INSTITUTE BURJA EXPLORING EUROPE UNDER ERASMUS+

Under the Other Perspectives of Knowledge project, we implement staff learning mobility to improve the practices of non-formal education for minorities in Slovenia

Terra Magica!

This is how the locals call Istria, their magical land. And how right they are. When you get a closer look at its cultural tradition and tourist potential, it surrounds you with magic. And culinary pampering. Delicious homemade olive oils, wines and truffles are just part of the coexistence of Mediterranean aromas and divine flavours that adorn this mystical peninsula and the fruits of its land.

The late days of September can be excellent there. Just before the summer temperatures were finally blown off with the burja wind, we went on a three-day working visit to Umag, the most western Croatian city, as part of the Erasmus+ programme. Tatjana Vujić, director of the Adult Education Institution Ante Babić from Umag, and her colleague Erika Blašković, mentor of our mobilities, additionally contributed to this. They both welcomed us warmly and prepared a generous and varied work program for our visit.

As part of the working visit, we also met with Floriana Bassanese Radin, Deputy mayor of Umag Municipality, from the ranks of the Italian minority community Fulvio Tomizza. We had a joint meeting with Danica Bojković, president of the Slovenian Cultural Association Ajda. Slaviša Šmalc, director of the office of the Municipality of Umag, met us to express his welcome. Finally, we visited Neven Ušumović, director of the Umag City Library and co-organizer of the annual cross-border literary forum Fulvio Tomizza.

Through staff mobility projects, Institute Burja develops its internationalization strategy, strengthens the international network of partner organizations and introduces new knowledge into its work processes, exchanges good practices, relevant information, joint initiatives, mutual learning, new projects, and contributes to a more significant role of minority organizations in the field of non-formal adult education and more substantial benefit to its end users.

With each working visit, we make a long-term impact on key areas that are important to us. We strengthen the motivation of adult minority members for non-formal education, improve their learning opportunities and potentials, promote awareness-raising, information and social inclusion activities. We improve the institutional capacity of our organization and at the same time develop international and regional partnerships.

We choose various institutions abroad to strengthen cross-sectoral integration, from municipalities to Adult Education Institutions or non-governmental organizations. There, we need to operate in a nationally mixed environment, coordinate various forms of non-formal education and have positive practices in the social inclusion of ethnic minorities.

We decided to visit the Ante Babić Adult Education Institution in Umag precisely because they represent all of the above. Ante Babić Institution is strongly involved in the local community and annually designs various formal and non-formal adult education programs and other training. Representatives of the university do not coordinate cultural activities, as is still the practice with some Adult Education Institutions in smaller towns in Croatia. Nevertheless, they cordially connect different stakeholders, offer them logistical and professional support, and create the best synergy effects for the local community, its residents, and visitors. We were able to see all this in a short time of our visit.

The Ante Babić Institution has impressive logistics facilities in the heart of Umag. The bright first floor of the large building, which is also home to the Antonio Coslovich City Cultural Hall, has various lecture classrooms in the spacious hall. These are thematically very well equipped for different educational programs – there we can meet a diary shop, a bar, a massage parlour, an ICT creative space or an art pavilion in the same hall. In addition to language courses, all are trendy educational programs, so their study environment is equipped accordingly. We had a hard time deciding whether to take a more extended visit to their bar or massage parlour during the visit.

But as the hosts explained to us, this has not always been the case. The thorough development of their People’s University took place gradually. They built their path on small but decisive steps based on listening to the needs and wishes of the local community itself. This one is distinctly tourist-oriented. The unique multicultural and multiethnic area of ​​Istria concerns both the annual influx of tourists and the structure of the local population. The development of Istria into a cultural tourist Mecca also influenced the development of the town of Umag.

Many of us probably have a long beard of memories of the entire tourist offer, practically everything from Savudrija and Stella Marisa to Umag. These few bays are connected by a picturesque lungomare, where the junk equipment store and the luxury restaurant coexist as the first neighbours. Now and then, a little tourist train with carriages of dreamy tourists still ploughs through the lungomare.

The city has hosted its tennis tournament since 1990, at the height of its tourist season. Every Slovenian fan of this sport could see many idols up close. Tennis is an integral part of Umag, as many tourist facilities are subordinated to playing this sport. Tennis balls can roll out of many shop windows. There is also a heated debate at the local tennis court. Of course, about who is the greatest of this sport.

However, if a person’s life story takes him slightly outside of tourist events, Umag can be experienced in a completely different but no less beautiful story. We are particularly impressed by multiculturalism, which is most often associated with the coexistence of different nations. The European Union has internalized just such multiculturalism as the essence of its coexistence. And just such, multiculturalism is today a symbol of Istria.

Today, one in five Europeans is an ethnic minority, and future migration will only increase this percentage. That is why such environments, where people of different cultures find their peaceful coexistence, are all the more valuable. And they can work so much easier on educating themselves and future generations in every formal or informal way. At the same time, they are building a more tolerant and inclusive society.

The significant influence of the development of Istria’s multiculturalism is perhaps Fulvio Tomizza, one of the most prolific Istrian writers of Italian descent.  He wrote notably in the second half of the 20th century. Namely, many identify with his prose on the Italian, Slovenian or Croatian side of the border. The Fulvio Tomizza literary forum takes place every early autumn and is organized in Trieste, Koper and Umag. It features many renowned poets and writers from across the region.

On the other hand, the problems of local minority communities are even more topical. These are problems of a broader social rather than existential nature. We were able to talk about all this in the Italian home with representatives of the Italian and the Slovenian cross-border community. A significant problem common to many minority communities is precisely the motivation of younger generations to actively take on future work. With this, of course, suffers the rich cultural tradition that a particular space possesses.

Poor motivation is subsequently manifested in non-formal programs of formal or non-formal adult education. We agree that there is no one-size-fits-all answer to how to address this problem adequately. Different communities react differently, so it is necessary to be persistent in your work and connective and imaginative.

We again devoted a lot of space to the always current topic and dilemma, namely the implementation of online, classic or blended education programs, especially in the pandemic, the development of digital competencies and the consequent decline of social competencies. Our locals are more in favour of the classical approach to education. They are far from denying the importance of digitalization. On the other hand, they believe we should introduce digitalization into the programmes in the proper context.

Again, we also found that in the future, we need longer working visits to some organizations. There are too many key details hidden in the realistically performed operational activities that you perform during study visits, which are even more critical for developing knowledge and the transfer of good practices.

Of course, you can learn a lot in three days, and you can always set the stage for further work. You can upgrade this later with a more extended visit to the extent that it will be effective and sustainable for all participating groups, especially for the target users. At the farewell, we agreed with the locals to visit us in the spring. It is everyone’s wish to continue the conversations and work processes that have begun. We can upgrade that in the future with a more extended joint project. We also invited members of minority communities to visit Slovenia.

Finally, we can emphasize that we felt great on this mobility also, for which we thank the hosts once again. In addition to the work program, they also prepared many other activities and gatherings with various stakeholders. We only got to know and understand the local community better. As a gift in writing, we received one of Fulvio Tomizza’s novels. With dedication, of course.

As a part Other Perspective of Knowledge project, we have already visited the Municipality of Ludbreg and the Innovative Network from Subotica this year. We have written about it in other occasions.  Towards the end of the year, we will also visit the Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels, thus concluding the planned project activities.