18/7/2008 - Comenius Individual Pupil Mobility project
Comenius Project – THANK YOU
Dear Friends,
Challenging but time consuming… A great opportunity for all of us involved… Increased visibility and recognition… But also hard work, frustration, problems… And a very tight time frame… There are many ways to describe what was popularly called ‘Erasmus Junior’ or ‘IPM’, but eventually started living its own life as the ‘Comenius project’.
For almost two years, the Comenius Individual Pupil Mobility project – as it was officially called – captured our full attention. Comenius has become a household name in the EFIL office, as well as in many of the national offices across Europe.
When EFIL won the European tender for the preparation of the new Comenius programme, way back in 2006, some thought we had bitten off more than we could chew. They were wrong. With the great commitment of all involved, we managed to smoothly cruise through the various project phases, meanwhile building up good relations and an excellent network with partners in the field, with National Agencies and schools, and with the European Commission. Looking back at more than 20 months of hard work, we can conclude that it’s been a most satisfying experience, and the cynicism and doubts of the first hours soon turned into enthusiasm and commitment, even when times were rough and deadlines often (too) sharp.
This letter is an homage to all of you, a tribute to all those who helped turn this challenging pilot project into a success: the volunteers who form the backbone of our organisations and whose contribution was so key to make this project succeed; the coordinators for the study in 31 countries and the coordinators in each country involved in the pilot phase, whose day to day commitment was second to none; the national offices and their boards who put in a lot of thought as well as time; the project Advisory Group and in particular the Steering Committee members whose expert advice and support was vital to secure the quality of the products delivered; our contacts at the European Commission with whom we have built up a long lasting relation of trust and mutual respect and whom we like to thank for their constructive approach; the schools, pupils and host families involved in the pilot phase of the project; the consultants and the evaluator who added a highly professional touch to the project outcomes; EEE-YFU who was our close partner throughout the project; and last but not least the EFIL Board for their continued support and advice, and my most wonderful colleagues at the EFIL Secretariat who learned to live with the fact that Comenius took priority over everything else in our office for the past two years, and for whom no effort was too much to contribute each in their own way to the success of EFIL’s largest project ever. I will not forget the enthusiasm and good spirit when at 10pm we were having ‘dial-and-delivery’ pizza in the office, next to an overheated copying machine, putting the finishing touch to a report that was due the next morning…
What has the project achieved?
In order to carefully prepare the introduction of a new pupil mobility action in Europe, through an open public tender the European Commission entrusted to EFIL the task to make a thorough analysis of the context in which pupil mobility takes place in Europe. In a first phase a study was carried out of the current European context in relation to individual pupil mobility at secondary school level in 31 European countries. In a second step the basic framework and minimum quality requirements for the future action were developed, and recommendations were provided on the practical implementation. Finally, in a pilot test programme involving 10 countries, close to 300 pupils went on a trimester or a semester exchange.
The result of our work has been compiled in four major reports for the Commission, one for each phase of the project, plus a final report (including the report of the external evaluator). As a result of this project, the Commission now has an overall view of the possibilities in different countries. It also has at its disposal recommendations on the practical implementation of the action, based on the study results and experiences from the pilot mobility phase. These results will now be taken into account by the Commission when designing the details of the new action that will be launched in 2010.
What’s next?
We very much welcome the increased opportunities for young citizens through the future Comenius programme, so that they can experience an intercultural exchange allowing them first-hand exposure to other cultures, this way stimulating self-awareness and critical reflection about their own identities and leading to a positive attitude towards diversity.
But more needs to be done in terms of policies and practices, so that more young people will have the opportunity to participate in an intercultural experience. Educational mobility opportunities need to be more widely accessible to a larger public, by eliminating obstacles like visa issues and recognition of study periods abroad, by supporting the dissemination of information on learning opportunities through mobility, by promoting forms of funding to subsidize participation from all levels of society, by increasing government and private support to civil society organisations in the field of intercultural dialogue and exchanges, etc.
Our mission is far from over. The Comenius project has certainly raised the awareness of this need for “more”. Let’s keep the momentum going, and go on lobbying for better conditions and for more opportunities for intercultural exchanges.
Thank you for your much appreciated support to help making this project a success!
Kind regards,
Paul Claes
Secretary General
European Federation for Intercultural Learning
Brussels, 10 July 2008
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