On October 28th and 29th, ENSIE participated in a two-day event in Bucharest, Romania, organised by ENSIE’s member RISE Romania, Ateliere Fără Frontiere in the framework of two projects: WISE for digital upskilling (WISE Up) and Net-Works.
The first part of the day was dedicated to a transnational project meeting of the partners involved in the project WISE for digital upskilling - Ateliere Fără Frontiere, Brigades Natures, Formació I Treball, RISE Romania and ENSIE. In this first in-person gathering of the partners, Laura Ciuciuc from Ateliere Fără Frontiere gave an account of the project status and the partners took some time to introduce their organisations. In line with the project’s objective to exchange information on upskilling in the WISE sector, guests from various WISEs and WISE networks were invited to the following meeting. Several presentations were held, showcasing methods of digital upskilling developed by partners, for instance on how to successfully teach illiterate adults digital skills and reduce their fear of technology.
The second part of the day was dedicated to the Net-Works project and moderated by Claudia Piovano from Galileo Progetti. RISE Romania and some of its members shared their experience and good practices with other WISEs and less developed WISEs networks from all over Europe, to help them working towards the creation of national or regional WISEs networks. Discussions focused on the advantages of being part of a network, the step-by-step process of establishing them, the question of leadership within a network and network activities. RISE members like Concordia shared what are the benefits of their membership in terms of advocacy, exchange of know-how and economic collaboration. The good practices exchange session ended with a presentation by RISE Romania about their joint advocacy and policy actions.
During the following day, the WISE-Up project partners met again in order to follow a demo-session on different e-learning software, which can be used by job coaches and trainers in WISEs to improve disadvantaged workers’ digital skills. These tools are particularly suitable to this end due to their two-sided features: not only are they useful as learning material to transfer information in an interactive way, they also serve as instrument to familiarize employees with technology as the information itself is made available online. For instance, employees have to use their computers to undertake learning quizzes online or create an e-mail account to have access to e-learning platforms.
In the meantime, the Net-Works project partners including ENSIE project manager Martina Paterniti met with Oana-Silvia Țoiu, member of the Romanian parliament. Ms Toju presented her role at the Romanian Parliament and talked about the important role played by WISEs to support the integration of disadvantaged people. Subsequently, the conversation focused on the legal framework for the social economy, social procurement and state aid, with a particular focus on Romania. Ms Toju and the participants exchanged about Romanian legislation and the need for detailed mapping of WISEs. This meeting was an inspiration for other Net-Works project partners facing challenges with their own countries’ and regions’ legislative environments. Ms Ţoiu suggested the organisation of a roundtable to continue exchanges in the future.