Welcome to my Home
Aims and objectives
To develop a strong learning partnership which engages adult students from minority communities in developing inter-cultural competencies by exploring tourism in non-traditional tourist destinations.
Activities and lessons learned
Adult students from minority communities were recruited to enable them to gain ICT skills, inter-cultural competencies and increased self-confidence. Partners and their institutions worked with minority adult students, sharing good practice with partners developing and delivering the transnational project.
Local tourism and economic development agencies were informed on perceptions from partner students and staff as well as from a local minority community perspective.
All learning experiences from students and staff involved were digitally recorded and a joint website was built and is used as a shared dissemination tool.
Achievements
 | The development of a strong learning partnership which engaged adult students from minority communities; |
| Developing and delivering inter-cultural competencies by exploring tourism in non-traditional tourist destinations; |
| Very successful study visits to all partner locations ensuring adult student mobility and participation; |
| The building of a joint website www.wtmh.net where information about the project, partners and students and photographs, messages and student diaries are easily accessible to all. |
Materials produced
An easy accessible joint website www.wtmh.net; a shared email system for partners and students and a message board system were produced to ensure everyone is updated on activities and news continually.
Partnership organisations/countries
UK: University of Liverpool, Liverpool
Slovenia: UPI_Ljudska Universza Zalec - Adult Education Institute, Zalec
Spain: Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Lugo -The Offical Language School of Lugo
Finland: Pohjois-Karjalan ammattikorkeakoulu - North Karelia Polytechnic, Joensuu, Finland
Learner involvement
All the adult learners were involved in the planning and the delivery of the activities. For each visit to their hometown or region the learners planned an itinerary and the programme for the study visit with partner staff. As well as being responsible for the planning they participated in all of the activities and consulted with local tourism, community and economic development agencies.
Learners also ‘project managed’ their travel, e.g. transport, passports and visas and decided on the selling points of their home that they wanted to present to visitors. They also gathered information about air travel and accommodation for their visitors.
Learners took photographs and compiled diaries of activities and provided details about themselves for the webpages. Learners have also kept in touch with each other, exchanging experiences and news through emails and the message board.
Impact
On the organisation
Through ‘Welcome To My Home’ The University of Liverpool has been able to
develop a strong European partnership with Spain, Finland and Slovenia and links
with other interested parties e.g. Dorcas Place, Rhode Island, USA. This has
enabled staff to learn about their culture, learning and teaching practices,
environment, languages and home towns/regions.
On staff
Staff have been able to experience the exchange of ideas, good practice,
protocols, teaching methods, learning skills and the involvement of adult
learners through all aspects of the project from planning, involvement, travel
and to delivery of the activities and study visit programmes.
On adult learners
Our adult learners have had the opportunity to get involved in a project
that let them meet our European Partners and their adult students and learn
about their culture, language, tourism, communities and environment. The adult
learners who participated were given the opportunity to travel to partners’
homelands and participate in their programmes on the study visits. This was an
opportunity adult learners had never experienced before and may not have the
chance to do so individually again. The adult learners had a wonderful time on
their visits, which is reflected in their diaries, and photos and they now have
contacts who they keep in touch with and so keep their learning process going.
Their aspirations have risen as their confidence was lifted.
On outside organisations
For the visit to Liverpool by the European partners, staff at The University
of Liverpool contacted various tourist agencies to ensure visitors had a
cultural experience whilst in Liverpool e.g. one of the activities was a guided
historical tour of the Albert Dock area which included talks on Liverpool’s ship
faring industries and activities. As part of the programme partners visited an
inner city community farm and participated in activities that were led by the
Al-Ghazali Muslim Community Centre and the Rotunda Community College.
Contact details
Name, organisation and address:
Linda Rowney
University of Liverpool
Sir Alastair Pilkington Building
Mulberry Street
Liverpool
L69 7SH
Telephone no.: 0151 794 1330
Email: rowney1@liverpool.ac.uk
Name, organisation and address:
Tricia Jenkins
University of Liverpool
Sir Alastair Pilkington Building
Mulberry Street
Liverpool
L69 7SH
Telephone no.: 0151 794 1314
Email: tjenkins@liv.ac.uk
Classification data
Project focus:
| Active citizenship | |
| Essential skills | |
| Inter-generational learning | |
| Cultural/multi-cultural |
X |
| ICT and learning | |
| Foreign languages | |
| Other* |
UK Project Base:
| East Midlands | |
| East of England | |
| London | |
| North East | |
| Northern Ireland | |
| North West |
X |
| Scotland | |
| South East | |
| South West | |
| Wales | |
| West Midlands | |
| Yorkshire and the Humber |
