Besides organizing the Regional Service-Learning Award the CSEE S-L Network has organized Service-Learning Weeks and Conferences with these aims:
– To promote and advocate Service-Learning in the region as the methodology that ensures students balanced learning within the school and the community
– To promote and advocate Service-Learning in the region as a method that tackles community development balancing between school learning objectives and the community’s social objectives.
– To share successful practices from the region of Central and Southeastern Europe;
– To establish critical mass for further acceptance of service learning as a comprehensive method of experiential learning in the region.
– To Celebrate youth and youth workers who are active citizens and demonstrate outstanding competence development of S-L projects,
– To develop the capacity of youth workers, through plenary and small group workshops on relevant, value-added topics.
During these years there were organized 5 Service-Learning Weeks:
2017 Service-Learning Week in Bosnia and Herzegovina
2019 Service-Learning Week in Romania
2020 Service-Learning Week in Slovakia
2021 Service-Learning Week in Kosovo
2022 Service-Learning Week in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Service-Learning Weeks were an opportunity for teachers, youth workers, NGO and public institution representatives, and researchers to gather, and share knowledge, insights, and successful Service-Learning practices from the schools, and youth organizations in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. Also during these events, the winners of the Regional Service-Learning Award were promoted and celebrated. CLAYSS was our partner from Latin America and they offered expertise and resources for these events to happen.
The central events of the Service-Learning Weeks were international conferences accompanied by other gatherings like webinars of students, training for trainers or teachers, round tables, Service-Learning fairs, and meetings of representatives from the CEE Service-Learning Network.
These were 5 international conferences in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Slovakia, and Romania.
During this period, the CSEE S-L Network developed rich resources for further dissemination and promotion of Service-Learning pedagogy in the region. We developed handbooks, researches, service-learning practice cases, manuals, and other documentation that supports the development and further dissemination. More on this you can find here.
CSEE Service-Learning Network members have delivered several regional projects that support the mission of the Network. These projects ensured stronger visibility of Service-LEarning pedagogy in the region, strong strategic partnerships among the Network’s partners, and institutionalization of Service-Learning within the educational ecosystem of each involved country. In previous years following projects were implemented or are still in the process of implementation:
- Project: “Development of Service-Learning in Central and Eastern Europe” Lead partner: MIOS, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Duration: 2017 – 2022, Donor: CLAYSS and Portikus.
- Project: “Boosting HEARts and MInds of youth with Service Learning” HEARMI: Lead partner: TOKA, Kosovo; Duration: 2020 – 2023, Donor: Erasmus+.
- Project: “Giving and receiving – young active citizens for peace and prosperity”: Lead partner: MIOS, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Duration: 2023 – 2024, Donor: Smart Balkans – regional initiative.
- Project: “Service-learning in fostering youth civic engagement, diversity, and social inclusion in the CEE region” – SLIPSTREAM: Lead partner: Platforma dobrovoľníckych centier a organizácií, Slovakia; Duration: 2023 – 2026, Donor: Erasmus+.
- Project: “Service learning jako nástroj rozvoje kompetencí a občanské angažovanosti mládeže”. Partner: Platforma dobrovoľníckych centier a organizácií, Slovakia; Duration: 2023 – 2024, Donor: Erasmus+.