From the 3rd to the 10th of July 2023, the first ADELE international learning mobility took place in Umbria, in the beautiful mountain village of Nocera Umbra, within the framework of the 7th edition of the Social Hackathon Umbria.
The Social Hackathon Umbria is organised by the European Grants International Academy (EGInA), in collaboration with the Crowddreaming Hackadmy Lab Foligno 4D (CRHACK LAB F4D), and it aims at developing the digital skills of young people through preparatory training for a Hackathon aimed at co-creation of innovative digital solutions that can empower individuals and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. It foresaw four days of Hackathon, workshops, exhibitions and laboratories and involved more than 300 participants from all over the world.
In this context, we had the chance to welcome 24 librarians from Ireland, Bulgaria, Germany, Croatia, Poland and Czech Republic. The participants had the opportunity to share ideas and get in contact with good practices on social and digital innovation in public libraries.
During the week, the group was first introduced to the Erasmus+ programme and its opportunities and then they were given tips and suggestions on how to write a successful project proposal. After the theoretical introduction, small international groups were created to work on a first draft of a project idea by considering its needs, objectives, activities and concrete results to be achieved. The project idea was aligned on the Erasmus+ horizontal priority on Digital Readiness. For instance, the participants reflected together on how to involve the youth in the libraries or how to make the collections accessible to all.
Maria Stella Rasetti, the head of culture and traditions, tourism and IT service at the San Giorgio Library in Pistoia, Tuscany, presented the YouLab Pistoia, an American corner and makerspace, created thanks to the collaboration between the US Embassy in Italy and the library.
Visit to the Municipal Library
Afterwards, the director of the Municipal library where the activities were held arrived to welcome the participants and present the library. The library is located in a recently renovated building from the 18th century in the heart of Nocera Umbra. In the past, the building hosted the seminary church.
Today, the renovated municipal library holds an ancient fund, consisting of 1200 volumes published from the 16th to the 20th century, along with a modern fund of around 4000 volumes.
The director showed the participants a very ancient manuscript:
The ADELE Tool
Later on, the ADELE project was introduced and the project manager from EGInA presented all the stages that brought to the development of the ADELE tool:
A practical demonstration on how the tool works and can be customised followed, along with an in-depth SWOT analysis, made by the participants.
The Spanish project “La Musica de las Esferas” was then presented: starting from a poem, you can create geometrical figures based on the poem’s rhymes and this can be translated into a 3D model:
Cultural visit to Assisi
Cultural activities were not left behind and the group visited the beautiful city of Assisi. Pilgrims have been coming to Assisi, Italy since the 13th century to venerate Saint Francesco, who was born and buried here, but you don’t have to be religious to enjoy the beauty of this postcard-perfect town. Framed by the long hills of Umbria and the forests of Monte Subasio, Assisi is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in the world and one of Italy’s most spell-binding gems.
Human Library Workshop
On Day 5, a workshop on how to organise a Human Library with a focus on community and networking was led by Gilda Esposito. The Human Library was created in Denmark in 2000 to build a positive framework for conversations that can challenge stereotypes and prejudices through dialogue. It is a place where real people are on loan to readers, where difficult questions are expected, appreciated and answered.
Within this workshop, the ADELE librarians met young women coming from Italy, Colombia, India, Ukraine and Lithuania and helped them to finalise their stories. In the afternoon, the open-air human library “opened”, allowing visitors to wander through Nocera’s alleys, while discovering the town and meeting the human books from all over the world.
If you are interested, you can watch this video to know more about this initiative.
Local recipes and stories
Although the training was library-based, participants were given an overview on how to organise a Social Hackathon, and were able to join a wellness cooking show to discover local-water based recipes, organised by Anna Lisa Benedetti. Anna Lisa is a local chef and founder of the local association EatUmbria – Viaggi perigolosi, aimed at promoting and valorising the local culture, while presenting local recipes, stories and legends during cooking courses and events.
Overall, it has been an intense, yet rewarding week that led to the creation of national and international bonds and connections among the ADELE network. Even though it’s summer time, we are already getting ready for the second learning mobility, happening at the end of August in Brussels, Belgium!
Stay tuned!
