This weekend we said goodbye to the participants of Growing Europe, an Erasmus+ adult education mobility project (KA122-ADU). It was coordinated by Association Aries from Bulgaria and hosted in Alicante by Asociación Europea Equalis. After an intense learning programme, the participants received their Europass Mobility certificates at a closing ceremony. The next day, they travelled home.
A week of learning by doing
Growing Europe was built around three themes: digital skills, active citizenship and inclusion. Instead of sitting through lectures, the participants learned by exploring, questioning and creating together.
The city of Alicante became their classroom. In small teams, they went out with cameras and notebooks to look at the city with new eyes. They looked for what makes a city proud and what is stuck or not working. They also looked for the places where people come together, and for where Europe is visible in everyday life. The teams came back with photos and stories, and many surprising comparisons with their own towns. Accessible streets, public spaces that invite people to meet, and the small details of good urban design all sparked lively discussion.
The programme also included hands-on sessions on media literacy. Participants learned to tell real information from fake and to check sources before sharing them. They looked at how digital tools can give citizens a stronger voice. They learned who decides what, from the local municipality to the European institutions, and how to reach the right person with the right request.
From ideas to commitments
One of the most meaningful moments of the week was the creation of “Our Pledges”. This book was written by hand by the participants themselves. Each person chose one concrete issue they want to change in their own community. Each one also wrote down what they will do when they return home, who they will invite to join them, which institution they will contact, and by when they will check the results.
The pledges are as varied as the people who wrote them:
- Cleaner parks and public spaces
- Safer, more accessible pavements for people with disabilities
- Better recycling in residential neighbourhoods
- Action against aggressive gambling advertising
- Regular outdoor meetups to help people feel less stressed and more connected
Small steps, but real ones. And each one comes with a deadline.
Recognised skills, lasting friendships
At the closing ceremony, every participant received a Europass Mobility certificate. This is an official European document that records the skills and competences gained during the mobility. Beyond the certificates, the group also leaves with something harder to measure. They showed remarkable teamwork all week: people of different ages and backgrounds supported each other, debated, laughed and built something together.
This is not the end
For us, the end of the mobility is only the end of the first chapter. The impact of Growing Europe will be measured in the participants’ own towns, in the weeks and months ahead.
The group will meet again online in December to share what they have done so far. They will meet a second time in March to look back at their progress. Between the meetings, the Equalis and Aries teams stay available to help. We can help participants shape their civic requests, think through their strategies together and point them towards the right channels.
Growing Europe, project no. 2026-1-BG01-KA122-ADU-000418580, is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
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