Vifo: Day school in Aarhus, Denmark, wins major European award
By Frederik Kej Jønsson for Videncenter for Folkeoplysning (Vifo) (Read the original article here).
The day school Kompetencehuset has won a European award for its work in developing public education methods to rebuild and strengthen civil society in Ukraine. There are already plans for several follow-up projects.
The Danish winners of the EITA award were celebrated in Kolding on Monday, October 6. Later this year, all award winners will gather in Brussels for an official celebration at the European Commission. Photo: Vifo
It is not every day that a small day school in Åbyhøj receives European attention. However, this is precisely what has happened to Kompetencehuset, which has won the European Innovative Teaching Award (EITA) 2025 for its Erasmus+ project “Folk Enlightenment – Ukraine.”
The award is presented annually to the most innovative Erasmus+ projects in Europe that contribute to developing a strong European educational culture. This year, the day school's project has been highlighted as one of the best.
“For us, this is a huge recognition. We are a small day school, but we are showing that with creativity and flexibility, you can achieve results that extend far beyond the city limits of Aarhus,” says Nis Peter Nissen, principal of Kompetencehuset.
The project was carried out in 2023-2024 in collaboration with Gothenburg Folk High School and a large number of NGOs and partners from the Nordic countries and Ukraine. An important part of the project consisted of a conference and workshop in October 2024, where around 50 people from the Nordic countries and 16 from Ukraine met over two days to find out how a folk high school model can be used in a Ukrainian context and how it can be implemented in practice.
After the conference and at the end of the project, a manifesto was drawn up. The manifesto is intended as a set of rules for how to translate knowledge about adult education in the Nordic countries into a Ukrainian context. The manifesto is also intended to provide others who want to work with adult education in Ukraine with a set of fixed values and a framework for their projects.
According to Nis Peter Nissen, it has been important to involve Ukrainians throughout the process.
“We couldn't have done this without the participation of the Ukrainians. It has been crucial that they were not only recipients of knowledge, but also stood at the blackboard themselves and helped build the project together with us,” says Nis Peter Nissen.
Out in the field with public education
Kompetencehuset and its partners have planned two further projects, which together with the first will form a three-stage rocket.
The next project is “Learning Folk Enlightenment,” where the plan is to create courses based on the values and visions described in the manifesto – both in the Nordic countries and in Ukraine. The courses consist of a practical and theoretical part, which will run over a period of 3-6 months. The theoretical part includes teaching on topics such as the history and structure of public education and understanding the role of public education in a democracy.
In the practical part, Ukrainians will test their knowledge in local initiatives. In the countries where the courses are held, they will learn and experience how community life works in reality.
"The idea is that they should get involved in community life when we start the courses – working in the soccer club, handball club, music association, or a social organization. They should be involved in both the active and executive parts, but also behind the scenes in the organizational work," explains Nis Peter Nissen.
However, the project is still awaiting final approval before the plans can be realized.
No gunpowder or bullets, just public education
“Folk Enlightenment – Ukraine 3.0” is the final stage of the three-stage rocket and is a project that lies further in the future. The plan here is that Ukrainians returning to Ukraine will be responsible for establishing and strengthening community life in the country as part of the reconstruction of society.
The vision for the project assumes that Ukraine will no longer be at war by that time and will have become a member of the EU, so that they can apply for funding themselves. Although it may take a long time before the project can be realized, Nis Peter Nissen believes that a long-term goal is necessary.
“I also think you have to dream. When the world is developing in a slightly skewed way, you also have to seek out the dream or hope for what may come. Because when everyone else is sending bullets and bombs, we are sending public education,” says Nis Peter Nissen.
