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Description
The project "Communication that builds understanding" aims to develop tools that introduce effective communication and a peaceful and constructive resolution of disputes and problems in the communities of children and young people.
The aim of the project is a cultural and social change in the approach to conflict and the development of effective communication skills, and as a result, in the long term, to bring new patterns of behavior into the social space, enabling a constructive approach to challenges and building a system of preventing relationship problems and solving them in a way that is beneficial for all parties. The project fokus on children and young people, as the project involves lasting change through education at the earliest stages.
The beneficiaries of the project: school children and youth, teachers, people working in orphanages and community centers, probation officers, family assistants. It will also indirectly affect the school staff, staff at work centers with children, family assistants.
The project will create 3 outputs, over the turn of two years and with the participation of 5 specialists, 30 representatives of target and intermediate groups, with the active cooperation of our Icelandic partner Art of Living Iceland.
The results:
1. Training package:
- theoretical and practical films, demonstrations and exercises with a discussion of tools;
- a series of trainings in non-violent communication, techniques of coping with emotions
-How to use the tool in remote work.
Trainings prepared in two ways: adult with children and youth, peer mediation.
2. A manual for adults: theories, descriptions of tools and skills, practical tips with an overview of the differences in the use of tools according to the 3 age groups. Printed and online
3. Manual for children and adolescents containing a compendium of theoretical and practical knowledge in the form of comics supplemented with short descriptions. 3 comics for different age groups. print and online
Summary of project results
The ''Communication Building Understanding'' project aimed to develop tools to introduce effective communication and peaceful and constructive resolution of disputes and problems in children and youth settings. The long-term aim of the project is to bring about a cultural and social change in attitudes towards conflict and to develop skills for effective communication, and as a result to bring new patterns of behaviour into the social space, enabling constructive approaches to challenges and building a system for preventing and resolving relationship problems in a mutually beneficial way.
During the project there were 2 LTTs (Iceland and Poland) where we learned from each other, learnt good practices and recorded training material.
Finally, there was a large conference in Krakow and a promotional event in Reykjavik.
We promoted the project and its results at many conferences and meetings.
The project''s target audience is children and young people, as the project envisages lasting change through education at the earliest stages.
The beneficiaries of the project are school children and young people, teachers, people working in children''s homes and day care centres, probation officers, family assistants. It will also indirectly benefit school staff, etc.
The project has produced 3 outputs of intellectual work. During the 2 years of the project we worked with 5 specialists, a group of 5 teenagers, and a multitude of representatives of the target groups, with the active cooperation of our Icelandic partner Art of Living Iceland.
Results:
1. a training package for youth workers:
- theoretical and practical films, demonstrations and exercises with discussion of tools;
- A series of trainings on non-violent communication, techniques for dealing with emotions (partner''s contribution);
Trainings were prepared in two tracks: adult with children, and conflict resolution through peer mediation.
2. a handbook for adults containing theories, descriptions of tools and skills, practical tips with a discussion of the differences in the application of the tools according to the 3 age groups. The manual was printed for the final conference of the project in Poland and is available to everyone online at edu.understading.pl
3. a manual for children and young people containing a compendium of theoretical and practical knowledge in the form of 2 comics for different age groups divided into thematic chapters. Printed for the conference and available online.
Summary of bilateral results
The Art of Living Iceland inspired us during the Study Visit to work with children and people at risk of social exclusion or already excluded - such as prisoners or people in addiction treatment centres. In the first part of the project, the experts and staff of the Understanding Foundation learned from AOLI, hence the first LTT was in Iceland, then we all created content and materials and taught each other on the LTT in Poland. The mutual cooperation (despite the difficulties) brought (in our opinion and the opinion of the audience) very high quality materials, methods and results of this cooperation. We intend to continue our cooperation andsupport each other in the mutual development of our organisations.