XPLOIT – ACTION PHASE 1 As specified in the Community Platform, the 1st Action Phase within the project Xploit is aimed at arising awareness and spreading knowledge regarding the EU and local resources available and those which could be planned within the community for the future. For this reason we have tried to prepare favourable conditions to exploit the EU resources coming from the following projects: Health Box, Media Playing, NatursAll, Decipher. Firstly we have tried to identify all possible settings and contests for the exploitation of EU and local resources and to strengthen the local network and the relationships between local stakeholders in order to facilitate communication and training within the community. By taking inspiration from the ‘Action Phase Guide’ and in accordance with what we explained in the ‘Xploit Evaluation Strategy’, we started to document and report our first Xploit activities that we have carried out within the community of Udine up to now. At a European level, the ‘Catalan Week” was organised at the Università delle LiberEtà di Udine, to promote a cultural exchange between the two communities of Salt and Udine. It was an opportunity to reinforce the collaboration between the two Xploit partners but also to learn the traditions and habits of different countries and to taste special local food.
Centro di Educazione Permanente
UNIVERSITÀ
DELLE
LIBERETÀ
DEL
F VG
THE CATALAN WEEK Udine, 26-30 October 2011
FOREWARD
NEEDS Innovative learning approaches
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Xploit: Università delle LiberEtà and the Municipality of Salt started a concrete cooperation exploiting the mutual learning resources and needs
Cultural exchanges
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Intergenerational exchanges •
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE?
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5 lectures for adult learners about Catalan art, culture and traditions held by Mireia
Masgrau
Active citizenship
Lectures on Catalan art, culture and traditions
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A conference
“ Rediscovering the old flavours in Friuli region and in Catalonia” held by Mariagrazia Santoro, deputy for town and country planning of the Municipality of Udine Gilberto Marzano, researcher of urban anthropology and expert of cooking with local wild herbs Dolors Valentì Planas and Catalina Soler Massos, cooks and delegates of the Gastronomic Commission of the Municiaplity of Salt (Catalonia)
ü A food tasting prepared by the two delegates and cooks from Salt and two cooks from Friuli region and teachers at Università delle LiberEtà
THE COOKS
THE CONFERENCE
THE FOOD TASTING
Nowadays there is an increasing need of confrontation among local communities, especially on a transnational scale, in terms of services, innovation and prosperity. All this, while respecting traditions and history, in their most typical specifications. This is what we want to do in our way to become learning communities and cities
At the local level, the following pilot activities have been organised: Health promotion initiatives and events within the community have been organised to involve people of all ages, but above all older people, in physical activity events and to promote social inclusion and socialisation opportunities by tackling ageism (a belief that physical activity and sports are only for the young) and isolation (such as lack of support from others, including health professionals and recreation specialists). These physical activity meetings several times occurred in the occasion of significant community events, so that the elderly could see themselves as an active group within the community.
Some examples: ‘Feet and Minds on the move’ (16th September 2011) During the summer we organized a series of 3 events in collaboration with the City Districts and Libraries, with the goal of promoting healthy lifestyles through physical and cultural activity in a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere. Each of the 3 events consisted in a walk from a green area or school-garden to the nearest District Library where people could get informed about the libraries and could taste fruits and vegetables offered by local farming businesses.
‘Walking groups event’ (23rd September 2011) At the end of September an event which involved about 50 people, was organised to celebrate the activity of the “Walking groups”, which consist in groups of people, who meet 1, 2 or even 3 times every week in some green areas of the city with the purpose of making physical exercises and walking together in the open air under the supervision of a trainer of UISP (Italian Sports Association).
Friuli DOC’ (16th September 2011) It is the main event occurring in the city and leading to Udine many people from the Region Friuli Venezia Giulia and abroad. It is a sort of gastronomic voyage through the flavours, tastes and typical local products of the Region but it is also the occasion to take part in many cultural and recreational activities, such as art exhibitions, competitions, music concerts, folk shows, ecc.
Community gardens have been created for urban horticulture, that means the practice of cultivating land for food production or just only for relaxation and recreation. The main aim of horticulture areas is the development of “green communities” (families, elderly people, associations and schools) through the discovery of rural traditions and other important values (such as organic agriculture, healthy nutrition, environmental sustainability) that can finally improve their quality of life. Each area devoted to urban horticulture has a surface of 32 square meters, is supplied with water and electricity, and equipped with tools, tool boxes, and wood benches. Other initiatives, such as events, congresses, public meetings, school events and seminars for exchanging experiences, are going to be planned in the future. This activity has already given the opportunity to exploit EU resources through the project Natur(s)AL by involving people interested in the community gardens in special courses organised by Università delle LiberEtà on urban agriculture.
The ‘Pedibus service’ was organised again for schools to allow children to walk to school in the morning accompanied by some volunteers who have been recruited among parents, teachers, grandparents, retired people leaving in the neighbourhood, students, etc. The service is provided during all the school year and involves about 100 children and 20 accompanying people. These people are rewarded through shopping vouchers. This kind of activity, besides contributing to lower traffic congestion near schools and to a regular physical exercise, fosters social cohesion, neighbourhood revitalization and an increased sense of community identity. The project has thus demonstrated that providing equitable and safe opportunities for active living may also encourage the expansion of social networks. This is especially important for members of minority ethnic, racial and religious groups and for older residents.
The ‘Health Pyramid’, that means a permanent information service called has been offered in a supermarket, to promote health information and recommendations among consumers. They have at their disposal once a week specialised staff that can answer their questions and provide some simple health tests (glycaemia, blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index, etc.). Moreover, once a month, a “micro-conference” or “talk show” is organized on specific topics related to health promotion and prevention (physical activity, healthy lifestyles, smoking prevention, alcohol prevention, food at Christmas, etc.). and staff from voluntary associations during the whole week. What is innovative in the structure is the organisation once a month of conferences and talk shows about a wide range of different themes: we are testing how to provide lifelong learning opportunities for better health through the involvement of the public, private and voluntary sector. This activity has given the opportunity to present the EU project Health Box which will be further implemented in other different settings such as community centres, secondary schools, focus groups in the city districts, etc.
Further activities to be implemented will regard the importance of “learning by playing”: we are planning a special workshop devoted to this theme which will also give the opportunity to present the EU project Media Playing. Moreover, the conference will increase within the community the awareness of the importance of playing and of the recently built “ludoteca” (a sort of house of games). At the time being several events have been organised, above all for children, to let people know the potential of this place. The following pictures were taken during the event ‘Playing with Energy’, whose aim was to make children reflect on the importance of sparing energy, using alternative energy sources and protecting our environment.