Our final EDUGLOCAL Conference and partners meeting in Brussels, 27th and 28th October 2015

It is with pride that we announce the successful completion of our final EDUGLOCAL Conference which took place in Brussels on 28th October 2015, together with our partners meeting. This event aimed to disseminate the results of a two-year path and discuss the Eduglocal approach with stakeholders engaged at European level in the field of Education and Active Global Citizenship.

All 6 partner organizations from 5 different countries (Italy, Spain, Sweden, Greece, Romania) were equally involved in the conference, each one of them highlighting different sections of the project in order to finally “construct” the project steps and areas once again.

More specifically, the speeches, lectures and presentations were carried out by:

• Welcome by ProgettoMondo Mlal (a few words on the EDUGLOCAL rationale – introduction of the partners to our guests)
  Attilio Orecchio – Head of Progettomondo Mlal Global Education Office

• Eduglocal: a project to foster digital global education and connect schools to civil society organisations 
  Elena Frascaroli – Eduglocal coordinator (ITALY)

Elena Frascaroli, Attilio Orecchio, Jose Manuel Garcia-Santalla, Rosanna Rossi

• The voice of the school – The importance of global education and connection to the out-of-school world for fostering student’s civic competences
  Rosanna Rossi – President of Consorzio degli Istituti professionali (ITALY)
  Jose Manuel Garcia-Santalla – Director of IES Juan Pimentel Secondary School (SPAIN)

• Empowering European teachers (importance of the training of teachers on the EDUGLOCAL ideas, on the methodology of webquests, as well as on volunteerism)
  David Powell – Elderberry Ab (SWEDEN)

David Powell and Pete Stevens among EDUGLOCAL teachers (trial course on Lesvos island, September 2015)

• The voice of CSOs – The value of global education and connection with schools for Civil Society Organisations (special characteristics of EDUGLOCAL)
  Andreea Hagiu – Save the Children Romania (ROMANIA)

Andreea Hagiu, Attilio Orecchio, Jose Manuel Garcia-Santalla

• Glocal Action – The experience of Lesvos (overview of the EDUGLOCAL rationale,  connection between global issues and local action, role of the 5 schools and volunteers on Lesvos and Chios, emphasis on the Lesvos experience)
  Varvara Hatzoglou – The Regional Directorate of Primary and Secondary Education in the North Aegean (GREECE)

Varvara Chatzoglou, Attilio Orecchio, Jose Manuel Garcia-Santalla

• Global education and activism to fight against climate change and protect the environment – The experience of Avila (examples and experiences on procedures followed and impact of EDUGLOCAL on students)
  Roberto Rodriguez Pindado – Diputación de Ávila  (SPAIN)

Roberto Rodriguez Pindado

• Reflecting on the importance of integrating Global education in the EU political agenda
  Attilio Orecchio – Head of Progettomondo Mlal Global Education Office

Our Partnership would like to thank the EACEA for giving us the opportunity to implement this project which became a chance for all of us to deal with important issues through the eyes of teachers and students, develop meaningful material and test it, work with beautiful people (authorities, teachers, students, parents, volunteers and other stakeholders), but, also, to participate more actively in our local communities – which was a life-learning experience for everyone. Also, we express our gratitude to the authorities of the Region of Emilia-Romagna for providing us with the venue for this conference and for their wonderful hospitality. Finally, our thanks to our kind guests who really honoured us with their presence during this event.

Closing this post, we would like to thank -once more- our true protagonists, i.e. the students, the school headmasters/headmistresses, the teachers, the CSOs (NGOs, organisations, associations, volunteers) and all other stakeholders (authorities, museums, etc) in Italy, Spain, Sweden, Greece, Romania, who helped us implement the EDUGLOCAL project and have made the last 2 years much more interesting and challenging for us!