In November 2021, the SIVSEN team got together in the historic town of Matera in the South of Italy. This encounter was planned as a transnational project meeting and a join-staff training event.
It was also the occasion for most of the partners to meet for the first time in real life following numerous online meetings and therefore the whole team was charged with excitement and enthusiasm. Unfortunately, some partners were not able to travel due to Covid but didn’t miss a bit of the event thanks to its hybrid format using the online Zoom platform.
Here’s a recap of how the busy days were spent:
- Meeting each other
The SIVSEN team started this event with ice breaker activities. It was important to get to know each other more individually and to discover who are the people we have been seeing behind screens since the start of the year and what interests, hobbies or unique skills they possess. These activities were lots of fun and enhanced our collaboration, which is so meaningful to Erasmus+ projects.
- Sharing the project’s vision and key actions
Transnational meetings have the main objective of making sure all partners share the same vision of the project, are clear with what steps have been taken so far and the next ones to take. As SIVSEN has already been advancing quite a lot, this meeting was the opportunity to summarize the great work done in developing our first Intellectual Output – Social Enterprise Comparative Analysis whilst looking forwards to future project activities and requirements in the project schedule.
- Staff training on research results
Part of the event was dedicated to staff training based on the Social Enterprise Comparative Analysis findings. The training helped all partners reinforce their understanding of those findings at the national and European level and build a methodology that will constitute the foundations of the next Intellectual Output – The Social Enterprise Programme Framework.
- Visits of Social Enterprises
One of the advantages of meeting in real life is the opportunity to discover the hosting partner’s workplace and how practices are implemented in different cultural contexts. In Matera, the SIVSEN team hosted a session with the director of B-Link, a social enterprise receiving and sending young people on work experiences in an international context. The team also paid a visit to Oltre l’Arte, a social cooperative that employs people with disabilities and disadvantages and introduced them to the management of the cooperative. The visit was held in the beautiful cathedral of Matera, a truly added bonus!
- Social moments in the Sassi of Matera
The busy days were prompted by friendly and lighthearted moments spent trying out local food and discovering the charming ancient part of Matera, the Sassi.
