Grundtvig
In the partnership, 7 parent-child center/mother center/family center networks from 6 countries worked together. Parent-Child Centers/Mother Centers/Family Centers are open spaces where parents meet and organize.
Despite all regional differences, there is one thing in all centers: the open meeting place. Named for this project: “the public living room”. It is the heart of every MC, you can come with the children or alone at any time, drink coffee, make contacts, get information and advice.
In the learning partnership we described the qualities of the open space, how it works and what is needed for it. As a central aspect, the topic of “safety” – comprehensively and divided into 11 sub-topics – was discussed and worked out.
We consider security to be one of the most important values in life and have traced it, where we encounter it in everyday life and how we as families/parents – and especially as a parent-child center – can shape security ourselves.
In the parent-child-centres/mother-centres, empowerment arises primarily from dealing with values. We used the learning partnership to approach the review of values in a structured, transparent and comprehensible manner.
The individual topics were worked on at the same time at different levels and groups (organizational level, employees and visitors), and the results were brought together at the partner meetings. Each partner organization chose a sub-topic for each year, for which they were responsible (“hosts”), created a basis for discussion, which was discussed in their own environment and passed on to the partners. The results of the discussion were compiled by the “hosts” into a topic paper and processed and deepened during the partner meetings using various methods at learning partner level.
This resulted in 6 topics per year, which were coordinated and managed by different partners. Peer learning – supported and supplemented by formal learning – corresponds to the structures of the parent-child center / mother center movement.
The individual topics and, as a result of the discussion, the associated topic papers:
- Mother centres/parent-child centres/family centers as safe public places/ Making the Mother Center into a safe public living room
Safety in the family/ Safety in the family
Giving security in times of crisis/ Creating safety in times of crisis/life changing situations
Dealing with the health care system / Dealing with the health care system
How MC support parents in early parenthood / How mothers gives each other support in early motherhood
Letting go / When I leave my child
Building community, using support groups / Having a supporting group/ community
partnerships – How safe partnerships can develop in the local environment /How to create safety in local community?
Inclusion, exclusion, discrimination
Economic safety / Economic safety
methods to implement safety in our groups / Tools and methods to set up safety in our group - Partner organizations in the learning partnership:
- D Mothers’ Forum Baden-Württemberg eV State association of mothers’ centres, family centers and multi-generation houses
- NL Foundation Nest!
- A Umbrella organization of the independent parent-child centers in Austria
- PL Stowarzy Scene “Mamy Czas”
- SK Únia materských centier (UMC)
- D State association for mothers and family centers in Bavaria eV
- TR International Children’s Center ICC
Grundtvig learning partnership 2011-2013 “Mother Centers developing support structures for active volunteer involvement”
