B.I.G. D.E.A.L. Bridging Input Gaps for the Disadvantaged to Enhance the outcome of non-formal Adult Learning Erasmus Project

Project Title

B.I.G. D.E.A.L.
Bridging Input Gaps for the Disadvantaged to Enhance the outcome of non-formal Adult Learning

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Inclusion – equity; Creativity and culture; Access for disadvantaged

Project Summary

B.I.G. D.E.A.L.
Bridging Input Gaps for the Disadvantaged to Enhance the outcome of non-formal Adult Learning

The partnership is a network of educators in the field of non-formal adult learning; our main objective is the development of good and effective practices of creative arts to improve the life of our target group: adults living in a disadvantaged situation.

BIG DEAL has the purpose to improve the quality of the educational offer of every partner. The project shows how non-formal-, creative learning can be used as an effective tool to help people develop basic (social) skills, e.g. developing their human capital. It aspires to bridge the gap between skills thus acquired and skills required to successfully participate in society. The need of this partnership is acquiring basic skills for adults through creative, artistic and cultural practices: with theater for language and literacy, with dance and other artistic practices for self-assertiveness and with the participatory settings fostering social development. We show that creative learning is effective.

We believe there is gap between supply and demand in non-formal adult learning. This gap is even wider for adults living in a disadvantaged situation. We found out that we can overcome this gap by continuing to learn and improve our practices, as educators, by sharing our strengths and weaknesses, on the organizational level, and by expressing our need for growth and recognition.

We implemented efficient communication in our local activities, we planned and have improved the access to non-formal learning, especially for those who need it the most: adults coping with obstacles and with fewer opportunities in their lives.

We focused our partnership on the challenges pointed out by the European horizontal priorities (2017): ‘Achievement of relevant and high-quality skills and competences’ and ‘social inclusion’.

BIG DEAL worked on three basic lines and objectives:

1 – Better educators
2 – Better communication
3 – Better access to our non-formal adult learning activities for people living in a disadvantaged situation

We developed new methods and increased our educators’ competencies with workshops and training: ‘teaching the teachers’ and the exchange of good practice, captured in the Learning Agreements. Through our training, we professionalized the educators/facilitators (1). We developed new interpersonal and social skills which we used in our work with the target group. We strengthened and contributed to the growth on the organizational level with long-lasting relationships between the partners of BIG DEAL and with them develop further networking. We improved our communication (2) and we facilitated the access and we challenged the work as an ongoing process of activating people and attracting them by our offer (3).

What the six partners from BIG DEAL have in common are our cultural and creative practices: two cultural centers, two theater groups, one social service provider and one over-arching council. We developed our findings (see website) through creative and artistic practices as a tool of self-development in the field of non-formal adult learning.

Besides the fact that we learned from each other, every participant acquired better skills and competencies and thus implemented our methods in their hometown organization. By a good follow-up and constant communication, we succeeded in the implementation and internalization at each of our partners.

The method we used Promundo Toolkit-for-Action showed itself logically, the actions and a time schedule structured. The method showed that the four phases are effective and obtain results:
Phase one is the ‘picture’ of the objectives, followed by phase two: the ‘learning and exchanging’, the third phase is the ‘process’ refers to the implementation and the ‘internalization’ of newly acquired skills. During the fourth phase, the final phase: the ‘dissemination’ starts. All the phases are ‘structural embedded’ which means with the support and in dialogue by the partner organization as a whole.

The BIG DEAL results are on our website www.bgdl.eu, where we share best practices from the partners, photos and videos; our Learning Programs available for anybody free to use (on demand) We use our open website to post our method- and evidence-based practices, what conducts us to better educators. This website is a place where educators, can not only be inspired by our practices but can ask for feedback and discuss their case studies with educators from all over Europe, see (‘about us’). We created a ‘hard word booklet dictionary’ in the form of a PDF and is available on demand. The ‘hard word booklet dictionary’ is in English and is very useful to find out what is the meaning of the jargon used in non-formal adult learning. According to the third objective, which is better access for people who are in a disadvantaged situation the ‘hard word booklet’ is a crucial part of this project.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 210045 Eur

Project Coordinator

vzw Theater van A tot Z & Country: BE

Project Partners

• Association for support and protect of children and families in risk ‘For Happy Childhood’
• Teatrálie, z.s.
• Asociación Dianova España
• Poleski Osrodek Sztuki
• CENTAR ZA KULTURU TRESNJEVKA
• Union- National Council for Gender Equality