In this article Michelle Kelly, coordinator of the INOU’s Shaping Futures writes about her Erasmus visit to Stuttgart in Germany. Late last year, the INOU signed up for a Key Action 1 Erasmus+ project with AONTAS in the hope that we may have the opportunity to join them on an Erasmus European Project. The project focused on the mobility of Adult and Community Education staff, giving educators the opportunity to travel to a similar organisation in Europe, spending a few days learning about approaches to Adult Education and sharing their knowledge and practice with the hosts. I was delighted when AONTAS let me know that I, along with 4 adult educators across Ireland, would be going to Stuttgart, Germany from 11th -14th March 2024 as part of this Erasmus visit.
On our first morning in Stuttgart, we made our way to the Volkshochschule (VHS) centre in Stuttgart. The VHS is a public adult education centre in Germany. It offers a wide range of courses and programs, including language classes to learners. The centre’s aim is to provide accessible and affordable education to adults, regardless of their background or previous education. It plays an important role in lifelong learning and community education in Germany.
Later that day we visited a Support Group Network organisation which is an initiative run by refugees for refugees offering a range of educational programmes and projects which support refugees arriving in Germany. The next morning, we headed off by train to another VHS centre to meet with other staff members to discuss possible future collaborations with our centres back in Ireland. We also met with a staff member from the State Office of Basic Education and Literacy, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, where he spoke about in-house training of basic skills to help people with education and literacy issues continue in their employment. This is a great initiative run by this organisation as it helps remove barriers for those who struggle with literacy and builds up their confidence and self-belief in themselves.
Overall, this was a very valuable and interesting visit whereby I learned a lot about the community education system in Germany. Not only that, but also having the opportunity to meet Lizzie, South Westmeath Employment Education & Training Services (S.W.E.E.T.S), Mary, Dublin Adult Learning Centre (DALC), Marissa, Longford Women’s Link, Katherine, Dublinia and Lorraine, AONTAS learning about their individual organisations and the amazing work they do.
I would like to say a massive thank you to Lorraine O’Connor for her dedication and professionalism throughout the whole visit. I would definitely like to attend another Erasmus visit in the future as I believe a lot of learning came out of this one. Finally, a learner from the INOU’s Shaping Futures and Building Futures programmes, along with Laura Pierce, Building Futures Coordinator are going to Lisbon in May on a similar visit.