Networking Meeting in Esztergom – June 2011
In June, 33 colleagues from 13 KomenskýFond Projects met in Esztergom in Hungary to hear, how the work in the projects has been developing and to get some new ideas and inputs for their work with marginalised children.
All partners are making efforts to bring children closer to education and thus break the poverty trap. Several preconditions have to be met to make successful education possible – conditions in society, in the families and in the child itself. Therefore the meeting was focussing on these aspects – awareness rising on educational issues in the society, work with parents and caregivers and methods, how to rise the personal self esteem of the children to open them for new learning expieriences.
Tamara McLorg, a well known British choreographer and one of the founders of CommnityDance introduced the method in practise, she coached all participants in dance sessions; all participants had the opportunity to experience the opportunities, this method is creating for the development of positive self esteem, which is an essential precondition to enable learning.
Katharina Gartner, a psychologist working for Caritas Vienna with marginalised families, who have mainly migration background, showed different practical models of intervention when working with families.
Birgit Wachter-Wallner from SOS Kinderdorf international reported about her experience with advocacy for disadvantaged children and made the whole topic much more tangible and comprehensible for the participants.
One of the colleagues from Sfantu Gheorghe in Romania reports about the meeting in the following way:
„For me it was a great experience to meet you in Esztergom, colleagues who are trying to turn the lifes of those, who are in need, to a better. It was good to see that our very special projects from different countries operate for the same goal: to help the marginalized individuals, communities through education to pass out from their disadvantaged positions. Clearly we could feel the spirit of unity in these projects, all thanks to the Komensky Fond’s support.
Sharing our problems and results showed that all of us work with the very same commitment full with love and responsibility concerning for the people included in our projects. This is the common bound, which brings us together against the geographic distances and the existing social and cultural differences within our projects. It was fantastic in the outstanding Babel’s Cavalcade of multilingualism to be together: to get acquainted, to build relationships, to discuss problems, to find ideas, to dream about our common future. We realized at this meeting that we are not alone in our daily work, but we can rely on each other because we are able to reinforce each other both humanly and professionally, so we can become stronger supporters of our clients for whom these projects were created. To be able to realize our dreams in the future, I wish to all of us persistence in our everyday work“
Flashlights of the other colleagues after they returned back to work:
“Nezabudnuteľná atmosféra, množstvo užitočných informácií, práca v skvelom tíme.
Po návrate sme sa s novými silami a nápadmi vrhli do prípravy nových aktivít a stretnutia mládeže vo Viedni.
Niektoré veselé zážitky mi ešte teraz vyvolávajú úsmev na tvári.”
“Unforgettable atmosphere, a lot of useful information, work in a great team. We return with new ideas and power for the implementation of new youth activities. Some funny experiences, which still cause me a smile. ”
“Stretnutie v Ostrihome bolo pre mňa veľmi obohacujúce a zmysluplné. Stretla som sa so zaujímavými ľuďmi s ktorými som si vymenila skúsenosti, i pozitívne výsledky a získala som veľa nových nápadov, ktoré určite zúžitkujem. Ďakujem organizátorom a všetkým ľuďom, ktorý sa na danej akcii podielali.”
“The meeting in Esztergom, has been very rewarding and meaningful. I have met interesting people with whom I had an exchange of experience and positive results and I got many new ideas that will surely leverage. I thank the organizers and all those who participated. ”
Bilo je lepo sresti kolege iz drugih zemalja i saznati više o njihovom radu na podršci deci kroz Komensky fondaciju. Zaista sam uživao u razgovoru sa njima; slušajući o nijihovim iskustvima i problemima i saznavši više o specifičnosti projekata u njihovim zemljama.
It was nice to meet colleagues from other countries and learn more about their work to support children through KomenskyFond. I really enjoyed talking with them, hearing about their experiences and problems and finding out more about specific projects in their countries.
1. Nechtěl jsem první den tancovat, ale nakonec to bylo nádherný:-) .
2. Společně jsme během stáže pracovali na řešení mnoha úkolů.
Dance. I did not want to dance the first day, but eventually it was wonderful 
.
Together we have been working on solutions for many challenges. It was a wonderful expierience!
“Suntem încîntați de această întîlnire, a fost extrem de utilă pentru generarea noilor idei pentru strategia proiectelor noastre. Mulțumesc din suflet fiecărui participant care s-a implicat activ, cu suflet în activitățile acestei întîlniri. Suntem foarte recunoscători organizatorilor acestui eveniment! Salutări din partea echipei din Republica Moldova.”
“We are delighted of this meeting which was extremely useful for generating new ideas for our project strategy. Heartfelt thanks to each participant who was actively involved with the activities of such meetings soul. We are very grateful to the organizers of this event! Greetings from the team Republic of Moldova. ”
“Mi-a placut foarte mult intalnirea noastra. In primul rand, totul a fost bine organizat: cazarea, programul, subiectele, dansul in comunitate, etc. Dincolo de aspectele organizatorice, a fost placut sa observi ca desi eram din multe tari si foarte diferiti, totusi am gasit impreuna aceleasi principii de lucru, chiar daca pe cai diferite. In acest sens, sper ca parteneriatul Erste Stiftung – Caritas sa fie de lunga durata ca sa putem vedea impreuna rezultatele muncii in comun. “
“I really enjoyed our meeting. First, everything was well organized: accommodation, program topics, dancing in the community, etc.. Beyond organizational issues, it was nice to see that although in many countries the situation is different, however we found that we are working along the same principles, even if in different ways. In this sense, I hope that the partnership Erste Stiftung – Caritas to be long as we can see together the results of work in common. ”
I write to thank you very much for this seminar in Ezstergom and all what you prepared for us. The program was great! It was interesting and useful for us.
We start to organize new way for support with family like Katerina said. Everybody together – all team which work with children at the Aspern and one social worker which work with family.I think it will be more success.And the idea is to make more possibility return children to family after rehabilitation.
We also wait for support a new idea or projects, may be CommunityDance or other.
