Spreading CULTure on BORDer regions

Wednesday, 18 April 2012

3rd Workshop in Mérida (Spain). Report (2 of 5)

The second conference of the workshop, Learning the Language of our Neighbours was delivered by Ms. Lígia Borges, teacher at the Official School of Languages in the town of Montijo (Extremadura, Spain). She reported her experience after having been working for four years as the responsible of Camões Institute in the region, which is the responsible official institution for the dissemination of Portuguese language and culture around the world, similar as British Council, Instituto Cervantes, Goethe-Institut, Istituto Dante Alighieri or Alliance Française.

In her speech Ms. Borges talked about how teaching Portuguese started in Extremadura at the 80’s, when it was created a Department of Portuguese Language at University to form teachers. She explained the different possibilities existing in Extremadura for adult education. One of the most important institutions devoted to teach adult people are the Popular Universities, giving informal education about different subjects to adult population. But the growth of the number of students has appeared in formal education through the Official School of Languages. There are nine of these public schools in the region, where Portuguese is the second language in number of students, more than other languages as French, German or Italian. No other Spanish region has developed a policy in order to encourage population to learn Portuguese language, even with an advertisement campaign on TV, radio, newspapers and at bus-stops: “Learn Portuguese. It will open many doors for you”. Nowadays having knowledge of Portuguese language has become a very important point for those trying to get a job or to get a promotion. Many adverts for different jobs and activities include specific references. Apart from the Schools of Languages, the courses financed by the Cross border Initiatives Office (more than 1200 courses since 1996) have been fundamental to give the opportunity to adult population in small villages to learn the language of the neighbours.

Ms. Borges talked about the cultural differences between Portugal and Spain. Although both countries have similar languages, sometimes there are a lot of misunderstandings due to false friends and other aspects of formality and costumes.

3rd Workshop in Mérida (Spain). Report (1 of 5)

After the first workshop in Évora (Portugal) and the second one in Kavala (Greece), the third workshop of the Grundtvig – Lifelong Learning project Scultbord took place in Mérida on 27^th and 28^thOctober 2011. The first session of the workshop was held at the Regional Parliament of Extremadura and it was structured to show the ways the regional Government of Extremadura and other institutions have used to spread the Portuguese culture in this Spanish region.

The Technical Secretary for External Affairs of the Regional Government of Extremadura, Ms. Maria Isabel Nieto, in her speech at inauguration of the workshop stated that adult learning is a vital component of lifelong learning. It is fundamental to note the importance of lifelong learning not only for competitiveness and employability, but also for social inclusion, active citizenship and personal development.

The President of the Parliament of Extremadura, Mr. Fernando Manzano, welcomed the participants, showed the interest of the Institution in the project and compromised to transmit the conclusions of the workshop to all the groups represented in the Parliament.

The first conference of the workshop was delivered by Ms. Montaña Hernández, head of the Cross-border Initiative Office (Regional Government of Extremadura) since 2002. In her speech, Ms. Hernández tried to explain the progress of cross border cooperation in Extremadura and the importance of culture in all this process. Since the Cross-border Office was created in 1993, this department has been working on trying to know better their neighbour country and encouraging people to know their neighbours. “The reason for that is the conviction that a better knowledge of our neighbour country, its language and its culture, will improve our relations not only at a social or cultural level but it will also help to improve our economical development”.

Cross border ties between Extremadura, Alentejo and Central Portugal were initiated at the beginning of the 90’s. They were institutionalized as a result of the “Protocols of Cross Border Cooperation” endorsed by the Extremaduran Regional Government (Junta de Extremadura) and the CCDR Alentejo, in 1992, and by the Extremaduran regional government (Junta de Extremadura) and the CCDR Central Portugal, in 1994. Starting practically from scratch, a productive first stage of cooperation began at that time. Following an initial phase of getting to know each other, the first projects and results began to take shape more recently under the protection of the successive programs INTERREG and POCTEP (Operative Program of Spanish-Portuguese cross border cooperation).

After almost two decades, the territory occupied by the three regions, with its 428 kilometres of common border, has been transformed into a territory with new perspectives and possibilities in which cross border cooperation has become an important asset for its development. An enormous amount of initiatives and common projects have emerged. Many of them focused on adult population by promoting their skills and education. The number of Spaniards studying the Portuguese language and vice versa, has increased exponentially in recent years, as has the presence of creators and artists from both sides of the border in museums and cultural festivals in the three regions. It can be said that Portugal has become part of Extremadura’s cultural landscape.

At the same time, terms “Iberian” or “peninsular” have been incorporated into a large number of conferences and numerous trade fair competitions held on both sides of the border. And there are more than 300 studies and publications related to Portugal edited in Extremadura.

The positive results, as well as the interest shown by the three regions in broadening their cooperation, led to the signing of a single cooperation agreement and the fusion of the two former Work Communities in one, with the aim of rationalizing the organizational structures of our neighbourhood relationship.

The signing of this agreement facilitated the creation of the Euroregion Alentejo-Centre-Extremadura (EUROACE) and the beginning of a new stage in the cooperation between the three regions.

AEBR Newsletter

Tuesday, 3 January 2012

2nd Workshop: Kavala (Greece). 1st & 2nd September 2011

The Municipality of Kavala participates as one of six partners in the educational partnership Grundtvig European-funded program for Lifelong Learning, entitled «SCULTBORD - Spreading CULTure on BORDer Regions».

The development of educational and cultural programmes for adults in border regions focused on the culture of the neighbour countries is the aspect of this project. Institutions are exchanging experiences, methods and ways of acting with other similar organizations abroad.

Further purposes are the promotion of the involvement of cultural training programmes for adults in border areas and the creation of an European platform for experts concerned with the dissemination of culture in border regions.

The theme of this workshop meeting was Best practices and experience of the agen-cies of the Municipality of Kavala in adult cultural education.

Mr. Anastasios Smirloglou, Deputy Mayor of Program & Development of the Municipality of Kavala, welcomed the participants of the cultural cross-border workshop in the Mosque of Halil Bey (Old Conservatoire) followed by Mrs. Efrossyni Boskou, Gallery & Museum curator, responsible for the organisation and management of this SCULT-BORD project meeting.

1st September 2011

The speakers of the workshop

Mrs. Eleni Touliopoulou - Head master of Environmental Centre of Philippi

Mrs. Touliopoulou presented one project regarding lifelong learning. These last years, she has been working as a teacher in Secondary schools where her intensive interest about the environmental education is stamped in her actions in the bounds of extracurricular activities. The aim of this project is learning by doing. Teachers are organizing themselves projects to teach adult pupils. Adult pupils are meeting to learn from each other and exchange their skills.

They do not feel any more excluded from this progressive world and have some hope to add their new skills. More projects could be found on www.kpe-philippi.gr. Another interesting updated project: Educative games produced through a Grundtvig programme. http://www.teachermanual.blogspot.com

Mr. Nikos Papas - Manager of many Lifelong Learning projects

Mr. Papas has a master degree in „Open&distance learning“ and „Adult Education“, Open University in Greece. With a big experience of almost 17 years, he was presenting the project „Church Guide Training“, in which first the language, customs, traditions and relig-ion are highlighted. Greek-Orthodox, Catholic and Evangelic religions are the highlighted religions in this project organised by an agency of culture in Germany and by a catholic educational institute in Austria.

2nd September 2011

Before the following meeting of the Scultbord project, which took place during the morning of the second day, all participants of the workshop visited the Municipal Tobacco Museum of Kavala. The Municipal Tobacco Museum of Kavala is a thematic museum. The cultivation and production of tobacco, its agricultural and commercial process are shown by objects and records. Even the presentation of the aspect of the social history of Kavala but also of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace makes this museam to a special one. For more information on this museum visit the homepage: