The importance of legends and folk tales in the social reactivation of adult learners and overcoming the consequences of Covid-19 Erasmus Project

Project Title

The importance of legends and folk tales in the social reactivation of adult learners and overcoming the consequences of Covid-19

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 : Partnerships for Creativity

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Access for disadvantaged; Creativity and culture; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

Life as we knew it stopped abruptly in spring 2020. The Pandemic of Covid-19 shocked the World and it was difficult to adapt to the new situation. One of the main measures to stop the spreading of the virus was self-isolation or obligatory quarantine. People, very much social beings, were forced to social distance from fellow humans.
Restrictions in face to face interactions and socializing increases loneliness, triggers anxiety and leads to pre-depression state of mind, especially with the older population. This is why they need our special attention and support.
People need compassion, solidarity and vigilance, which has its own cognitive, emotional and behavioral component. For adult learners and older members of community libraries represent areas of cultural activities and events, places to socialise and main source of information. Librarians represent more than just someone to advise them about the books but also someone to talk to, exchange their opinions and worries. The need for this became even more evident during the time of Covid-19.
In our organisations we immediately felt the consequences of the pandemic. All partner organisations perceived a decline in the number of users, events were cancelled, including all educational activities.
We have dealt with the new situation the best we could. From total lock down to moving at least part of the content online. Realising that we are not equipped with sufficient knowledge on many areas, from production of digital content, to psychosocial skills when working with older people.
Our regular visitors, who were also included into longlife learning got really scared due to the pandemic and retreated from all social activities. With the new situation employees in the libraries were faced with new challenges, lacking skills to offer psychosocial support to their elderly users. Especially since they are also facing social and personal challenges in this pandemic.
Based on this partner organizations (The Public Library Šmarje pri Jelšah, Slovenia, City Library Prachatice, Czech Republic, and Ignalina District Municipality Public Library, Lithuania) identified three topics where they should empower their staff for future challenges: – skills of psychosocial support for others and themselves,
-upgrading skills in production of digital content and
– storytelling as a means to keep the spirits up, stay creative and transmit intangible heritage in the community.
The main priority of this partnership is developing necessary skills, social inclusion and creativity through art. We will achieve all that through planned activities and encourage active citizenship.
Planned activities are aimed to:
Improve skills in usage of digital media with adult learners.
Teach the mentors of adult learners to use digital tools and platforms to organise virtual meetings, to record the process, promote the activities and exchange stories within the learning process.
Expand and develop competences of mentors and other employees who support adult learners in developing psychosocial skills.
Empower adult learners in creative art forms and encourage them to preserve intangible cultural heritage by storytelling.
Empower mentors to use different storytelling techniques when working with adult learners.
Beside advancing the knowledge and skills in the above mentioned fields and reactivation of elderly members of the community, the project will produce tangible results; we will publish a booklet with nine folk tales (three from each country), accompanied with new illustrations chosen from the public call designed for participants who are older than 65 years. We will also prepare a traveling exhibition out of the chosen illustration that will be presented in each of the partner organisations. We will record nine short videos (three from each country), where adult learners will tell folk tales, empowered with storytelling techniques. The videos will be published on Youtube channels of the partner organisations and distributed via their social media channels. All publications produced in this project will be accessible in e-format on the partners web pages. All the participants in this strategic partnership will get the certificate stating the learning outcomes.
With the project we want to point out :
Help elderly in our communities and adult learners fight loneliness in times of self-isolation with the help of skill they have learnt in this project.
To alert the local and national government of the important roles cultural institutions play on national and local level.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 60880 Eur

Project Coordinator

Knjiznica Smarje pri Jelsah & Country: SI

Project Partners

• Mestska knihovna Prachatice
• Ignalina district municipality public library