Development of an European professional profile of managing staff working in urban gardens

ECTE – European Center in Training for Employment is participating in international cooperation consortium of institutions with different backgrounds and expertise in education, urban shared gardens and professional training in Italy, Great Britain, Germany, France, and Greece, to create a European format in the VET

Since ever, societies, all over Europe, have developed experiences promoting diverse practices and forms of solidarity, social assistance, and social inclusion. Community gardens are being recognized as an innovative way to grow food, foster good health, green urban environments, support lifelong learning and cultivate vibrant communities. They bring together people from all walks of life, backgrounds, and ages to foster a lively and connected community. Whilst gardening is the focus, community gardens are generally community hubs for a range of activities – learning and education, playgroups, arts and creative activities, preparing and sharing food, community events, celebrations and social enterprise.

Additionally, we may speak of social farming (or ‘care farming’ or ‘green care’) to describe those farming practices aimed at promoting disadvantaged people’s rehabilitation and care and/or towards the integration of people with ‘low contractual capacity’ (i.e.: psychophysical disabilities, convicts, drug addicts, minors, emigrants).

In Europe, the situation of people of special expertise, having key coordinating role in community gardens’ activities, is quite heterogeneous: some countries, such as France or the United Kingdom, provide, for instance, basic training for these professional figures; in Italy, although such a role exists within the urban gardens, the gardeniser is neither recognised nor has access to training courses or recognition, in Greece, municipalities have allotted land to local citizens, however without any specific specialisation and any access to basic training. The urban shared garden’s coordinator is often a gardener but usually, he/she lacks, competences in the social field or in the inclusion of people at risk of marginalization. On the other hand, in some cases he/she is an educator or a trainer but he/she has weak knowledge and few practical skills in gardening; therefore fundamental is the role of the gardeniser both in the communication towards the external, playing the role of mediator between the gardeners and the institutions, and in the organisation and management of the urban garden’s sustainability. A very complex profile with very complex training needs, including learning and skills in different areas.

The project GARDENISER Pro objective is fostering the employability of workers having a key coordinating role in urban gardens operation, through the creation of a new European professional profile, the “urban garden’s coordinator/ organizer”, or GARDENISER.

To address this objective, a European professional profile will be developed, the GARDENISER, based on a qualification scheme for validating learning outcomes, according to ECVET recommendations. More specifically, the aims of the project are:

  • to design a VET curriculum and develop training content (EQF 4-5) for the “urban garden’s coordinator/ organizer” or GARDENISER
  • to develop a training pathway, an innovative European training programme ECVET credit system promoting the professional development of a new professional profile – the “urban garden’s coordinator/ organizer” or GARDENISER. This profile in the VET field will be the “Gardeniser Licence”, will be achievable through international cooperation among partners with different backgrounds and expertise in education, urban shared gardens and professional training in Italy, Great Britain, Germany, France and Greece.
  • to develop an assessment mechanism for evaluating learning achievements of learners, been accredited as “Gardenisers”, been both at a regional and national level, thus fostering their employability
  • to create an online platform as a tool to match working demand with working supply, connecting the profiles of those Gardenisers who will achieve such a license and both the national and international urban gardens networks.

The GARDENISER project is Co-funded by the ERASMUS+ EU Programme.

SENSNET Project – Completion of learning material

The European Center in Training for Employment – ECTE, has completed the development of training materials addressing to professionals working in care services for aged people. The training material can be accessed through the e-learning platform of the SENSNET Academy, that provides training for professionals working with aging people with visual and/or hearing impairments.

The learning outcomes of the material, relate to skills and knowledge for assisting the aged having hearing impairments, to perform and develop in the workplace, socially or at home (access to culture and access to information and communication media). It is structured in two main units which are administered in the form of master classes. Upon completion of every unit, professionals will be required to further the knowledge they have acquired from the course by been assigned homework which is in form of exercises in the taught curricula. Particular focus was given to familiarizing professionals with the technology supporting individuals with Hearing Impairment.

The training material was presented in Madrid, during the partners meeting on the 6th of February. The final version will be accessible through the SENSNET Academy platform after it will be tested by the professionals as end users.

The development of the training material is part of activities implemented under SENSNET project, which is funded by the EU under the Erasmus plus KA2 projects. The project involves partners from seven different European countries: Spain, France, Greece, The Netherlands, Italy, Bulgaria and United Kingdom. Most of them are members of the European networks ENVITER and HIPEN, that are supporting the project and that represent organisations of professionals and experts in sensory impairments in 21 EU countries.

Dream Project – Kick off meeting in Florence

Recognizing that cognitive education cannot touch students’ minds and hearts, teachers, and psychologists have recently introduced the term “Affective Education”. Affective Education aims at fostering an open, equivalent and non-judgmental environment through experiential learning.

The psychotherapist, Dr. Renato Palma, in his book “Easy Happiness: Growing together in an Affective Democracy” proposes a radical teaching method based on happiness. He suggests that if we behave well in children, the whole world will become better. The children’s happiness and wellbeing promote our own happiness too. Dr Palma concludes: “Growing together, children and adults, in an emotional democracy and building together a culture of happiness, can become a reality. This is perhaps the only way to escape from the conflict impasse”.

The DREAM project (Development and Run-test of an Educational Affective Model) represents a vision: to make schools a place of “affective education”; a place where children can express themselves without the fear of rejection, they can actively participate and create, their preferences and priorities are respected and they are treated equally, as it should be in an emotional democracy.

Educational institutes and other bodies from Italy, Greece, France and Spain, based on Dr. Palma’s perspective, will develop an innovative educational model of affective education, which aims at promoting students’ wellbeing and happiness, inside and outside the school. This will be followed by the pilot implementation of the educational model in primary schools of Rethymnon. A user’s guide will also be developed available to all interested teachers and educational bodies. Educational products, related articles and electronic materials of the project will be freely available through an Open Educational Resource platform (OER platform), which was presented by Mr. Androulakis.

In 14th-15th of November 2016, the first transnational meeting of all partners took place in University of Florence, Dept of “Education Sciences and Psychology” (SCIFOPSI), where the tasks and work plan of the project was defined in detail. The project will last three years and is funded by Erasmus+. Greece was represented by the Director of the European Center in Training for Employment (ECTE), Mr. Konstantinos Androulakis, in collaboration with the Head of the Laboratory of InterdisciplinaryApproaches for the Enhancement of Quality of Life (Quality of Life Lab), Ms. Argyroula Kalaitzaki, Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at TEI of Crete.

Gardeniser Pro: Kick-off Meeting in Rome

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1535355270577{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]The 30th and 31st of October 2017 the kick-off meeting took place in Rome. Strategies, tasks, opportunities, and all the practical aspects necessary to implement the project were discussed and defined by the project managers of the consortium. The meeting was hosted by the Italian partner (and project coordinator) Replay Network and its main result was defining action plans, tools, and roles to ensure the successful implementation of the project in the following 30 months. The meeting was also an opportunity for the partners to get to know each other and to get a better understanding of the development of the urban gardens phenomenon in Rome.

A visit was organised to the “Garibaldi Cooperative”. This cooperative and its urban garden were created to give to autistic people an opportunity to be actively included in the community and to give a concrete contribution to society. The organisation is indeed owned and run by autistic people with the support of specialised staff, volunteers and the local community and it might be one of the placements were the gardeniser-trainees will do their internship foreseen by the training programme in 2019.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Το Ευρωπαϊκό πρόγραμμα SENSNET

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1535354439037{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Το Ευρωπαϊκό πρόγραμμα SENSNET αναπτύσσεται και υλοποιείται από επτά (7) εταίρους σε επτά διαφορετικές ευρωπαϊκές χώρες: Ελλάδα, Ισπανία, Γαλλία, Ολλανδία, Ιταλία, Βουλγαρία και Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο. Οι εταίροι του προγράμματος είναι μέλη των ευρωπαϊκών δικτύων ENVITER και HIPEN – προγράμματα για τη συνεχή συνεργασία και ανταλλαγή τεχνογνωσίας εντός της Ε.Ε. – και αντιπροσωπεύουν επαγγελματίες και ειδικούς που δραστηριοποιούνται σε 21 χώρες της Ε.Ε. στο πεδίο των αισθητηριακών διαταραχών και συγκεκριμένα σε ηλικιωμένους με προβλήματα όρασης και /ή ακοής.

Το επαγγελματικό πεδίο το οποίο αφορά το πρόγραμμα SENSNET είναι εργαζόμενοι σε κέντρα ημερήσιας φροντίδας ηλικιωμένων, κοινωνικοί λειτουργοί, φροντιστές ηλικιωμένων, θεραπευτές ηλικιωμένων, παθολόγοι, νοσηλευτές, νοσηλευτές που παρέχουν κατ’ οίκον νοσηλευτική φροντίδα αλλά και επαγγελματίες που παρέχουν υπηρεσίες για την υποστήριξη ηλικιωμένων ατόμων με αισθητηριακές διαταραχές.

Σε αυτό το πλαίσιο, το Ευρωπαϊκό Κέντρο Κατάρτισης για την Απασχόληση (ECTE), κύριος συντελεστής του προγράμματος SENSNET, συμμετέχει στην υλοποίηση του προγράμματος με τις παρακάτω δραστηριότητες. Συγκεκριμένα, υλοποιεί

  • τον σχεδιασμό ενός μεθοδολογικού οδηγού για το εκπαιδευτικό πρόγραμμα κατάρτισης που απευθύνεται σε επαγγελματίες του χώρου.
  • την ανάπτυξη εκπαιδευτικού υλικού για επαγγελματίες που εργάζονται με ηλικιωμένα άτομα με προβλήματα όρασης και /ή ακοής. Συγκεκριμένα, την ανάπτυξη εκπαιδευτικού υλικού σχετικό με την ακοομετρία και ακουστική, την αποκατάσταση των ηλικιωμένων με προβλήματα όρασης και /ή ακοής σε επαγγελματικό και κοινωνικό επίπεδο (πρόσβαση στον πολιτισμό, στην κοινωνία της πληροφορίας και στα μέσα επικοινωνίας) αλλά και την καλυτέρευση της καθημερινής τους ζωής.
  • τη δημιουργία μιας διαδικτυακής πλατφόρμας ηλεκτρονικής εκμάθησης για επαγγελματίες που εργάζονται με ηλικιωμένα άτομα με προβλήματα όρασης και /ή ακοής.
  • προγράμματα κατάρτισης για επαγγελματίες.

Συνοψίζοντας, τα σημαντικότερα αξιολογικά αποτελέσματα και οφέλη του προγράμματος SENSNET είναι:

  1. Η δημιουργία Ευρωπαϊκής Ακαδημίας με ειδίκευση στην εκπαίδευση επαγγελματιών που εργάζονται με ηλικιωμένα άτομα με προβλήματα όρασης και /ή ακοής.
  2. Η δημιουργία μιας ευρωπαϊκής κοινότητας επαγγελματιών που εργάζονται με ηλικιωμένα άτομα με προβλήματα όρασης και /ή ακοής.
  3. Η διεύρυνση της ήδη υπάρχουσας γνώσης με σκοπό την ακριβέστερη κατάρτιση των επαγγελματιών του χώρου.
  4. Η βελτίωση των δεξιοτήτων των επαγγελματιών που συμμετέχουν στις εκπαιδευτικές δραστηριότητες και
  5. Η δημιουργία μιας ολοκληρωμένης στρατηγικής για την κατάρτιση των επαγγελματιών που εργάζονται με ηλικιωμένα άτομα με προβλήματα όρασης και /ή ακοής.

Τα προσδοκώμενα αποτέλεσμα για τις εν λόγω επαγγελματικές ομάδες είναι η βελτίωση των επαγγελματικών τους προσόντων και δεξιοτήτων πάνω στο πεδίο των αισθητηριακών διαταραχών, ιδιαίτερα σε αυτές της ακοής και όρασης. Με την ολοκλήρωση του προγράμματος, οι ωφελούμενοι επαγγελματίες θα αποτελέσουν μέρος της ευρωπαϊκής μαθησιακής κοινότητας επαγγελματιών που δραστηριοποιούνται με ηλικιωμένα άτομα με προβλήματα όρασης και / ή ακοής.

Περισσότερες πληροφορίες: www.ecte.gr / http://sensnet-project.eu/[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]