In March 2018, Ballymun Adult Read and Write Scheme (BARWS) accepted an invitation to participate in a Hungarian led proposal for a transnational project under the Erasmus+ KA2 – Cooperation for
Innovation and the Exchange of Good Practices programme. Titled ‘Back to learning – developing key competence of adults for high quality learning opportunities’ the project was approved in July 2018 with a start date in October 2018 and end date in October 2020.

Adult education agencies from six EU countries; Estonia, Malta, Spain, Germany, Hungary andIreland, are participating in the project and each will host a transnational meeting before the project completion date. At each project meeting, the host partners will provide

• an overview of adult basic education strategy at national and local levels
• examples of good practice to support teaching and learning demonstrated during visits to local adult education centres
• examples of operational management experiences facilitating the development of local networks to provide broader supports for adult learners and to promote the adult basic education service in the community.

The first transnational meeting for the ‘Back to Learning’ project was held in Potsdam, Germany on the 11th and 12th December 2018. During the two-day meeting, Tutor Support Jean Brophy and Scheme Manager Christine Carroll along with their project partners were provided with an overview of good practice in the delivery of basic education programmes at a local adult learning centre, Volkshochschule Potsdam. There were also presentations relating to outreaching and promoting the
service.

One of the interesting concepts presented was the Lerncafé programme which targets hard-to-reach learners who are not yet ready to fully engage with adult basic education services. The programme provides a once weekly drop-in literacy tuition session. The three-hour session is managed by a group tutor supported by volunteer tutors. Learners attend on an availability / needs basis, with no requirement for registration or the provision of personal data.

We enjoyed meeting with a learner who spoke of her experiences since returning to adult basic education programmes. In the evening, we took an interesting guided cultural walk through the city of Potsdam followed by welcome refreshments and further discussions with our project partners.

BARWS will host the second transnational project meeting in March 2019.