Blinc

Explore Europe in Pisa!

sarawiemann — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 11:37:05 +0000

Written by a blinc team member who accompanied the group from ifas and my.worX to Pisa, this report shares personal insights and highlights from a week of learning, discovery, and connection.

Together with German and Italian partners, we organised the second Europe discovery trip, this time to Pisa. 10 participants from a youth welfare programme at ifas GmbH Göttingen with 3 youth workers, as well as 10 participants from my.worX (Centre for vocational rehabilitation supporting people with mental health challenges) with two accompanying persons, travelled to Pisa in October 2025.

This mobility was about getting the participants with psychological disabilities out of their comfortable living conditions at home and giving them the possibility to gain new experiences in the unknown circumstances of a new city and country. Learning objectives were to gain higher autonomy, better self-confidence and communication skills, as well as intercultural understanding and learning.

Here are a few of our favourite success stories from the trip:

On Monday evening in Pisa at dinner, the European discovery trip officially started for the participants, but they had already successfully managed their biggest adventure of the week. After the train to the airport was delayed for over two hours, it was all about somehow reaching their flight. They arrived at the check-in only two minutes before closing, and as some raced forward to keep the boarding gate open, others were still in line for the security check. Because everybody was helping each other at the airport and the accompanying people did a great job, everybody was on the plane and on their way to Pisa just in time. From that point on, the week could only become a full success.

On Tuesday it was already shown that the participants being in new circumstances led them to have different thoughts and questions. In a guided tour through Pisa, one of the participants showed a deep interest in architecture and building history. Repeatedly, Nela and the guide talked about the historic buildings and their structure. Later, as the interest of some participants faded, they found their own topics in talking about their diagnoses and personal life stories. One of the participants, a refugee still learning the German language, asked: “What is the difference between a narcissist and a Nazi?” Good question!

On Wednesday the participants went on sailing boats. In groups of four, they got accompanied by a sailor. The quiet of the sea transferred to the participants. Some were sleeping and relaxing, while others talked about their life story. Everybody who wanted to, was allowed to get behind the wheel to steer the boat. One usually quiet person flourished most in this situation. After shyly asking if he could also steer the boat, he even wanted to be videotaped while steering, because he wanted to sing a song. The quiet soul started to sing the first verse loud and proud.

On another boat a newly found friendship developed further. Milad and Lorenz, a refugee and an autistic person, only got to know each other on this trip. Already after the guided tour on Tuesday, they wanted to go to a shisha bar, just the two of them. As they would not find one, they found each other. Milad had never swum in the sea before, so these two decided to go swimming together for the first time on Wednesday after the sailing trip. From now on, they could not be separated. During our day trip to Florence on Thursday, they immediately asked if they could separate from the group and spend the day on their own. The only thing that did not work out on their own day was the timing. There was a 30-minute delay to the joint group dinner, but the accompanying persons were able to look past it, as they were happy Milad and Lorenz found each other. They were hoping that the two would support each other further once they got back to Göttingen and the new friendship would only deepen.

After a tiring Thursday in Florence, a warm day in an extremely crowded city, the week ended in the oasis of our partner institution, Mangwana, offering a complete contrast to the hectic sightseeing day before. The participants spend time in the garden relaxing and taking part in a pizza workshop. The participants Annika and Melanie were both very interested, as they like to make their own pizzas at home. As every person worked on their own dough, they compared each other’s working methods to their own. The secret was patience, as the dough needed to rest for some time after every step. It took some hours until the pizzas were baked and ready to eat, but it was well worth the wait, as the participants agreed that they were some of the best, if not the best, pizzas they had ever had. On top, Melanie and Annika fixed a date where they would try to bake their own pizza after the workshop’s recipe. It is the second good friendship that has developed within the week.

The week was a full success, as participants as well as the social workers were happy with the whole week, and they all decided they would do a similar trip again. From the outside, an interesting dynamic developed within the week as everybody seemed to get more and more confident as the week went on. The feedback of the group also showed that they now feel as if they are able to do the trip’s activities on their own, without an accompanying person.

The combination of happy participants and learning aims being met encourages us to develop further mobilities in similar ways with disadvantaged people to enable new learning experiences.

Explore Europe!

sarawiemann — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 08:43:11 +0000

Together with a network of German and Austrian partners, we organised the first Europe discovery trip to Vienna. 6 participants with 2 youth workers from the youth welfare programme at ifas GmbH Göttingen travelled to Vienna by train in September 2024.

Here is a short report from the social workers who accompanied the group to Vienna.

For some of the participants, it was their first trip outside Germany and they were correspondingly excited before their trip to Vienna.
The programme had the motto: ‘What can Europe do for you?’ and aimed to show Europe in all its diversity and historical developments and to whet their appetite for more.
After a few preparatory sessions in Göttingen, the train journey went smoothly. On the very first day, there was an introduction by our Austrian partner Felix Haffner, who organised the whole week perfectly with the network partners.

The programme alternated between lectures and workshops with EU content, guided tours and cultural events until the last event on Friday, where our participants met Austrian young people from OJAB (non-profit operator of student residences, residential facilities for senior citizens and training centres for young people, refugees and adults).
This first trip was a complete success!
It was just the right mix of ‘programme’, culture and leisure activities.

Especially the exchange with non-German ‘other cultures’ and people in similar situations in a completely different context was a totally important experience, from which all participants grew noticeably.
We noticed a very positive group dynamic from a group that had actually only met very briefly beforehand.
The new encounters, the discoveries in a foreign environment boosted the self-confidence of all six participants and provided new, very positive impetus for their further development
The programme ran like a red thread through the week and, in addition to the interesting content, also provided an orientation structure. Every evening, we gathered our experiences and were able to see how exciting our participants found the programme and the activities on offer and how independently they organised and enjoyed their leisure activities – from the Hundertwasserhaus to the opera – from Vienna’s museums to Schönbrunn Palace

Discovering Europe Together

It was amazing to see how new encounters, cultural discoveries, and shared experiences in Vienna boosted everyone’s confidence and inspired a lasting curiosity for Europe.

Social workers who accompanied the group to Vienna

After the trip, which we were fortunately able to complete just before the major floods on 14 September, everyone returned to their homes in Göttingen exhausted but incredibly happy.
We definitely want to continue organising such learning mobilities and are delighted that we were given this opportunity.

Transforming Society through Art: The Arts for Social Change Course

sarawiemann — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 08:23:03 +0000

The “Arts for Social Change” course, a collaboration between blinc eG, and the Emprove Foundation, took place in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 21st to 25^th April, 2024. This training course was designed to inspire, empower, and enable participants to use various art forms to drive social change. With a focus on storytelling, community connection, and personal healing, the course provided a dynamic space where participants from diverse backgrounds came together to learn, create, and innovate. Through field visits, hands-on workshops, and engagement with real-world examples, participants explored how art can become a powerful tool for addressing social issues and fostering cultural transformation.

Participant Projects: Diverse Art for Social Change
The course participants from a diverse cultural and professional background travelled from Germany to Bulgaria. They have developed diverse art projects aimed at fostering social change, community engagement and personal healing and development. Their initiatives include using flower arrangements, music, storytelling, illustration, and culinary arts to address themes like self-acceptance, resilience, and community connection under the broader goal of using art for social change. Each project idea creatively explores personal and collective narratives, offering interactive workshops, public installations, and supportive art pieces to inspire empathy, self-expression, and transformation. The overarching goal is to create art that helps marginalised individuals navigate their healing journeys, raising awareness on domestic violence and fostering a society that is more socially engaged and linked through healthy relationships. The course facilitators from the Emprove Foundation confirmed the great practical value of all developed project ideas and their high level of transferability for the mission of violence prevention in interpersonal relationships and beyond.

Inspiration and Impact

Participating in the Arts for Social Change course was an eye-opening experience. I witnessed the transformative power of art in addressing social issues and connecting people across cultures. I was particularly moved by the diverse approaches participants took in their projects, from music and storytelling to flower arrangements and even food! Each project was a testament to how creativity can drive meaningful change and foster healing in our communities. This course has inspired me to integrate these learnings into my own work and continue to advocate for art as a catalyst for social transformation.

Ms Chow, Course Participant and Global Marketing Manager

Promoting European Values through Art and Collaboration
This course embraced mobility, cross-cultural exchange, and multidisciplinary peer learning, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of European values on solidarity, diversity, and inclusion. By bringing together participants from various backgrounds and disciplines, the program created a rich environment for collaboration and innovation. Participants learned to see social issues from different perspectives, gaining insights that transcended borders and disciplines. This shared experience not only enriched their personal and professional growth but also strengthened their commitment to building a more united, compassionate, and culturally aware Europe.

Storytelling for Engaging Learning Experiences

sarawiemann — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 08:14:26 +0000

In the town of Massa in Tuscany, under the warm Italian sun, a group of more than 20 enthusiastic participants gathered for a 5-day training course hosted by the dynamic team at Smart Revolution, an Italian partner known for its innovation in education. This course was unlike any other – it focused on a skill that is becoming increasingly important in today’s world: storytelling.

Our mission? To turn project descriptions, training modules and educational resources into stories that could resonate with learners and external stakeholders alike. The setting couldn’t have been more perfect – a blend of the tranquil landscapes and rich culture for which Tuscany is so well known.

The structure of the course was designed to be engaging and interactive. Each day began with short, insightful inputs on the art of storytelling, followed by practical workshops where we could immediately put our learning to the test. Presentations, practice transfers and hands-on exercises filled our days as we worked in teams to bring to life what could otherwise be dull project summaries.

The Power of Storytelling

In Tuscany, we discovered that storytelling is more than a skill. It’s a bridge that connects people, ideas, and emotions, turning learning into a truly engaging experience.

Course Participant

From the morning brainstorming sessions to the late afternoon storytelling showcases, the energy in the group was palpable. Together, we explored the key ingredients needed to create compelling narratives: creating relatable characters, building suspense and injecting emotion into our stories. It quickly became clear that storytelling isn’t just about facts – it’s about making connections.

By the end of the course, our learning outcomes were significant. We had an increased awareness of the power of stories and how to use them to make our content more engaging. We walked away with concrete knowledge of how to turn dry presentations into lively stories that capture the imagination of our audiences. But it didn’t stop there – we also improved our teamwork, communication and intercultural skills, learning from each other in a truly collaborative environment.

The stories we created in Massa didn’t end with the course. When we returned home, we used these new storytelling skills in our various projects, embedding them at the heart of our communication strategies and educational offerings.

This has been more than just a training experience – it has been a path of transformation. I am truly grateful for the opportunity provided by the Erasmus+ programme that made it all possible. It was an unforgettable week in Tuscany, full of learning, laughter and the magic of storytelling.

From Ideas to Action: Crafting Inclusive Learning Experiences Together

sarawiemann — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 15:59:24 +0000

In June 2024, our week-long training course in Peniche, Portugal, brought together participants from across Europe, all united by a shared mission: to develop inclusive mobility offers for disadvantaged adult learners. The following travel report, written by one of our participants, captures the highlights and key moments of our journey together.

I got a good feeling for the course at our first online gathering prior to the course in Portugal. Participants from across Europe, working with different disadvantaged target groups and all dealing with the same challenge – how to make mobility learning more accessible for disadvantaged adult learners – met online to get to know each other. I enjoyed being a part of this forming community and looked forward to meeting everyone in person.

In Peniche the energy was positive from the start on. The well-prepared organisers set a good tone at the beginning by providing the necessary information to understand the exact training program. Getting to know each other through ice-breaking games left me surprised by the instant connection between people who have only known each other for not even an hour. Playing in pairs and connecting through unknown moments has set a very firm ground for the further course.

On the second day of the course we went on an excursion to Berlengas island, a small island and natural reserve not far from Peniche.
While we were there, we were asked to imagine ourselves in the shoes of a person in our target groups, which allowed us to deeply understand and examine what it means to have a physical disability while discovering new places, how an older person would feel on a learning mobility offer like this, what needs we have to consider while making learning mobility offer for people with mental challenges etc. This experience highlighted our mission to create equal opportunities in mobility learning.

On the third day of the course, our incredible organisational team equipped us with the necessary knowledge to start working in groups and developing creative solutions for our respective target groups. A presentation of the design thinking method, a process of developing innovative ideas, gave us concrete steps on how to continue. As a group we felt supported and guided through this learning process.

Our team leader/mentor was amazing, she gave us enough time to bond as a team. We built our team spirit by sharing our past experiences of working with disadvantaged groups, the skills and strengths we bring to our group and our mobility learning experience in foreign countries. We continued our group work by sharing what learning in mobility means for each of us. Creating a common definition of it provided us with a good start of understanding what our shared goal/challenge is – making a learning mobility offer for people who have experienced trauma.

The challenge we defined and wanted to tackle as a group combined our shared interests and good practices we have met along our way. Our focus was making innovative learning formats that are not developed “exclusively” but “inclusively” all together.

Next step was understanding our target group’s needs. We helped ourselves with Persona Canvas, Empathy and a Journey map where we created two people with real names, jobs, families, challenges, etc. so we could better imagine what their pain is and what they would want from our offer. That was a base to start gathering the ideas for our inclusive offer of mobility learning. By going through the different Design Thinking steps we developed our initial ideas further and in the end came up with a prototype to represent our idea and make it more tangible. Once we designed the offer, the job was not done yet. It came to the part of presenting the idea. During the conference on Thursday, we had the chance to present our idea and prototype. You can watch a video of our presentation here.

While working in our groups, we also had an opportunity to get to know a part of the local life of a migrant from Mozambique, who beautifully sang us a song that he wrote. We also tried out our dance moves to typical Portuguese songs and with that had the chance to learn more about local culture.

On the same day, we also had a motivational guest speaker come and visit us, who shared his story about a successful practice that he and his team developed for physically disadvantaged people who can now surf with their innovations, which showed us that no obstacle is too big to not be overcome.

Inclusive Learning in Action

It was an intense and inspiring learning experience where we combined empathy, creativity, and design thinking to make mobility learning more inclusive and accessible for everyone.

Course Participant

Influencer

In less than a week we were constantly developing a variety of skills. With design thinking we applied a problem solving approach to address mobility challenges. Through needs assessment we now better understand the unique needs of individuals with mental challenges and trauma. For effective group work we practiced empathy, active listening, creativity, public speaking and that is just to name a few. It was an intense learning experience where we created a good ground for further development of making mobility learning accessible for disadvantaged adult learners and to create equal opportunities for everyone.