Know and Can Association organized the Bulgarian multiplier event in the frame of EKS project on 9th September 2021 in Ramada by Wyndham Sofia City Center, shortly after the pilot versions of the simulation game and didactic handbook and products were finalized and piloted. The event was organized in real environment, respecting all antiepidemic government measures currently in force. Due to the high interest in the event and the restrictions on the number of people attending face to face gatherings, the participants were divided into two smaller groups.
The event was attended by 51 people – representatives of the project target group from 19 cities/villages from the whole country. The participants’ profile was various, included mainly teachers, educators and pedagogical experts in the formal education system, youth and adult trainers; representatives of training centers and NGOs; local community; young people; etc. All participants were actively engaged in the sector formal and non-formal education in some way and/or interested in innovative teaching and learning tools in the sphere of entrepreneurship and soft skills development.
The multiplier event started with registration of the participants and welcome coffee.
The opening session was dedicated to the presentation of Know and Can Association and the other organisations forming the project partnership. After that followed a general presentation of EKS project. The presentation topics were: aims and objectives of the project; activities undertaken in the last two years; challenges met; description of the main project results and their usefulness for the target groups.
The event continued with presentation of the projects’ intellectual outputs – presentation of the EKS Simulation Game (IO1) and Didactic handbook (IO2) – development, contents, applicability and usefulness. After the presentations there was time for discussions and questions on the possibilities of applicability of the training course, adaptations towards the national and local realities.
The second session of the event was dedicated to deepening the experience of the participants with the EKS Simulation game by more detailed presentations of the contents located there. For more effective work, a practical workshop was organized, during which each participant was able to test some game levels and to receive feedback on the performance.
Based on the feedback from the participants and own observations, it could be said that the Bulgarian multiplier event went very well. Considering the comments of the participants during the free talks and the feedback given in the evaluation forms they also enjoyed very much taking part in the event.
The general opinion is that soft skills are as equally important for a person’s professional realization as the formal education qualifications. The topics of entrepreneurship and labour market are very hot at the moment in Bulgaria. There are many training courses, curriculums, materials, but not so many in such interactive form as the EKS game. Especially some participants from rural areas and smaller towns shared that their access to innovative teaching and training materials is more limited and they appreciate a lot when they have the opportunity to test such products and exchange experiences with colleagues from other parts of Bulgaria.
Some teachers from the formal education system shared that the game and didactic handbook will be useful for their students as well, although not part of the primary project target group. Many schools have a subject “Entrepreneurship” in the curriculum for high school classes, so such innovative tools could be very beneficial and will increase the sustainability and added value of the project beyond the foreseen.
The clearest sign that EKS products were well received and will be used in the future is that even in a moment of worldwide pandemic and despite all the inconveniences caused by the additional health measures and restrictions, many people responded to our invitation to attend the multiplier event and participated actively in it.
If we already caught your interest, you can learn more about the project by visiting its website or follow EKS project on Facebook and LinkedIn and be up to date with the latest project developments. For more information, visit the website of Know and Can Association or write us!
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