Estonia

SUMMARY OF THE STUDY VISIT TO SLOVENIA

The study visit in the framework of the project “Sowing the Learning Seeds” was most informative and interesting for me.
 
Based on the information gained in the Ministry of Education and Sports it seems that adult education enjoys a more valued position at national level compared to our situation. They also get the EU financial support, but the proportion of self-financing on behalf of the government is significantly bigger. This benefits the sustainability of the activities. This is where definitely more effort is necessary in Estonia.
The opening of the ALW was lovely. It was on one hand official and grand, but on the other hand filled with funny and relaxing interludes. Short videos about what has been done were informative. The number of men among the recognised was surprising.
 
The categories were different from ours and why not try something new? Recognition of the volunteer group was great. It was also the clear intention of the organisers to give a profile of the society through the categories. This is where an idea popped up – as we need more state support and attention, we could recognise the learner amongst the members of our parliament! It is also a very nice idea to have the ceremony in different culturally interesting places or institutions (the Museum of Hops in case of Slovenia), that could be implemented at regional level, too. I also intend to pay more attention to the people who submit applicants for recognition.

Common problems and issues is what I remember from our discussions and group work sessions. Media and its involvement was the main issue of our meeting, but new media as a powerful new cannel should also be considered. In order to “approach” relevant people, personal touch is the key concept (nominate journalists, find a celebrity to endorse the activities in the field etc). The number of local TV and radio stations is remarkably higher than in Estonia; thus, the potential is huge. We need to focus on personal delivery of the message; the latter needs to be attractive and inclusive.

Anneli Vaarpuu - regional ALW coordinator in Lääne County