Activities & Promotion

At the end of May, 2022, a 24-person delegation from Lublin, which included representatives of primary schools participating in the project (19 people) and employees of the Lublin Municipality, took part in a study visit to Reykjavik. During the visit, the group visited two elementary schools in Reykjavik, Dalskóli and Vesturbæjarskóli, and the Mixtúra Center for Creativity and Educational Technology. The group also attended a meeting in the Department of Education and Youth of the City of Reykjavik, which coordinates the project on the Icelandic side. During the visit, the participants got acquainted with innovative methods of working in Icelandic schools, the Icelandic educational system, and Reykjavik's educational policy for 2020-2030. The hosts willingly shared their experiences, solutions, and cooperation opportunities. One of the most interesting moments was the meeting children of Polish origin who live and learn in Reykjavik. Listening to their impressions from the Icelandic school turned out to be a particularly inspiring experience. Teachers from Lublin were also delighted with the schools interior, various technical solutions and equipment used, as well as the possibilities and variety of extracurricular activities organized at schools. The place which brought a lot of joy and precious insight was the laboratory of school aids in the Mixtura Center for Creativity and Educational Technology, the institution that has no equivalent in Lublin educational system. Equipped with the latest technical achievements and educational toys, it offers schools not only the opportunity to use its premises to conduct classes, but also to rent equipment or use the support of educators.

After returning from Iceland, selected teachers, under the guidance of three Polish experts, started working in groups to prepare recommendations in the field of communication, social competences and school space. The teachers worked in three separate groups, one for each area. Parents and school students also participated in the process of developing the recommendations, expressing their opinions through anonymous questionnaires. In addition, experts from Poland were accompanied by experts from Reykjavik schools. Recommendations were presented during the educational conference in March 2023 and are available for downloading on the project site.

Implementation workshops in five schools took place in the first quarter of 2023, between January 12 to February 23. The aim of the workshops was to strengthen the knowledge and competence of school staff in building a friendly environment at school and increasing students' social skills. The schools had a chance to slightly adapt the workshop program to their needs to practice such areas in communication, social competence, and space which they consider to be the weakest in their schools. During the workshops selected methods and tools indicated in the Recommendations were discussed and practised.

The project ended with a 2-day educational conference in Lublin on March 3-4, 2023. The conference entitled Education is a relationship. Communication. Competence. Space was an opportunity to present the project results, including developed recommendations, as well as to discuss the challenges of a modern school with experts from Poland and Iceland. More about the conference in a separate tab.