In a pleasant afternoon, five of us (from University Ca’ Foscari group) had our first meeting to start talking and promoting ALICE activities (from training to experimental activities with adults), as it was the goal and strategy of the National Awareness sessions.

But our group is characterized the different belongings in the Italian territory: so we decided to enhance technologies for an asynchronous meeting. On Monday 16.00, the Webinar session was successfully opened; the rich experiences brough by all trainers made the two hours of the meeting fly!

After a brief presentation of the Project structure and strategy by Juliana Raffaghelli (Udine), Monica (Turin) and Francesco (Rome), that besides being expert project managers and trainers with regard to parental education take part of the Parental National Association “Coordination of Democratic Parents”  introduced their long trajectories in the field, emphasizing the importance of opening spaces for parental support, as well as the qualification of trainers in the field.

Elena and Barbara (Venice), researchers and trainers at University Ca’ Foscari of Venice, as well as school teachers, introduced their ideas and perspective on Adults Learning Pilot Programmes, the most exciting part of the project (and the kernel for which we all trainers are preparing to). Elena, who’s also a educational psychologist working to support schools in Veneto Region, explained her research on the educational relationship between parents and the children, highlighting the importance of reflection for effective parenting. Furthermore, she introduced her perspective, which will attempt to cover parental education for “new parents”, having very small kids.

Barbara deepened on her research about intergenerational learining and the role of senior volunteering supporting some aspects of innovative education at school, with her interesting project on autobiographic storytelling supported by technologies. In fact, she has been experimenting a blog for a year, where kids from the first years of secondary school exchanges their personal stories with grandparents “of the heart” (nonni del cuore).

Juliana Raffaghelli finally emphasized the importance of ALICE project to give support to all these perspectives, taking into account the need to reinforce informal learning spaces in society with a twofold purporse: that of keep adults engaged in lifelong learning (even in education that is not tightly connected to the professional life), cultivating an autonomous self and the necessary skills to participate actively in society; and that of generating enriching learning environments for children: in fact, the participation of the last to the lifelong learning society in the future, stringly depends on learning and reflection of the former.

The next step in the session was to consider the training activity in practical terms: the pedagogical model and the educational environment.

With regard to the first issue, it was emphasized the idea of an European community of practitioners and of peer learning enhanced by the technological space (the educational environment), as well as the importance of trainers ideas to implement ALPP.

With regard to the second issue, a demonstration of the EE was made, guiding participants to the several resources and spaces of activity. Particularly, it was given attention to the online forum as “Agorà” or place of meeting for all ALICE trainers, across EUROPE.

On next November, this group expects to have another important session, that of a National Seminar launching the project pedagogical model.