This week, our colleague and Erasmus+ coordinator Anne Unfried took part in an Erasmus+ contact seminar in St. Gilgen on Lake Wolfgang. This contact seminar was aimed at organizers of mobility projects with a focus on group mobility.

The aim of the seminar was to provide information about new activities in the Erasmus+ program and to offer German-speaking project sponsors the opportunity to network with each other and find ideas for new projects. The two organizers - the oead (the Austrian National Agency for Erasmus+) and ALE (Working and Learning in Europe, a non-profit association that helps organize stays abroad) - had organized the seminar excellently and put together an exciting program.

After the arrival and welcome on Sunday evening, an interactive scavenger hunt was organized to get to know each other better. With the help of a special app, the participants had to make a group video, solve a quiz or create a collage, for example.

On Monday, the new Erasmus+ activity “Group Mobility” was introduced. This activity is particularly suitable for short projects such as joint visits to European institutions by trainees of different nationalities.  

Initially viewed skeptically, “Lego Serious Play” was later found to be ideal for an intensive exchange. In this serious creative method, the participants had to build symbolic Lego structures in five groups to answer specific questions (e.g. “How can we increase political education/awareness of democracy & European citizenship?”) and then present them.

The evening program included a boat trip to St. Wolfgang with a short tour of the town, a visit to the church and dinner together.

Tuesday started with a presentation on successful networking, during which the participants received valuable tips for finding a partner. Afterwards, they went to Bad Ischl, where they visited the tourism school and took a tour of the training areas (although they tend to train for professions in the catering industry). In collaboration with top chef C. Held from Bad Ischl, the chef trainees launched the “Genusslabor” project and renovated and opened a former station restaurant. They run it themselves at weekends.

Afterwards, the group met with Elisabeth Schweeger and the team of the “Capital of Culture Salzkammergut” in Bad Ischl. The program within the framework of the Capital of Culture Salzkammergut 2024 is very impressive and offers especially young artists many interesting offers via Erasmus+. You can find more information about the Capital of Culture Salzkammergut under this link. A visit to the impressive art exhibition Salt & Water, which focuses on climate change, rounded off the afternoon.

The event ended with an open space fair, where all participants and the oead introduced themselves and distributed information material, give-aways and samples from the region.

It should also be mentioned that our information stand (with oil, olives and soap from Crete, local beer and giveaways) was particularly well received. Anne was able to make a lot of contacts, and after the event we will now discuss one or two ideas in peace and quiet. We can look forward to it!