C.1.1. What are the aims and objectives of the project proposed by the Learning Partnership?

This joint venture intends to develop concerted contents and methods to built up supporting ICT structures in rural areas.

The aim of the project is to learn about examples of best practise of regional development and educational cooperation in different countries, as well as to support their distribution.

We expect from every participating country to present relevant projects which will, hopefully, lead to innovative jointly developed training facilities for adults in rural areas. Our main emphasis is on the connection between educational and social processes initiated by ICT.

C.1.2. Please provide information on the nature and expertise of the organisations involved in the partnership

The participating institutions are very heterogeneous. They cover various working sectors:

1. regional development
2. regional education
3. research in ICT

1. cultural heritage
2. ecology
3. business and community development
4. administration and social affairs

Austria:

The Bildungs- und Heimatwerk Niederösterreich (BHW), founded 1946, organises several study-courses for adults in rural areas (e.g. computer courses, language courses?.). The BHW represents as a contractor of this project a total of 8 organisations , who are working together within the project ?NÖ ans Netz?.

GIVE Research Association - Laboratory for Global Villages is a Vienna based non-profit research association under Austrian law, which has devoted its activities to the optimisation of the impact of ICT`s on rural areas and small towns. It has organised several international symposia on this topic and maintains extensive global cooperation links with researchers on the subjects "village futures", "places of access and learning" and "cooperative networks".

Germany:

The town Coburg in Franken has a very rich cultural heritage which is preserved with great emphasis. There are a lot of experience in cultural networking and the apply of ICT. The next project will be to set up a historical museum of the town.

City & Bits <Berlin> is a technological oriented consultant company which has large experience in ICT application to activate modernisation processes of administrations in towns and regions (e-government, e-governance)

Poland: PLEASE CHECK AND CORRECT - COMPLETE...

The Malechowo Gymnasium is a public school which has organised some projects together with the cummunity of Malechowo and local actors: - tele house and some innovative projects in the village - the school as the local development center

Hungary: PLEASE CHECK AND CORRECT - - COMPLETE...

The Hungarian Telecottage Association based in Budapest manage and organises approx. 500 free financed telehouses all over Hungary.

Slowenia: PLEASE CHECK AND CORRECT (we might have to SHORTEN this for the proposal)

Institute for Symbolic Analysis and Development of Information Technology (IPAK) Velenje Slovenia

Type of institution NPO and NGO research institute.

Size of institution Personnel 6 (absolute), 10 (FTE) Learners 3 (absolute ) 1 (FTE)

Expertise Research in education (n-learning, use of ICT in education, new way of teaching and learning, dynamic learning model) ICT for economic development in transitional countries, web services, implementation of research results in pilot courses. XML, SVG Technologies, web design and production, ODL.

Experience in cooperation at local, national and trans-national level Leonardo E-know-net participant responsible for ODL analysis and Web Design Minerva Distance Learning Course in Science and Engineering Using Case Studies Online co-ordinator, preparation of case studies, collaboration with industry and preparation of educational materials in digital form (finished) Teleworking, Home-based Business and Development of New Jobs national project, role co-ordinator, research in field of dynamic learning and new job creation. Development of Open Source Educational Portal, national project Development of Young Inventors Network, national project E!2812 -COGGRAPH A Cognitive Intelligent System For Operating Control, Eureka project

Great Britain:

Mass Mitec is a Community Informatics consultancy, founded 1984 by David Wortley and specialises in the use of ICT for the social and economic development of sustainable communities and networks. For the last 5 years Mass Mitec has pioneered the development of virtual communities, starting with the international project Knowledge Ecology Network (KEN) where over 100 participants from more than 20 countries cooperated.

This led to an award from the Department of Trade and Industry for the Harborough Community Commerce and Knowledge Network project (ComKnet?). During the exploration of ICT for social and economic development within ComKnet?, the use of virtual classroom and web conferencing technologies was identified as having significant potential for encouraging lifelong learning in rural economies. This led to Mass Mitec securing funding for a major infrastructure project known as the Harborough Community Learning Network ( http://www.hcln.net). Mass Mitec plans to support this project with its international contact network and collaboration and knowledge distribution through the innovative use of virtual classroom technology and learning events

Lithuania:

Varenos Technologijos ir Verslo Mokykla http://tvm.varena.mit.lt/ , founded in 1972, has evolved as a regional vocational school preparing youth and adults of the Varena region for the job market. Popular specialties have changed from tractorist and machinist in the 1970s, to farmers in the 1990s, and now chefs, barmen, construction workers, and technicians. The school has 35 teachers and 300 students, and is a center for the development of the folk arts, traditional crafts, and culinary arts of the Dzukija region. It serves as a base for the Minciu Sodas worldwide network of independent thinkers.

C.1.3. Activity Planning table

Facilitating the meetings of the focus group, each country organises a workshop to present best practise projects and also its speciaal theme to the whole consortium. In addition to the partners, other multipliers from the hosting country are invited to create an intensive exchange of experiences and enable the building of a wider network. At the end there will be an evaluation of the participants. An interactive website wil be build where thematic and regional impulses con be exchanged and more multipliers can be reached.

Activities and schedule for the year August 2004 - July 2005: PLEASE FILL IN

1st workshop: September 2003 in Poland

• presentation of the succesful projects in village regeneration,
• XXXXXX,
• finalising the application of the Grundtvig 1- project)

• Presentation of successful UK projects including community telecentres and broadband community informatics projects

• work on the final Grundtvig 1 proposal

(we might have to SHORTEN this for the proposal)

• IPAK's suggestion is as follows:
• First day Ecological recovering of Saleska Valley. City of Velenje ( http://www.velenje.si)is one of largest industrial centre of Slovenia with coal mine( http://www.rlv.si/eng/index.htm), Power Plant( http://www.te-sostanj.si/) and Gorenje( http://www.gorenje.si) household manufacturing. This second wave industry made a lot of damage in the environment. However in last two decades strong efforts of environmental sannation have been made (system for desulphuruzation of gases in power plant, air quality monitoring system ( http://www.envir.eimv.si/index.html), waste water treatment plant, recovering of huge lake becoming tourist centre, old coal min became popular coal mine museum, largest ecological institute Erico (www.erico.si) is working on improvement of environment in the valley). Some of projects are used as case studies in Minerva programme where IPAK with partners from Austria and Scottland developed distance learning course in computer process control explaining technical part of some environemntal projects ( http://www.ipak-zavod.si/projekti/minerva/eng/cases/cases/cases.html). With a little effort this projects can be used in the Erde as example of rebuilding community. our suggestion is that on first day we visit some of these objects and to discuss it.
• second day large meeting at Velenje where ERDE project and IPAK's efforts in the open and distance learning for economic developemnt in Slovenia and Southeastern Europe will be presented.
• third day visit of Trebnik ( http://www.trebnik.com) castle at Slovenske Konjice where castle became educational and tourist centre reconstructed with public work. Trebnik has ambition to join enveronment, education and tourism. We suggest to have workshop there on which the experience of Trebnik will be discussed.
• fourth day visit of the Logarska Valley ( http://www.logarska-dolina.si/1024/index.html) one of the most beuatiful. alpine valleys. We shall organize a meeting with local meeting who are interested in sustainable development.Here we can visit several location and organize final meeting to make conclusions.

• First day: We meet in the capital Vilnius, and spend several hours meeting at the Minciu Sodas laboratory's headquarters in the Folk Creativity Club "Atzalynas", which is in a rural neighborhood of the city.
• The next two days we have a "distributed meeting" to have in mind the natural advantages of the countryside. We break up into groups of 3 (choosing as we like) and be sent by car or bus to villages in the region of Dzukija where we meet independent thinkers there, and also have access to the Internet. We are encouraged to work at our own pace, focus on people we want to work together with, have time to be alone and with others. We are in touch by Internet, and also groups can drive to meet each other, as they might desire. An ecotourist experience, the countryside here is quite nice, we hope thought provoking.
• The evening of the third day we have a meeting at the Varena Technology and Business School, and bring our ideas together.
• The fourth and final day we have a celebration of support for self-learning.

• Preparing a Grundtvig 1 project
• Developing a curriculum for a training course, designed to create regional INFORMATION, INNOVATION AND MEDIA coaches
• Interactive website
  

C.1.4. Expected impact of the project

1) Extending our own competencies and tasks, realising different solutions, getting new ideas, becoming experienced in transnational cooperation, learning to transmit new experiences

2) Becoming more well-known even in foreign countries, extending the own image, improving the own offers, increasing core competences, becoming open minded, building up a network of competences

3) getting fresh impulses; fostering networking; improving the social climate; raising the interest in education; stopping the rural exodus; implementing precise educational measures; fostering the acceptance of the EU`s enlargement in regions, which share borders directly with new members

C.1.5. Evaluation

The realization of:

o Interactive website

o Curriculum for the regional information coach

o Grundtvig 1 proposal

1. Written evaluation of the workshops to the contents and methodic and organisational criterias
2. Self evaluation of the particiapants adaped to the demands of the project
3. Intensive use of the ICT of the partners and the multipliers in the rural areas (e.g. raising the participants of local and global mailinglists)

C.1.6. Dissemination

1) between the participating organisations:

• via website, currently http://www.dorfwiki.org/wiki.cgi?ERDE
• via common mailinglist (english yahoogroup)

• lectures and events (e.g. ?Cyberspace,Internet & Co? in Austria,?.)
• via national mailinglists (e.g. the "BildungUndBegegnung" yahoogroup)

• presantations at specific events
• website, CD-Rom or similar media

C.1.7. Does the project relate to the training of persons involved in providing learning opportunities for adults? If so, please describe briefly.

The project is designed for people working in the field of adult`s education, and for those supporting local processes. Within this project we wish to create specific educational offers in various thematic fields.

C.1.8. How and to what extent will the project ensure the active participation of learners throughout the project (planning, implementation and evaluation)?

By the active incorporation of all participants during the whole process (planning and participating in workshops and excursions, as well as creating the website).

C.1.9. (self-)assessment

We intend to design a questionnaire jointly before the first workshop.

C.1.10. the issue of accreditation and certification

As this project is seen as an informal learning processes, certificates of knowledge and skilles are not important, but the question of certificates might become important as soon as we develop new traning courses.

One main aim is the work on a Grundtvig 1 proposal.

C.1.11. specific measures...how will the project....

• enhance in any way the availability of learning opportunities for persons with a disability, chronic illness or other special educational need?

• promote the participation of learners or organisations / institutions disadvantaged for socio-economic, geographical or other reasons?

• promote equality between women and men?

• promote intercultural education, help combat racism / xenophobia, or encourage the integration of persons from ethnic and other minority groups (including migrant workers, Gypsies and Travellers, and occupational travellers)?
  

C.1.12. respective roles and tasks of (1) the coordinating organisation / institution and (2) the other participating organisations / institutions?

Coordinator: (BHW, Austria) - contributes the experience of networking groups (austrian workshop) - is responsible for the flow of information between all partners - takes care of the evaluation about the increased knowledge - makes sure that all partners will keep to the schedule - integrates all participants into the process

partners: - contribute their expertise - organise a workshop in their country in order to exchange experiences - participate actively in the exchange of information (website, email etc.)

C.1.13. How will effective cooperation between the participating institutions be ensured?

- ensuring the understanding (languages will be German and English) - building transnational, thematical working groups (connecting thematical multipliers of each country) - interactive website - personal exchange of experience at the workshops

C.1.14. Does the project intend to use new technologies? If yes, what kind of new technologies? How and to what extent will they be used?

Communication within the project will be mainly ensured via internet and email. ICT`s and their application in rural areas are the core part of this partnership which focusses on extensive spread of knowledge supported by ICT (wireless LAN etc.)

Additionally, we want to test new efficient forms of electronic communication e.g. weblogs, wikis, open theory etc. too.