Education for Change

August–November 2016 – “Education for Change” Project
Implemented in partnership with the Mykhailo Ivasiuk Chernivtsi Regional Universal Scientific Library, with support from the German Federal Foreign Office within the DVV International and IDC “Integration and Development” initiative “Let’s Replace Walls with Open Windows.”

The core idea of the project was to establish a permanent Open University for Adults — a multifunctional space hosted by the Ivasiuk Library, aimed at delivering both short-term and long-term adult education programs as well as cultural and educational initiatives tailored to the needs of the population in this multicultural region.

The project aimed to:

• Transform the public library into a systemic part of the socio-cultural infrastructure of Chernivtsi Oblast by equipping it technically and methodologically to run adult education and enlightenment initiatives within the Open University framework.
• Expand professional competencies of regional librarians and overcome stereotypical public perceptions of libraries by integrating them into civic and cultural life.
• Develop and pilot a civic education course for adults, using innovative interactive teaching methods, while fostering dialogue between diverse social groups, enhancing media literacy and critical thinking skills, and providing tools for improving participants’ well-being.
• Promote multiculturalism, pluralism, and participation by actively engaging target groups in cultural initiatives and co-creation of learning content.
• Raise public awareness of new opportunities in adult education and promote the values of multiculturalism and lifelong learning through cultural and educational programming, encouraging public discourse on adult learning and reading as key to personal and societal development.

Key outcomes of the project included:

Educational Program for Library Staff:

• Training series: “Project Planning and Management: Where to Begin” and “Effective Communication”
• Forum: “Parade of Libraries”

Civic Education Courses for Adults:

• Forum Theatre program
• Critical Thinking Skills course
• Intensive course: “Entrepreneurship Basics for Beginners”
• Business Ideas Lunch Presentation for Local Community Development

Cultural Development Events:

• Photo exhibition “Ordinary Faces of an Extraordinary History” and public presentation
• Evening of Bard Music
• Thematic evening dedicated to the work of Mykhailo and Volodymyr Ivasiuk
• Literary readings honoring Gheorghe Asachi
• Poetry candlelight evening
• Flashmob series: “Reading in the Supermarket”, “Values”, “Poetry on the Pavement in Suburban Areas”, “Poetry on the Street”

Impact:

Over 400 participants became students of the Open University during the project implementation period.