Grundtvig partnership Everybody can do it!

(ECDI) Newsletter 2 Meeting in Turkey 8th-12thApril 2013

Between 8th to 12th April 2013, 33 members of the Grundtvig team Learning Partnership "Everybody can do it" (ECDI) participated in the second meeting organized by the UAK MLL ETM MDRL in Usak, Turkey.

Project Meeting activities

The work agenda in Turkey included the following activities: the comparative analysis of the results of the research "Women and men realities of the European present" in order to identify common stereotypes and prejudices about gender equality in terms of economic life, family life and participation in public life and decisionmaking; the workshop "Women who inspire Europe" - debate on gender equality in each country; the selection of materials for the projects site; project outline agenda for the next meeting which will be held in June 2013; discussions on how to disseminate the project implementation stage verification of the proposed activities in accordance with the application form; determining workload for the next meeting; project evaluation meeting; cultural and social activities.

Each partner presented ways of disseminating the partnership in the educational community and local media. So, there has been made a transfer of experiences and good practices in the implementation of gender equality in adult education. The school visited the Uak Fen Lisesi, opportunity in which was presented the Turkish educational system and the FATIH project implemented by the Turkish government since 2010 that all schools are equipped with SMART Board sites, and students receive free textbooks and tablets with electronic lessons. There was an official meeting with the Governor of Uak.

The project meeting, concluded with awarding the certificates of participation was an opportunity to promote the concept of lifelong learning and the exchange of experiences and good practices in the implementation of gender equality in adult education.

Intercultural openness
The project meeting favored the cultural openness of the participants and created opportunities for the development of intercultural communication. There were visited representative landmarks of Turkish culture and civilization. The participants (staff and learners) were impressed by the Turkish civilization, the fact that Turks are very hospitable and friendly, very proud of their country. With the help of the Turkish partners we were able to tap into a different culture, a mysterious blend of religion, art, traditionalism and modernity. Uak is a mysterious place, a witness of many civilizations rise and decay (Phrygian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman) during the 6,000 years of existence. Each civilization has left behind beautiful things that transform today the city of Uak in an important tourist area waiting to be discovered. Uak is the treasure house of King Croesus. The 450 pieces of gold treasures are exhibited since 1993 in the Museum of Uak. Croesus, King of Lydia (Manisa province of Turkey) in the sixth century BC, struck the first golden coin in the world. The richness of this king (generated by Lydia strategic location on major trade routes between Europe and Asia) became legendary in both ancient Greeks and the Persians. Among centuries in classical antiquity, it was used the expression "rich as Croesus", which has remained to this day. Another mysterious place discovered during the project meeting was Ulubey canyon, the second largest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon in Arizona (USA), with a length of 75 km.

The Turkish partners organized the city tour of Ephesus, one of the best preserved cities of antiquity. The ruins of Ephesus are an impressive open-air museum. The participants were very impressed by the beauty of architectural details, comfort level existing in ancient times (because the city does not lack sewerage, public lighting, water tanks, good roads, thermal baths, public toilets), scientific knowledge held by ancient people. Capital of the province of Asia Minor, Ephesus was the city - center several states and empires: Greek, Macedonian, Roman. Current archaeological site includes remains from Hellenistic and Roman period (temples, agora, theater, library and stadium) and the Byzantine era.
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It was built on the place of Goddess Artemis Temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The symbol of Ephesus is the Library of Celsius, a testament to the level of civilization attained by the Romans. Ruins speak for themselves about the grandeur and splendor of those times long gone. Thus, we had the opportunity to visit the best preserved ancient city of Turkey, a place full of history and intuitively spot the people living life in antiquity. In the southern part of the city we visited Ephesus House of Virgin Mary religious experts have sufficient evidence to prove that Mary retired to Ephesus after the crucifixion of Jesus, but still do not know all the details. We put notes with prayers for the Virgin Mary to the Wall of wishes, a wall loaded of notes in all languages of the world, stuck with what people find on the spot.

Next meeting
The third project meeting of the learning partnership Grundtvig "Everybody Can Do It" (ECDI) will be held by Stefan Procopiu High School between 5th-9th June 2013. The agenda was discussed in Turkey and will include workshops with learners and staff, outdoor activities, dissemination conference, evaluation of the first year of the project, cultural and social activities.

The Grundtvig Partnership

"Everybody can do it!" (ECDI) has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.