Online Meetings

Transnational Meetings as Video Conference

Since the beginning of 2020, the Corona pandemic has not allowed us to hold the planned transnational workshops in Athens (Greece), Suceava (Romania) and Turnhout (Belgium). Nevertheless, we continued our European cooperation in Erasmus+ undeterred and met regularly for video conferences. Video conferencing fits in perfectly with the aim of our European partnership, which is to exchange ideas on how to use digital media in social enterprises.

The project partners are experienced in using the various video programs and use them for collegial exchange, at meetings and conferences and in counselling clients.

The project work has always been at the center of our video conferences. In particular we have planned about the conception and implementation of joint seminars on the use of digital media. By April 2021, we had digitally conducted four seminars with more than 50 participants under the direction of Prof. Dr. Christina Buschle from the Rosenheim International University of Applied Sciences. In addition, we have planned the publication of an e-reader that presents ten examples of good practice on the use of digital media in social enterprises. The reader will be completed by the end of the project and then published on our project website and on the European adult education platform EPALE.

Of course, the Corona pandemic was an important topic at every virtual meeting. We exchanged information about the current development in the respective partner country and how the educational work and employment in the social enterprises are affected by it. We focused in particular on the effects on disadvantaged people and groups on the labor market who have suffered particularly from the pandemic. The focus of our Erasmus+ activities is the cross-border exchange of knowledge and experience as well as learning about good practice. Due to the Corona pandemic, we faced the challenge of how to continue to achieve the objectives. We therefore started inviting experts to individual video conferences from mid-2020. These experts then gave a lecture or presented a project. We also looked beyond our own horizons and dealt with European policy issues. Topics included the “European Pillar of Social Rights”, which was proclaimed in November 2018 by the European Council, the European Parliament and the EU Commission. In addition, we also dealt with European funding and the funding programs in the next period from 2021 to 2027. Furthermore, we got to know some good examples for the use of digital media in the social context and thus got a lot of inspiration for our professional actions and the vocational training of disadvantaged people – very much in the spirit of Erasmus+!