We attended the first LTT in Tavanukt, Serbia, entitled From Tradition to Modernity 

Representatives of educators from three partner organizations of the Open Hands project, which we are implementing through the Erasmus+ program to exchange good practices in adult education, met at the end of August in an idyllic Pannonian village in the far north of Vojvodina.

When you are in this part of Serbia, it is hard to ignore the unique creation of the Bunjevci Croats, who traditionally make paintings with a special straw technique. Through the technique of creating straw art products, local women, who have nurtured and taught this art for decades, have become famous all over the world.

We try to connect their traditional art with a more modern pulse and other techniques through the project. In this way, we want to design new products and connect local rural art with the more urban pulse of larger cities.

In this way, we also exchange many examples of good practices and introduce them into our local environment. The purpose of the first educator education activity was to introduce more flexible, artistic and digitally oriented approaches to non-formal adult education.

In practical education, they looked for new ways to promote entrepreneurial skills in culture and art and promote the potential of minority members and adult learners related to the exploitation of minority cultural heritage and the connection between traditional and contemporary art.

The educators talked about the advantages of different cultural backgrounds, involvement in various projects, initiatives, networking and activities on social networks and in the media as an essential segment of obtaining information about educational, economic and cultural opportunities.

We have always emphasized the awareness of the cultural peculiarities of minorities and the use of genuine local potentials for the empowerment of vulnerable groups that inhabit a particular area. Based on the newly acquired knowledge, educators will lead additional programs of local training programs in their local environments and will also teach employees in their organizations about the acquired knowledge.

The next meeting will take place in November, this time in the Slovenian countryside. In Prebold, we will meet again, continue our conversations, exchange work methodology, co-create, and learn how to connect even more successfully with interested target groups by acquiring certain digital competencies.