Balance 3 - For The Integration of Socially Disadvantaged Youth (2006)
HU - 05-PL-304
Second phase
Participants of our Leonardo da Vinci mobility project Balance 3 left for Sweden (Arvidsjaur) and Italy (Padova) on the 15th of September, 2006. A preparatory training was organized for the group betweeb 15 and 19 August, 2006.
Description of the project
Number of participants: 12
Destinations: Italy, Sweden
Period of vocational training: September 15 - December 22
Participants: Gábor Rottenbacher, Sándor Lakatos, Pál Tóth, Krisztina Labancz, Dávid László, Máté Nemeskey, Attila Radocsai, Dávid Székely, Róbert Oláh, Tamás Lovas, Andrea Molnár, Péter Kovács
Our Hungarian partners:
Újra Dolgozni Tolnában Egyesület (Szekszárd), Tüskevár Alapítvány (Eger), Delfin Tanácsadó és Szolgáltató Egyesület, Embertársaink Alapítvány, Ófalui Önkormányzat (Ófalu), Kicsi Gesztenyék (Budapest),
CSAT Egyesület (Debrecen) ,
Polip Ifjúsági Iroda (Szekszárd)
Our foreign partners
First phase
Balance 3 is our Leonardo da Vinci mobility project for socially disadvantaged young people who are unemployed. The participants of this project left for Sweden (Arvidsjaur) and Italy (Forlí and Verbania) in April 2006 for their 14-week vocational training. The preparatory training of the participants took place between February 22 and 26, 2006 in Horpács.
Number of participants: 4
Target countries: Italy, Sweden, Germany
Period of vocational training: April 10 - July 17, 2006.
Participants of the project: Gábor Gargya, Erika Horváth, Rita Forgó
Our Hungarian partner organization:
Our foreign partner organizations:
Description of the project:
Background: In 2001 Artemisszió Foundation received a Leonardo da Vinci support for the placement of two groups in France and Italy, for a period of 13 weeks (project AGIR). Experience has proven that young people coming from very difficult social backgrounds are not only able to face successfully the obvious difficulties of such a mobility project, but in fact the strict requirements of the placement help them recognize their vast personal resources they ignored before. Despite the extremely time- and energy consuming nature of the project all of our partners agreed that the project was a great success especially in terms of the personal development of the participants. In 2002 the Hungarian National Agency and the Ministry of Education rewarded the project with a Quality Prize for project management and sustainability. In 2002, 2003 and 2004 we submitted new applications with the aim of continuing to improve the original AGIR project: this is how the projects AGIR 2 (2002), BALANCE (2003) and BALANCE 2 (2004) were born. Our present project is the continuation of our four previous proposals.
The project: The project is 18 months long. In the case of 5 participants, the foreign placements will take place between April and July of 2006 and in the case of 10 participants between September and December 2006. Each placement will take 14 weeks. At the end of the project, participants will get a certificate of the work placements issued by the hosting organizations, a certificate of the language course issued by the coordinating organizations in the host countries and certificates or participation issued by both the coordinating organizations in the host countries and Artemisszió. The project will consist of the selection of the participants, a one-week preparation course organized by Artemisszió that takes place in Hungary, one month of language training in the language of the host countries organized by the coordinating organizations, 2 months of vocational placement in the host organizations, and two follow-up evaluation meetings organized by Artemisszió two weeks, and six months after the return of the participants from the foreign placements.
The target group and its needs: As in our previous projects, we continue to work with socially disadvantaged young people as our target group, in order to reach those with less access to information, opportunities and support. We will target young unemployed people who are members of disadvantaged social groups or must cope with several different types of disadvantages (for example are in foster homes, members of ethnic minorities, or come from socially disadvantaged families or communities) and cooperate with any of our Hungarian sending partner organizations. From the vocational point of view, our project is open to all professions. However, we will give priority to applicants that have professional training in fields that can benefit from an international expereince and those where professional development, learning and the exchange of experiences are not thwarted by language barriers (for example, cooks, kitchen assistants, carpenters, gardeners, dressmakers, leather workers etc.)
The main objective of the project is to address the training needs of this target group, which we conceive mostly in terms of empowerment. From both a personal and professional point of view, the aim of the project is to help participants get an appropriate and realistic image of themselves, as well as discover and appreciate their personal and professional capabilities and values. The objective of the project is to help them get a realistic image of their role, opportunities and capabilities in the labor market and the world of labor. From the intercultural perspective, this foreign placement will help the participants discover a new culture and learn the rudiments of a new language. Finally, this experience aims at helping the participants adapt more easily to the difficult or challenging situations of their often broken professional careers and lives.
Justification of the project: The necessity of the project BALANCE 3 is justified by the drastic social processes our society has been experiencing for some time. One of the negative consequences of the transformation of Hungarian society is that there is an increasing rift between those who can profit from the possibilities of the new economy and those who are definitely left behind. Our project wishes to address a public that has basically passed into the second category. What is more, with Hungary's entrance into the European Union, there is an even greater need for the integration of socially disadvantaged groups. One of the missions of Artemisszió Foundation is to make sure that young people coming from socially disadvantaged backgrounds should benefit equally from the programs of the European Union.
One step forward
One Step Forward is our Leonardo da Vinci mobility project for socially disadvantaged students. The participants of this project left for Sweden (Arvidsjaur), Italy (Forlí and Verbania) and Germany (Berlin) in April 2006 for their 14-week vocational training. The preparatory training of the participants took place between February 22 and 26, 2006 in Horpács.
Description of the project
Number of participants: 14
Target countries: Italy, Sweden, Germany
Period of vocational training: April 10 - July 17, 2006.
Participants of the project: László Csicsa, Béla Csicsó, Gergő Éles, Tamás Kling, Zoltán Kling, Sándor Kőműves, Adrienn Nagy, Ferenc Obornyik, Roland Orsós, Roland Puxler, Ferenc Reisz, Dániel Róna, Ivanna Simon, Ádám Szabó
Our Hungarian partner organization:
- "Esély" Service-Provider and Vocational School www.mesteresely.hu
- Hungarian Association of the International Association of Foster Homes (FICE)
- 1000Mester Special Vocational School and Dormitory Szakiskola és Kollégium www.1000mester.sulinet.hu
- Szabómester Vocational School www.szabomester.hu
- Klauzál Gábor Mechanical Technical Vocational School www.klauzalg.sulinet.hu
- Esély Kövessi Erzsébet School Angyalföld Division
Our foreign partner organizations:
- GEA Agenzia di Sviluppo (Italy) www.geasviluppo.it
- UNISER (Italy) www.uniser.net
- Oase Pankow (Germany) www.oasepankow.de
- IDEUM, Arvidsjaur (Sweden) http://www.arvidsjaur.se/sve/
The project: The project is 13 months long. The foreign placements will take place between September and December 2006. Each placement will take 14 weeks. At the end of the project, participants will get a certificate of the work placements issued by the hosting organizations, a certificate of the language course issued by the coordinating organizations in the host countries and certificates or participation issued by both the coordinating organizations in the host countries and Artemisszió. The participants will also get the Europass training certificate. The project will consist of the selection of the participants and a one-week preparation course organized by Artemisszió that takes place in Hungary, one month of language training in the language of the host countries organized by the coordinating organizations, 2 months of vocational placement in the host organizations, and two follow-up evaluation meetings organized by Artemisszió two weeks, and six months after the return of the participants from the foreign placements.
Background: In 2001 Artemisszió Foundation received a Leonardo da Vinci support for the placement of two groups in France and Italy, for a period of 13 weeks (project AGIR). Experience has proven that young people coming from very difficult social backgrounds are not only able to face successfully the obvious difficulties of such a mobility project, but in fact the strict requirements of the placement help them recognize their vast personal resources they ignored before. Despite the extremely time- and energy consuming nature of the project all of our partners agreed that the project was a great success especially in terms of the personal development of the participants. In 2002 the Hungarian National Agency and the Ministry of Education rewarded the project with a Quality Prize for project management and sustainability. In 2002, 2003 and 2004 we submitted new applications with the aim of continuing to improve the original AGIR project: this is how the projects AGIR 2 (2002), BALANCE (2003) and BALANCE 2 (2004) were born. Our present project is the continuation of our four previous proposals.
The target group and its needs: As in our previous projects, we continue working with socially disadvantaged young people as our target group, in order to reach those with less access to information, opportunities and support. We will target young people attending the final years of vocational secondary schools who are members of disadvantaged social groups or must cope with several different types of disadvantages. This year the Leonardo da Vinci Program requires us to comply with three official criteria of social disadvantage: those young students whose family gets the "child protection benefit"; those whose parents do not have an education higher than primary school, and those who have been placed into state protection due to their precarious family or social situation. From the vocational point of view, our target group is made up of young people who study in the professional field of catering (waiters, cooks, kitchen assistants etc.), commerce (shop-assistants) and other sectors of skilled work (bricklayers and seamstresses)
The main objective of the project is to address the training needs of this target group, which we conceive mostly in terms of empowerment. The project we propose should help participants have a more appropriate image of themselves and their capacities, as well as a more realistic representation of the world of labor. With the help of this mobility project, they will discover a different culture in a stimulating but controlled way and at the same time measure their own vocational abilities. This experience will certainly facilitate their adaptation to new situations in their future professional careers. They will also get acquainted with the rudiments of a foreign language and have the chance to experience the most up-to-date working methods in their professional field. Such an experience will not only contribute to their personal development but will also increase their employability after the mobility project. This project aims at helping young people who enter the world of labor and adulthood with several disadvantages, take the first step towards a successful professional career and life experience.
Justification of the project: The necessity of the project ONE STEP FORWARD is justified by the drastic social processes our society has been experiencing for some time. One of the negative consequences of the transformation of Hungarian society is that there is an increasing rift between those who can profit from the possibilities of the new economy and those who are definitely left behind. Our project wishes to address a public at risk of passing into the second category. What is more, with Hungary's entrance into the European Union, there is an even greater need for the integration of socially disadvantaged groups. One of the missions of Artemisszió is to make sure that young people coming from socially disadvantaged backgrounds should benefit equally from the programs of the European Union.
Anthropology in action - perspectives of applying anthropology in community work
(2005) HU/04/PL/213
Participants of our Leonardo da Vinci mobility project titled "Anthropology In Action" leave Hungary on September 1, 2005 for their four-month vocational training projects in Spain (Granada and Tarragona), Portugal (Cascais), and France (Lyon). The vocational placements end on December 22, 2005.
Description of the project:
Number of participants: 19
Host countries: Portugal, France, Spain
Professional area: cultural anthropology
Period of vocational training: September 1, 2005 - December 22, 2005
Participants: Andrea Ausztrics, Eszter Andorka, Berill Baranyai, Endre Barz, Vera Domokos, Bea Dömötör, Barbara Erős, Nárcisz Fazekas, Marcell Fehérvári, Zsófia Illés, Zsuzsa Mester, Zita Monostori, Dávid Pál, István Tamás Szenttamási, Helga Tóth, Laura Tóth, Maxim Tóth, Anna Végh, Szilvia Zörgő
Our partners in Hungary:
Our partners abroad:
In the past few decades, anthropology has developed from a pure research science of distant and excluded communities to a vehicle of community development and social change "at home."
Anthropologists have become involved in the lives of different communities as mediators, community organizers, teachers, animators, etc. However, in Hungary students of anthropology have no opportunities to get training in applied or action anthropology due to the lack of strong traditions. The "Anthropology in action" project seeks to promote the awareness of the possible applications of cultural anthropology among students of anthropology in Hungary.
The basic elements of anthropology are fieldwork and hands-on research. Most students carry out some research during their university years and acquire the basic skills needed for anthropological research. However, after leaving school many of them have trouble finding a job making use of their professional or academic background. This happens for two reasons: the first is that very little emphasis is laid on the practical values and applications of anthropology during the university years. The second, which is partly the result of the first, is that the practical or applied dimensions of cultural anthropology are hardly recognized and neither students nor employers are aware of the advantages of a training background in anthropology. This situation is worsened by the fact that the institution of "internships" has very weak traditions in the Hungarian education system and graduated university students in general are very often lost in the world of labor.
This project aims at filling this gap. On the one hand, it provides students with the practical skills and experiences that can be earned through an internship and, on the other hand, it allows them to explore the possible applications of anthropology in different fields of community work in Europe. In this way, participating students will have clearer notions about their own skills as well as about the marketability and applicability of their skills.
The main objective of the project is to help young anthropologists learn about the ways anthropology, including the knowledge of different cultures, the ability to communicate between different cultures, and the sensitivity to intercultural conflicts and understanding can be applied to different areas of community life.
The aims of the project are twofold:
- To introduce young anthropologists to the world of labor, helping them to understand more clearly where and how they can put their research skills and theoretical knowledge into practice
- To explore and expand the different ways anthropology can be applied in community work within the communities of different European countries
The placement of the 19 participants occurs in Portugal, Spain and France from autumn 2005 and will last 16 weeks. The project as a whole lasts 20 months including the selection and the preparation of the participants, monitoring, follow-up, evaluation, and dissemination. The preparation of the participants is a crucial part of the project, as it will take a four-month long preparatory training course in action and applied anthropology provided by Artemisszió Foundation. The selection of the participants will be based on their participation in this course. In the host countries, trainees will work in NGOs, associations, and governmental institutions working in the social and cultural sector.
The topics may vary from helping refugees, assisting and animating children, organizing activities for socially disadvantaged groups, working in cultural and educational research centers, or community development organizations to name a few.
BALANCE 2 - For the integration of socially disadvantaged youth
(2005) HU/04/PL/322
Participants of our Leonardo da Vinci mobility project Balance 2 leave Hungary on September 14, 2005 for their 14-week vocational placements in Sweden (Arvidsjaur) and Italy (Padua, Forlí, and Jesi). The preparation training of the project took place in the nomadic camp of the Natural Lifestyle Foundation in the small village of Agostyán between the 25th and 29th of July 2005.
Description of the project:
Nuber of participants: 18
Host countries: Italy, Sweden
Professional areas: traditional handicrafts and catering industry
Period of vocational training: September 14, 2005 - December 21, 2005.
Participants of the Balance 2 project: Péter Bernáth, Mónika Csernák, Domonkos Farkas, Tímea Dömötör, Andrea Kovács, Bernadett Kovács, Gusztáv Krőlling, Ottó Krőlling, Zsolt Kungler, Erzsébet Mága, József Mózes, László Nagy, Renáta Ónodi, Patrícia Palcsó, Mária Sándor, Renáta Suta, Tamás Szabó, Péter Tóth
Our partners in Hungary:
Our partners abroad:
Background: In 2001 Artemisszió received Leonardo da Vinci support for the placement of two groups that went to France and Italy, for a period of 13 weeks (AGIR). Experience has proven that young people coming from very difficult social backgrounds are not only able to successfully face the obvious difficulties of the program, but in fact the very strict requirements of the placement help them recognize their vast personal resources they overlooked before. Experience has also proven that these groups need very careful preparation and an especially tight follow-up. Despite the extremely time- and energy-consuming nature of the project, all of our partners agreed that it was a complete success. In 2002 the Hungarian National Agency and the Ministry of Education rewarded the project with a Quality Award for project management and sustainability. In 2002 and in 2003 we submitted new applications with an aim to continue to improve the original AGIR project and thus the projects AGIR 2 (2002) and BALANCE (2003) were born. The Balance 2 project is the continuation of our three previous proposals.
The necessity of the project BALANCE 2 is justified by the drastic transformations our society experiences. The negative consequence of these changes is that there is an increasing rift between those who can profit from the potential of the new economy and those who are clearly left behind. Our project wishes to address a public that risks drifting into the second category. This issue is just as current today as it was 3 years ago, when we submitted our first Leonardo proposal, AGIR, targeted at socially disadvantaged youth. We see that the above-mentioned social processes are not disappearing; on the contrary, they are becoming more and more evident, resulting in an increasing number of potential beneficiaries. For this reason we continue to work with young unemployed people as a target group, especially with those coming from disadvantaged social groups or those accumulating several types of disadvantages (belonging to ethnic minorities, of low educational level, coming from rural zones, low economic status, long-term unemployment, etc.). Particularly, these are young people who have either recently finished the initial vocational training or have undergone a re-qualification procedure after medium or long-term unemployment, in two professional fields: i) the catering industry, ii) traditional handicrafts.
The main objective of the project is to address the training needs of this target group, which we envision mostly in terms of empowerment. The project should help the participants gain a more appropriate image of themselves and their capacities, as well as a more realistic representation of the labor world. With the help of the mobility project, they will discover a different culture in a stimulating but controlled way and, at the same time they will also learn to think in relativistic terms about their own cultural preferences. This will certainly facilitate their adaptation to new situations in their future professional and personal careers. Participants will also get acquainted with the rudiments of a foreign language and will have the chance to experience the most up-to-date working methods in their field. Such an experience will not only contribute to their personal development but will increase their employability after the mobility project as well.
KALÁKA - socio-cultural animation and social work
(practical intercultural education for future social workers)
(2004-2005) L-A-PL213/2003
Number of participants: 19
Destinations: Italy, Portugal, Sweden
Professional area: social work
Period of training: September 15 - December 18, 2004 (14 participants) and February 15 - May 25, 2005 (5 participants)
Participants of the KALÁKA project: Zsófia Pálfai, Zsuzsanna Varga, Annamária Perván, Tamás Mórocz, Orsolya Balogh, Annamária Régi, Szabolcs Pintér, Kata Urbanek, Kinga Mária Miklós, Viktória Várkonyi, Melinda Ilisics, Szilvia Rézműves, Boglárka Maronics, Orsolya Orsós, György Baglyas, Zsófia Bátonyi, Tünde Eunika Farkas, Katalin Molnár, Gabriella Tatár
Our Hungarian partner institutions:
Our foreign partner organizations:
The target group of the KALÁKA project were future social workers and assistants studying in different Hungarian training institutes. We decided to crate such a project because we know from experience that the Hungarian system of education in the social field does not put sufficient emphasis on the practical aspects of the work and there are only limited possibilities to do an internship at organizations or governmental institutions in the social sector. Possibilities of exchange of experience with foreign institutions are even more limited. We consider it crucial to change this situation and to provide more and more students with practical skills and experience that can be earned through an internship. Future social workers need to face the reality of their work and to acquire practice and learn new methods for working with different - disadvantaged - groups. We hope to build on the traditions of Western European social work to develop new practices in social work in Hungary.
The objectives of the project were
- To improve the quality of initial professional training of social workers in Hungary,
- To create professional links in the social sector between East and West
- To increase cultural awareness in the target group
- To help beneficiaries acquire intercultural competencies, problem-solving capacities, improve self-knowledge and communicational skills.
In order to achieve these objectives the project proposed to set up a practical internship in a European country, resulting in a better understanding of the European dimensions of the social work.
The long-term objectives of the project were to help participants find a job more easily in the social sector and to carry out their tasks at work more successfully. We laid special emphasis on beneficiaries' personal development: we believe that the life-experience participants gained would help them open up and develop a better understanding of culture-related issues, necessary to any activity in the social filed.
In the KALÁKA project participants completed their work placements abroad at different times. The first group, which comprised fourteen people, spent three months in Portugal, Italy and Sweden in the fall of 2004. The second group, altogether 5 people also spent three months in Sweden in 2005 winter and spring.
The foreign placement was preceded by a three-month preparation organized by Artemisszió in Budapest. The training focused on and analyzed the conflicts arising in the context of intercultural communication and their possible resolutions. We also talked about the issues of identity and identity crises at the encounter of different cultures. The preparatory phase continued with regular exercises and homework assignments and their discussion and analysis. The case analyses addressed the possible problems which may arise in the practice of social work in the destination country of each participant. In between consultation times we organized a basic language course for participants in the languages of the host countries. The courses were held by foreign volunteers whose native language was that of the destination countries. In addition, we assessed the professional interest and level of the participants in order to provide the necessary information for their hosting organization, which could help them in finding work placements.
The final selection took place after three consultation sessions and the end of the basic language course in July, respectively, in December 2004.
During the foreign placement participants took part in a one-month intensive language course in Italian, Swedish or Portuguese respectively. Then they started their two-month vocational training in an organization that fit their professional interests. Meanwhile, the host organization organized cultural programs for the participants and regular evaluation and monitoring meetings.
According to the project expectations, we continuously monitored the project. During their stay abroad, the participants wrote weekly reports and filed a mid-term evaluation. Upon their return, they compiled their final report followed by a personal evaluation meeting. After the return of the second group, we organized a Swedish Club evening so that participants could share their experiences and group cohesion could be maintained.
BALANCE - For the integration of disadvantaged youth
(2004) L-A-PL312/2003
Number of participants: 20 participants
Destination: Italy
Professional areas: traditional handicrafts, catering industry, gardening
Period of training: April 1 - July 8, 2004.
Participants of the BALANCE project: Anna Berkes, Ildikó Tógyer, Csaba Forgó, Renáta Kozák, Gergely Bíró, Sándor Zámbó, Krisztina Szabadfalvi, Gábor Himmer, Viktória Tomori, Gábor Danó, Antal Szilágyi, Andrea Adamkó, Éva Tóth, Nikoletta Szegő, István Sáfrány, Csaba Nagy, Richárd Dénes, Iván Daróczi, Brigitta Szajki, Balázs Skoró
Our Hungarian partner organizations:
Our foreign partner organizations:
In our experience, one of the most effective ways to reach the dual objectives of our foundation - the social integration of socially disadvantaged young people and the promotion of intercultural communication - is through the Leonardo da Vinci mobility program. In the course of a mobility project, the young people involved have experiences that will have a decisive effect on their personal and professional development as well as on their integration into society and the labor market. Together with this, they have the chance to take the first step towards opening up to new cultures.
The target group of our project was composed of young unemployed people or recent graduates in vocational training schools. A great emphasis was put on reaching disadvantaged young people (those belonging to ethnic minorities, of low educational level, living in rural areas, of low economic status or experiencing long-term unemployment, etc.)
We organized the whole project, the preparation and the follow-up bearing in mind the training needs of the target group, which we see mostly in terms of empowerment. The project aimed at helping the participants have a more appropriate image of themselves and their capacities, as well as a more realistic representation of the world of labor.
First of all, a thorough preparation was provided to the participants before the foreign placement made up of a one-week intensive training course and a language course of 15 classes. The one-week training focused mostly on communicational skills and self-representation. We also assessed the participants' professional objectives in the project. This information was then transferred to the host organizations.
We chose three hosting (coordinating) organizations in Italy (GEA Agenzia di Sviluppo, Verbania, Eurocentro, Jesi, és XENA, Padova). In the three different locations, young people realized their placement in the branches of traditional handicraft (7 participants), catering (11 participants) and gardening (2 participants).
All three hosting (coordinating) organizations initiated the program with an 80 hour intensive language training in order to help participants rapidly adapt themselves to their work environment. The work placements started after the first month. Despite their scarce previous work experience, all of the participants completed the program successfully. As we can infer from the reports of the work placements, the qualities of the participants the employers appreciated the most were their motivation, enthusiasm, diligence and openness
Conforming to the objectives of the program, the evaluation of the project was done continuously. During the placement the participants were asked to send 3 reports to Artemisszió (one month after their arrival, at the middle of the project and before their return to Hungary). Monitoring was also done over the phone (twice over the three months) and two of the groups were visited by a colleague of Artemisszió (this visit was funded by outside sources). After the end of the project, Artemisszió organized evaluation meetings with the participants: one in Budapest for 11 participants, one in Szolnok for 4 participants and one in Debrecen for 5 participants. A follow-up outdoor event was also held two months after the return of the group, which made it possible for all of the participants to meet and share their experiences. In July 2005 (one year after their return from Italy) a follow-up evaluation will be held with the participants of this project.
In conclusion, in the opinion of Artemisszió and its partner organizations, the project has been highly successful in reaching its pre-set objectives. For many of the young participants, this experience has been the first in their lives when they had to face the "adult" world, life on their own (but as part of a bigger community), the fact that they had to make decisions on their own and face and solve difficult situations. Most of the participants, at the evaluation meeting, felt that they had also taken a big step forward in terms of their professional development, having learnt many techniques they had not known before or having gained such recognition among their clients and colleagues as they had never experienced before. It seemed to us that the idea of empowerment, which had been one of the primary objectives of the project, has been realized in many cases: many participants learnt a lot about themselves and their relationship to their social environment, many felt they could understand the world around them better, they felt more open and stronger as personalities and some even felt they "would be able to do anything" after this experience.
"AGIR 2- "Action for the social and professional integration of disadvantaged youth"
(2003) HU/02/PL/301
Number of participants: 10
Destinations: Italy and Spain
Professional areas: traditional handicrafts, catering industry
Period of training: May 6 - August 5, 2003.
Participants of the AGIR 2 project: Marianna Agárdi, Tünde Balogh, Tamás Bucsi, Katalin Fehér, Péter Hajas, Zsolt Korbéli, Dóra Kovács, Dávid Nagy, János Nagy, Bernadett Németh
Our Hungarian partner institutions:
Our foreign partner organizations:
The target group of our project was composed of young unemployed people or recent graduates in vocational schools. A great emphasis was put on reaching disadvantaged social groups (belonging to ethnic minorities, of low educational level, rurality, low economic status, long-term unemployment, etc.)
We organized the project, the preparation and the follow up bearing in mind the training needs of the target group, mostly in terms of empowerment. The project aimed at helping the participants to have a more appropriate image of themselves and their capacities, as well as a more realistic representation of the world of labor. For this reason a very thorough preparation was assured for them before the travel - including a one week intensive training, language teaching and practical counseling. The training focused mostly on communicational skills and self-representation. During this period the group also participated in a professional preparation, which implied an initial assessment of acquired skills and competencies, and a listing of further training needs. This list was transferred to the receiving organization that is in charge of developing the individual training program adapted to the particular situation of the individuals.
We chose two host organizations, one in Spain and one in Italy. In Spain 5, in Italy another 5 young people realized their placement in the branch of traditional handcrafts and artisan work.
Both host organizations initiated the program with intensive language and cultural training in order to optimize their chances to rapidly become operational at their new working place. While in Spain the language training extended over a period of a month the Italian partners organized a two week long session. Additional (inter)cultural sessions have been organized all through the project. Work placements started at different rhythm in the two destination countries. Whereas those in Barcelona initiated their placement after the first month, the Italian group was put to work quite early, in an effort to help them develop the special vocabulary and skills needed to perform their work. Despite their very little previous working experience and the high expectations of the foreign employers, all the participants successfully finalized the program. The quality that the employers appreciated the most was their motivation.
We expect this experience to facilitate their adaptation to new situations in their future professional career. They also got acquainted with the rudiments of a foreign language (Spanish and Italian) and had the chance to experience new and different working methods in their branches. Such an experience does not only contribute to their personal development but also surely increases their employability after the placement.
Conforming to the objectives of the program evaluation was done continuously. During the program the participants were asked to send 3 reports to Artemisszió, immediately after their arrival, in mid term and before their return. After the program Artemisszió organized a closing meeting with the participants in Budapest where collective evaluation was done for each group of five participants.
"Agir" - vocational placement abroad for socially disadvantaged young people
(2001) HU/01/PL312
Number of participants: 16
Destinations: Italy and France
Professional areas: traditional handicrafts, catering industry
Period of training: September 21 - December 18, 2001
Participants of the AGIR project: Zsolt Dávid, Katalin Horváth, Gergely Bártfai, István Albert, István Deli, Mónika Schulcz, Ágnes Piroska Keszthelyi, János Bagi, Zsuzsa Bíró, Péter Hegedűs, Renáta Koronczi, István Sánta, Erika Veres
Our Hungarian partner organizations:
Our foreign partner organizations:
AGIR means TAKING ACTION in French. The first Leonardo da Vinci sending project of our Foundation set this as its objective: to take action for the social integration of socially disadvantaged youth and create an opportunity for them to believe in themselves and act for the improvement of their own situation.
In the context of the AGIR project 16 Hungarian young people took part in a three-month vocational placement in Italy (Jesi) and France (Grenoble). Regarding their professional background, the young people had placement sin the fields of traditional handicrafts and catering. The main objective of the project was to give the young people an opportunity that they would have never achieved without the Leonardo da Vinci program: traveling abroad, getting to know a new country a new culture, and a new way of thinking, get the basics of a foreign language and get to know the working habits in the contexts of a training.
The foreign placement was preceded by a one-week intensive preparation organized by Artemisszió in Budapest whose aim was to prepare the young people psychologically, culturally and professionally for the challenges and difficulties of the time they spent abroad. During the time participants spent in Italy and France the participants had a one-month language course in Italian and Spanish and then spent two months in placements that fit their professional interests. Meanwhile, the host organization organized cultural programs for the participants and regular evaluation and monitoring meetings. After their arrival, Artemisszió organized an evaluation meeting whose aim was to provide a forum for the participants to share their experiences with each other and with us as well as to evaluate the success of the project, the personal and professional development of the participants.
