Draft Sofia Seminar BookletIntroduction
This booklet has been produced for participants in the Seminar in Sofiaexplores dissemination of exchanges on Training and Learning for CommunityDevelopment. The European-funded project on Training and Learning for CommunityDevelopment is run by Consortium of 16 partners from non-Governmentalorganisations under the leadership of the Combined European Bureau for SocialDevelopment.In 2007-2008 Partners took part in a series of experimental relay visits wherethey carried analysis of Training and Learning in Community Development fromBelgium to Hungary; from Hungary to the United Kingdom; from the UnitedKingdom to Slovakia; and from Slovakia to Germany. The relay visits included fieldvisits and were backed up by electronic networking. The involvement of local professionals from Local Authorities, non-governmental organisations, andeducational organisations enriched the level of exchange and learning from practice.The Consortium had its origins in a previous partnership in 2006, whichidentified the triangle of exchange between citizens, professionals and policy-makersas a key activity to promote participation in Life Long Learning. In Budapest 2006they looked at core principles of Community Development and proposed guidelinesfor training and learning systems. Current work also relates to programmes runningalongside such as the. People in Politics project lead by Sagene in Norway and theEuropean Dialogue project led by the Hungarian Association for CommunityDevelopment.At the Laboratory in Sweden in October 2008, partners distilled lessons fromrelay visits to make the process of networking and dissemination relevant to the 150multipliers who will interact with the partners. At the Seminar in Sofia, they seek toestablish on-going, interactive, sustainable exchange, which will continue work onimplementing, adapting and evaluating European guidelines for training and learningfor community developmentInteractive dissemination is based on the concept identified in the guidelinesand reiterated in the relay visits and laboratory. Training and learning is an interactive process. This means methods and techniques for training have to be adjusted to thecontext and to the participants, whilst maintaining adherence to the highest standardsof practice in training and learning. Peer learning is combined with a high level of engagement with lifelong learning, the principles of equality and interculturalexchange.1
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