Online conferece and partner meeting 10th – 11th July 2020

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Sharing beyond borders – New ways for care, communication and cooperation of older people along the Danube and in Europe in times of COVID-19

 

10.07.2020: Online conference.

The extensive programme includes lectures, a panel discussion with European politicians and experts in the morning, workshops in the afternoon. Within the framework of the social evening winners and contributions of the CODANEC competition and the collection of contributions/short stories „Living in the time of Corona“ will be honoured.

11.07.2020: Presentations and exchange of good practice between civil society organisations along the Danube and in Europe

The conference language will be English, translation support in other languages will be given as far as possible. Registration is required. The programme and registration information will be published soon on the website codanec.eu. The virtual conference and partner meeting is supported by the State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg within the framework of the project CODANEC.

More information on our project website and our conference webiste will follow!

CODANEC Exhibition June 25 to July 15, at Haus der Begegenung Ulm, Germany

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Selected entries from the CODANEC competitions will be exhibited in Haus der Begegnung in Ulm from 25 June to 15 July.

The exhibition opening will take place on 25 June at 6 pm. Due to the current Corona situation, we are not able to hold our vernissage as planned.

The exhibition can be visited during the opening hours of Haus der Begegnung.

Website: http://hdbulm.de/
Address: Grüner Hof 7, 89073 Ulm

More informationen about the project: codanec.eu

The Danube-Networkers invite: Come together! Connecting people in times of Corona by culture

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The Danube-Networkers in Ulm encourage people to join the COME TOGETHER session by video conference to enjoy the community and culture. We sing, make music or present lyrics as listeners or active participants.

Check out more about how we connect cultures, how we strengthen solidarity and how we like to meet each other even in times of the corona crisis.

The sessions take place regularly!

The sessions are organised by the Ileu-Team in Ulm, coordinator of the  educational Network Danube-Networkers and office of DANET e.V.

Click here on the link for more information: http://codanec.eu/come-together/

Danube-Excursion- a game for young and old is online!

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Link to the game: www.danube-excursions.eu

The online game Danube-Excursions has the goal to attract young and old to impart basic knowledge about the ten Danube countries in a playful way and encourage the players to talk about these countries.
A Memo, a Quiz and a Knowledge section are the three main elements.  Through a combination of pictures and questions the players are challenged to find interesting information on selected country-specific phenomena from the fields of nature, culture and everyday life. The game is available in 6 languages (German, English, Romanian, Bulgarian, Serbian and Croatian). There is also a download area for different materials.
Danube-Excursions can be played with the family, with senior citizen groups, school classes and intergenerational groups.

The ODDA-SCT conversation app from Danube Networkers is now available in the Google Play Store

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Within the framework of the project Open Doors for Danube Countries for ALL (ODDA), supported by the Baden-Württemberg Foundation, the Heidehof Foundation and the City of Ulm, a tool for low-threshold communication in German, Serbian, Romanian, Croatian and Bulgarian was created under the leadership of the Ulm project team of volunteers. The first approach was lists on paper with 450 questions and answers for easy communication. With Serbian and Bulgarian, limits were quickly reached because of the Cyrillic script. This could have been solved only with phonetic transcription.

However, a retired and passionate computer scientist in the team had an app in mind. He created the structure and design of the app. You can get started by using 15 categories like welcome, hobby, job, family, etc. You will get questions and answers. All are stored as text in the 5 languages and additionally as voice recordings. With one click you can listen to the selected text. It is very important that the app runs without internet connection, because in some buildings and in many rural areas of our partners in the Eastern European countries there is no internet.

Continue reading “The ODDA-SCT conversation app from Danube Networkers is now available in the Google Play Store” →

First Slovenian study programme in older adult education. SPIDW studied by master students

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by Dusana Findeisen, Slovenian Third Age University

The Department of Pedagogy and Andragogy within Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana is offering a new master study programme in older adult education. Nives Ličen, once a student volunteer supporting the establishment of Slovenian U3A has proposed and co-developed this new study programme premised upon the tenets of a number of disciplines and study fields.; sociology, psychology, geography (local communities), geragogy, studies in education of older adults, cultural studies etc. Students are also presented with the endeavours made in EU projects- among which SPIDW- and the field of methods (BBE) as well as visual literacy of older people (CINAGE and RefugeesIn). A lot of research work is being done by the students in co-operation with Slovenian Third Age University particularly as concerns socially engaged education of older students, their expansive / exploratory learning/ creating new social practices, etc. The programme is the first of its kind in this part of Europe.

 

DANET Board met in Belgrade, 21st-24th January 2020

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by Dusana Findeisen, Slovenian Third Age University

Over ten years the Association Danube Networkers for Europe, DANET has carried out numerous international events with massive participation of older and younger people along the Danube and has been spurring the establishment of new social practices, new third age universities, while intensifying interconnectivity of organisations, regions, etc. In addition, DANET has been awarded several European awards for its contribution to the strengthening of civil society in the Danube region. Field of activities? Social participation of older people, education of older people, dialogue of generations for social solidarity, research of education in later life, creation of new social practices, devising and hosting international conferences, etc. Initially meant to support the Danube Strategy focusing primarily on energy, environment, etc. but leaving social development and civil society aside, DANET and its members -Slovenian Third Age University is its founding member- have been supportive of social development in the region, bringing together traditional and new organizations as well as professionals dealing with the older people’s issues. DANET offers a learning platform to those who are interested in its field of activities. In this meeting those who were present rather appreciated the endeavours of SPIDW and the Method of City games,. And Belgrade? The city is changing, but it still has its distinctive flair and culture embodied by the programme of the National Theatre, concerts, bookstores, some traditional restaurants, etc., where the typical traditional townspeople’s respectful spirit is present resisting the new American/global values of consumerism, profit making, as well as the phenomena of social polarisation and a “political” scene full of hidden or overt contradictory interests.

European project “Building Bridges for Europe” – ideas and inspiration for educators and committed Europeans

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Within the framework of the Erasmus+ partnership “Building bridges for Europe” (BBE), nine project partners from six European countries (Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Slovenia and Italy) have created an online toolbox with projects and applied methods that strengthen European awareness and critical thinking of participants in the projects and help to break down prejudices against others.

For two years, the project partners have been very committed to analysing selected projects according to jointly developed criteria and to describing in more detail methods that have been successfully applied in adult education. The results can be found online at www.bbe-toolbox.eu. The toolbox contains 27 projects and over 50 methods that are easy to call up. A Google translator also translates the texts into various other languages. The collected knowledge is to all interested ones free of charge at the disposal. The website inspires its users* inside to use new methods of the adult education, target groups are in particular older adults, women, low-qualified people, people from rural areas, and migrants.
The project was launched within the framework of the informal education network Danube-Networkers. During the course of the project, the project partners deepened their working relationships and exchanged experience and expertise on educational opportunities in their countries. They intend to continue European cooperation in the field of general adult education, in particular third age education, and to further develop intergenerational cooperation.

This project partnership was financially supported by the Erasmus + programme of the European Union. The project coordinator was the Institute for Virtual and Real Learning in Adult Education at the University of Ulm ( ILEU) e.V., Ulm, German partner the ZAWIW of the University of Ulm, the Center for Continuing Education for Older People of the University Angel Kanchev in Ruse and the Agora Platform, Sofia, both Bulgaria, the Writers’ League Timisoara Banat Branch and the University Dunarea de Jos from Galati, both Romania, the Public Open University Zagreb, Croatia, the Association of Slovenian Universities of the Third Age, the international association Danube-Networkers for Europe (DANET) and the Association of Universities of the Third Age in Italy (FEDERUNI).

Website: www.bbe-toolbox.eu

First International Danube Strategy Conference by SI Danube. Soroptimists from six Danube countries pass call for European elections

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The Soroptimist Club Ulm-Donaustadt hosted the first conference of the new Danube network SI-Danube with its partner club in the Bulgarian Danube city of Ruse in May (1.-3.5. 2019).

Representatives from Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Austria, Belgium and Germany developed strategies for further networking at the two-day conference at the University of Ruse. The focus was on the joint adoption of a call for European elections against the background of growing populism and low turnout in Eastern European countries in the last elections to the European Parliament in 2014. Women from East and West called for voting for candidates in EU member states who stand for social justice and progress, the protection of human rights and equal rights. The content of the conference and the call for elections were well received by the local media.

The informal network gave itself a structure in Ruse. Annette Schmidt from the SI Club Ulm-Donaustadt was elected chairman of the SI Danube Committee, to which clubs from each country will send representatives in the future. The Danube networker Carmen Stadelhofer from Ulm (founder of Danube Networkers and ILEU) is honorary chairman of the association.

From a series of proposals for joint Danube projects, the conference decided on a first priority work in the field of education on Danube water quality and environment.

The new network SI Danube was founded on the initiative of the SI Club Ulm-Donaustadt at a soroptimistic meeting on the occasion of the International Danube Festival Ulm/Neu-Ulm in July 2018. Through an effective network it supports the dissemination of the goals of Soroptimist International and promotes the personal acquaintance of women in the Danube countries.

Contact: Anita Schlesak, President Soroptimist Club Ulm-Donaustadt 2018-2020 Phone 0172-45 26 838

International Workshop “Education and Voluntary Work in the Third Age” in Ruse

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How can education in old age help to empower and promote the commitment of older people? In the international workshop “Education and Voluntary Work in the Third Age” which took place from 9th to 11th of May in Ruse, Bulgaria, 55 representatives from various civil society organizations from Bulgaria, Romania and Germany discussed the current challenges in senior education and the promotion of societal engagement of elderly. The participants shared their experiences, got to know practical examples from the different countries and developed ideas for the further transnational cooperation. It should be further promoted by help of the international informal educational network of the “Danube-Networkers for Europe (DANET) e.V.”. In working groups, participants discussed about senior education, internet, voluntary work and transnational cooperation and then presented their results in the plenary.

Through an interesting side program, the participants got a direct insight into the living environment of elderly in Bulgaria. At the end of the workshop, participants expressed the desire to learn more about each other and to continue the transnational work – in the spirit of a peaceful and united Europe.
The workshop was organized by the “Institute for virtual and face-to-face learning in adult education at the Ulm University (ILEU) e.V.”, Ulm, Germany, in close cooperation with the “German National Association of Senior Citizens’ Organisations (BAGSO)”, Bonn, Germany, and the University “Angel Kanchev” in Ruse, Bulgaria. The event was sponsored by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth in Germany.

Click HERE to see the results of the workshop.

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) awards the Danube Networkers 2018 for their commitment to civil society in the “Bread connects” project

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Presentation of the first prize by President Luca Jahier to Carmen Stadelhofer, Chairwoman DANET e.V., Ulm and Prof. Emilia Velikova, Vice-President, Ruse, on 13.12.2018 in Brussels

In December 2018, the Danube Networkers were awarded the first prize of the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels for their project “Bread connects”. The EESC considered this initiative to be worthy of the first prize because it corresponds impressively to this year’s theme “Identities, European values and cultural heritage in Europe”. Around 150 applications from 27 EU member states were received this year. The five best entries received prize money. The aim of the prize, which is awarded annually and endowed with a total of € 50,000, is to support organisations and individuals whose projects make a creative and innovative contribution to the promotion of European identity and integration.

Photo: Presentation of the first prize by President Luca Jahier to Carmen Stadelhofer, Chairwoman DANET e.V., Ulm and Prof. Emilia Velikova, Vice-President, Ruse, on 13.12.2018 in Brussels