"Training for Inclusion" came to an end and it will be missed

BioLiving Association has empowered collaborators and members with international training in adult inclusion and education.

After a troubled start, due to the pandemic caused by COVID-19, "Training for Inclusion" project has come to an end, with 20 mobilities carried out in seven European countries (Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, Croatia, Netherlands, Finland and Cyprus). In these courses, BioLiving collaborators developed specific skills in adult education and training, bringing new perspectives and teaching methodologies to the association's educational action; social inclusion skills, namely in terms of teaching people with special educational needs; use of ICT tools to foster learning; English language skills; among others.

The impact that these training courses abroad have on the participants goes far beyond the knowledge and skills acquired, as can be seen in the testimonies of the participants of the last two mobilisations of the project:

Assisting Adults To Learn

Sint Maarten, Netherlands

October 24 to 29, 2022

"BioLiving and Erasmus+ gave me the opportunity to receive training on adult education. It was an excellent learning moment, which I highly appreciate, as trainings for adult educators are not very abundant. Apart from the technical learning itself, it was excellent to be able to share pedagogical perspectives from the perspective of various nationalities and geographical and cultural backgrounds. In particular with regard to environmental defence, I believe it is crucial to be aware of the reality and challenges faced in various regions of the globe, and how different threats have different degrees of impact in various regions. Since I did the training in an insular context, and in a completely different environment from ours, here in the Central region of Portugal, it was very enriching. I am very grateful for this opportunity and hope to repeat it in the future." - Milene Matos

"I recently had the opportunity to participate in a course on adult education thanks to the Erasmus+ programme and the "Training for Inclusion" project of BioLiving Association. This course allowed the development of new skills, acquisition of new knowledge, methods and approaches to be applied either internally or in activities and projects to be developed within the scope of the association. Besides this more theoretical and technical side, this course allowed the development and learning on a personal level and the possibility to meet and interact with different people in a multicultural environment. Thank you for this opportunity!" - Nuno Pinto

We Are All Special: Inclusion and Support for Learners with Special Needs – indoors and outdoors

Florence, Italy

October 17 to 22, 2022

"In August 2022, I had the opportunity to work with the public with special educational needs and I clearly had difficulties and the need for training with this public.

It was thanks to BioLiving Association that I had the opportunity to overcome this problem through a training in Florence. It was a week full of new experiences and sharing of knowledge. Thanks to this experience I had the opportunity to deepen my knowledge for a better communication and integration of people with special educational needs. I am very grateful for this opportunity because in fact it made me a more aware and inclusive professional inside and outside work. I will always take with me all the strategies and tools that I obtained in this course, trying to share with my colleagues from the BioLiving Association!

Also through this project I feel I was able to experience the city of Florence among art, architecture, music and culture; therefore, I feel a richer person.

It was indeed an experience I will never forget! Thank you BioLiving Association!"

- Gonçalo Abreu

"This year, BioLiving Association, through its project "Training for Inclusion", and the Erasmus+ programme gave me the opportunity to participate in a very important training to improve and strengthen my skills as an environmental educator - a training focused on people with special educational needs. It was a week of valuable learning that will enable us to make the activities more inclusive for all people who come to us, where I also learned strategies to support people with special educational needs in an appropriate way. One of BioLiving's goals, and for which it has developed many actions, is to share scientific knowledge with all people, leaving noone behind, hence its motto "Nature and Education for all" and, with this training, I gained more tools that allow me to develop more activities with this focus. To all this, which made me come with a much fuller baggage, I have to add the cultural experience - every corner of Florence tells a story and it is a great city to get to know in the most environmentally friendly way, on foot! It was an extremely enriching experience, not only professionally but also personally. A big thank you to BioLiving, who allowed me to have this experience, and I hope I can repeat it." - Inês Pimentel

"The Erasmus+ programme and Bioliving gave me the opportunity to improve my environmental education strategies, with an emphasis on making the sessions more inclusive for the participants. I think it is very important that each educator prepares each of their sessions thinking about everything and everyone and in this programme that is exactly what we came to learn. There is more and more knowledge and awareness about inequalities, especially those that cannot always be seen at first sight as mental or psychological disabilities. This programme helped me to understand how to deal with certain mental conditions, situations in field sessions and also how to support the individuals concerned in a more appropriate way. I am also grateful for the opportunity to visit Italy for the first time and walk the beautiful streets and bridges of Florence, full of culture, history and delicious food. We stayed in a flat where we could walk to the academy, and on each walk we chose a different route. On each walk, we always found amazing pieces of art. I was very happy to see people using bicycles as a means of transport and the collection of food waste all over the city. I am very grateful to Bioliving for this opportunity, and I hope to be able to participate in more in the future." - Armando Cruz

Each one of the 20 people who participated in this project brings with them a multitude of experiences that contribute to their personal growth and to their vision of the world and its diversity of people, cultures, history and heritage. And this is invaluable for any NGO which, regardless of its area of activity, aims to benefit and improve the community where it works.

Projects such as "Training for Inclusion" are great opportunities for small NGOs, such as BioLiving, because they allow their collaborators to acquire new skills and knowledge that they can implement in the organizations' projects. A more competent NGO will translate into faster, more conscious and higher quality work of societal transformation.

For the collaborators, this can also be a very transforming experience. Besides all the new knowledge acquired, being able to do this in a different country, surrounded by a new culture and accompanied by a very diverse group of trainees is a form of enrichment and personal development that can only be acquired by experiencing the world. In the words of one of the Association's collaborators: "Travelling, learning, getting to know new realities and getting to know ourselves: these are some of the most valuable experiences a person can have".