In mid-February, I participated in an Erasmus+ course organised in Almada, Portugal. Almada is located near Lisbon, on the other side of the river Tagus. The course was organised by the European Courses PORTUGAL at the Escola Secundária Emídio Navarro in Almada. The six-day course was packed with activities.  

I found it absolutely fantastic! I met many interesting people from all over Europe. The course had 10 participants from six countries. In addition to Finland, there were participants from Poland, Latvia, Austria, Croatia and France.

The topic of the course was European Sharing views – Making sense of the world through multimedia. During the course, we split into two groups to produce videos while receiving relevant instructions and guidance. The theme of the course was “world music”, which was reflected in the programme throughout the week. I found the theme very functional. Our groups were able to make two different videos on the subject.

I particularly remember the wonderful, interesting people from all over Europe and the discussions I had with them. We talked about culture, teaching and other current topics.

During the days, we produced materials for the video project we were working on and learned about a number of music and culture projects in Portugal. The evening activities were also linked to the theme of the course in an interesting way, and we had the opportunity to enjoy both Portuguese Fado as well as more modern music.

Music really brought us all together during the course, resulting in a group that was highly energetic and inspired.

I have personally taught and guided various working methods at Sivis Study Centre, which is why I was interested in finding new materials for my day-to-day work as well. During the course, I discovered how important it is to create a sense of solidarity with different people through experiences, for example.

In addition, peer learning helped me learn about various working methods as well as about different ways of looking at the world. This was a wonderful experience and I’m sure I’ll always remember this course and the people I met!

Text and picture by: Anu Törrö, Opintokeskus Sivis