
36% find the experience negative

86% think that European politics are important
14% think that European politics are unimportant

100% think that European currency is important
100% think that Cultural values are important

78% would like to live/work elsewhere in Europe
14% would not...

50% find the influence of EU membership positive
50% find it neutral

100% say "European identity means something to me"

It is quite clear that European identity is developing amongst our learners now, although they feel strongly connected to their country.
The importance of Europe 30 years ago (for those who can remember) in their lives has deeply changed.

Meeting in A Coruña

The last meeting of the first year of the Grundtvig Program was in A Coruña, Spain.

From left to right: Irma (Finland), Mic (Germany), Leda and Adelmo (Italy), Ana Clara (Portugal), Pilar (Spain), Teresa (Portugal) and William (Ireland - coordinator country).

in Hannover

After a long day in planes and airports the "get-together" took place in the Hannover Zoo, where everybody met and had a snack before they got the deserved rest. The next day would be a long one...

The day started with some ice-breaking activities so that everyone would feel more at ease and it continued in the Town Hall with an explanation of the history of the city, through models.

The afternoon was spent in workshops and coordination meetings and, in the evening, our new Hannover friends had prepared a story telling Café where they talked about their German History through their own stories of life: the war, the reconstruction of the country, the Berlin Wall...

On Saturday morning, each group presented their work. It was time to share experiences and learn some more about each partner country. Here we are presenting our model of the Douro Valley!

The last hours of our visit were spent visiting the city. The whole experience was really great!

Flight to Hannover

Finally the day arrived.

Learners and coordinators were about to meet. Francisco and Vítor (learners) were accompanied by their teacher Inês Silva and by Carlos Paiva, coordinator of one of the Courses they represent.

Preparing for the presentation in Hannover

Three days to Hannover... Students give their best to finish the model that represents the Douro Valley.

Online dictionary

Portuguese

English

Olá!

Hello!

Bom dia.

Good morning!

Boa tarde!

Good afternoon!

Boa noite!

Good night!

Adeus!

Goodbye!

Até logo!

See you!

Até logo à noite!

See you tonight!

Até amanhã!

See you tomorrow!

Prazer em conhecer-te.

Nice to meet you.

Prazer em conhecer-te também.

Nice to meet you, too.

Como te chamas?

What´s your name?

Como estás?

How are you?

Quantos anos tens?

How old are you?

Onde é que moras?

Where do you live?

Em que dia fazes anos?

When is your birthday?

Gastronomy research

The students have done a research on northern gastronomy, chose a recipe and, of course, they had to test it...and taste it!

Don't let them scare you with the ingredients: pork coooked with tripe and blood of the animal!

A field trip to the Douro Valley

On the first days of January students and teachers went on a field trip to the Douro Valley, one of the most important and oldest demarcated regions of the world, where wine-growing has been a practice since immemorial times and has even increased during Roman occupation. This particular estate is called Quinta do Seixo and is situated in the superior sub-regions of the Douro - Cima Corgo.

The purpose of the visit was first to observe the landscape, since one of the tasks to be developped by the students in a near future is a model which represents the geography and a traditional estate in the Douro Valley. The second purpose of the trip was to understand the processes of planting, production and vinification, which will also be a source of useful information for the groups and their respective work.

Of course wine tasting was inevitable to close the trip with a golden key.

First trans-national meeting

In September 2009 occurred the first trans-national visit in Lousado. It was time to meet the partner countries for the first time: Ireland (coordinator William Devlin), Germany (Mic Hale), Spain (Pilar de la Torre and Francisco Ascón), Finland (Irma Kuusisto). Italy was still waiting for the approval...

The main goal of this meeting was to check and revise the partners' roles, to prepare the second visit, which will take place in Hannover and, last but not least, to get acquainted with all the partners and to share with them bits of our culture and traditions.

From left to right : William Devlin, Pilar de la Torre, Francisco Ascón, Mic Hale, Carlos Paiva, Irma Kuusisto, Carla Lourinho, Inês Silva

During their stay, the partners got to know the school and its dynamics, met the students, who welcomed them in a Chemistry lesson and offered some bath salts prepared in the class.

We also visited Oporto, where all the partners stayed over - we took a peek at "Casa da Música", visited the Serralves Museum, experienced a cruise in the Douro which ended with a taste of Porto and enjoyed some typical dishes of our gastronomy.

Mic Hale , Carlos Paiva

Inês Silva , Carla Lourinho , Francisco Ascón

Pilar de la Torre , William Devlin , Irma Kuusisto

Our classes

Here are our students´presentations.

The school

FORAVE – ASSOCIAÇÃO PARA A EDUCAÇÃO TECNOLÓGICA DO VALE DO AVE is a vocational / technical private school located in the North of Portugal.

Established in 1990, FORAVE has level III courses (equivalent to upper secondary school) and level II courses (equivalent to lower secondary school) and its main aim is the preparation of qualified youngsters for active life. This school has always given great importance to an individualized education, with a strong emphasis on professional traineeships.

There are also EFA courses, included in the Lifelong Learning National Education Plan, through which adult students have voluntarily returned to study and are trying to improve or acquire skills and school certificates they didn’t have the opportunity of getting when they were formerly at school. At the moment, our school is teaching level III and level II Courses in Quality Control Technician (level III) and in Audio, Radio, TV and Video Installation and Repairing (level II) to these adult students.

Forave is also an active partner of the enterprises, the community and the local associations.

We provide four different level III courses: a Technical Course in Management, a Technical Course in Industrial Maintenance, a Technical Course in Electronics, Automation and Control and a Technical Course in Food Quality Control, strongly supported by the international company Continental Tyres AG.

The level II courses are concerned with Mechanics, Air-Conditioning, and Refrigeration and Social Services.

We are situated in the Ave Valley, a geographical region greatly affected by the economical crisis of the textile companies, once its great source of wealth. Most of our students belong to families with very low incomes and at a risk of giving up school. Our main aim is the preparation of qualified youngsters, who can answer to the demands of the market and who can live creative, fruitful and successful lives.

The Partners

Here are the partners of the project:

Ireland - Downe University of the Third Age (coordinator William Devlin)

Germany - Ada un Theodor Lessing Volkshochschule Hannover (Mic Hale)

Italy - Centro Territoriale Permanente di Scandiano (Olmi Leda)

Spain - Universidad Senior de A Coruña (Pilar de la Torre and Francisco Ascón)

Finland- Kyrönmaan Opisto (Irma Kuusisto)

Portugal - Escola Profissional Tecnológica do Vale do Ave

(Carla Lourinho, Inês Silva, Andreia Brandão and Carlos Paiva)

The Project

Culture

is a many faceted concept that embodies a system of shared knowledge, beliefs, values, language, behaviours, attitudes, symbols, geography; that has a past, a present, and is both susceptible to modification and hopeful of a future. It can be metaphysical in belief, values and knowledge; physical in terms of geography and symbols; or aesthetic in terms of the Arts or Fashion. In short; it is the dynamic Mankind creates.

Our Continent – Our Culture (OC-OC)

will treat of the various ways Europeans have contributed, and are contributing, to the composite culture of Europe. The Partnership will address European culture with a focus on that of partner countries. Language learning, identity, active citizenship, European cohesion and understanding together with intergenerational linking and communication technology. The Action will dovetail with both specific and operational objectives of Grundtvig: specific in that the partnership intends to respond to the educational challenges of an ageing population in Europe and help adults with pathways to improving their knowledge and competences; operational - to improve the quality and accessibility of mobility throughout Europe of individuals involved in adult education, assist older people to access education, facilitate the transfer of innovative practices in adult education and support ICT based content for learners within the partnership.

Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig

Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig (1783-1872) is one of the most significant figures in Danish history.

He was a prolific writer and his writing around Nordic and Anglo-Saxon literature helped fashion a sense of what it was to be Danish during the second half of the nineteenth century. His contribution to Lutheran theology stimulated considerable debate, and his hymn-writing left a legacy. In education he advocated popular, autonomous places of learning - what became known as folk high schools.

Grundtvig Programme

The Grundtvig programme focuses on the teaching and study needs of those in adult education and alternative education streams, as well as the institutions and organisations delivering these services. Supporting lifelong learning and mobility in this way also tackles Europe’s ageing population problem.

Launched in 2000 and now part of the overarching Lifelong Learning Programme, Grundtvig aims to provide adults with ways to improve their knowledge and skills, keeping them mentally fit and potentially more employable. It not only covers learners in adult education, but also the teachers, trainers, education staff and facilities that provide these services.