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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Vivamus portaest sed est.
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.