The partners in the Futeurope project

The Netherlands – Foundation for Educational Projects (Stichting Educatieve Projekten):
The objective of the foundation is to provide educational projects in the sphere of non formal education for adult learners, and for senior citizens in particular. The foundation organises educational meetings, training courses, seminars and studytours in the Netherlands and to foreign countries. In cooperation with educational institutions in other countries the foundation organises studytours to The Netherlands and (occasionally) to other European countries, e.g. Flanders (Belgium) and Russia. The foundation was established in 1989 as a result of the dismantling of the former Dutch Centre for Adult Education NCVO. The foundation has a very limited professional staff (1 person); it works with small groups of participants (10 - 30) and it is very depending on qualified volunteers both for teaching, guiding and organising tasks. The board of the foundation (4 persons) is also made up of volunteers. Through the years the foundation has established good contacts with other organisations for non-formal adult education and with voluntary organisations both within The Netherlands and abroad. The foundation is based in Amersfoort in the province of Utrecht. For further information and contact: step.henri[at]planet.nl

Finland - Kiuruvesi Adult Education Centre (Kiuruveden Kansalaisopisto):
The aim of the Centre is to integrate the internal immigrants from urbanized regions with the people living in the countryside and in rural areas. We train both groups to express their daily needs in life, in order to give ‘neighbour help’ and to encourage co-operation in order to make life better for everyone in the villages.The main organisation for training volunteers is Kiuruveden Kansalaisopisto – Kiuruvesi Adult Education Centre, and it’s national ‘Coming Home’ project. The Adult Education Centre is a learning organisation in nonformal, lifelong and lifewide education. It is based in Kiuruvesi, a small town in the middle of Finland. We offer opportunities for citizenship skills and for developing personality. Anyone can attend the courses irrespective of age, profession or educational background. We have nearly 2000 students, which equals almost 20% of the inhabitants of the municipality. We have learning groups in 60 places, which is nearly in every village. The learning groups are the original villagers and the internal immigrants as well as the instructors of the project and all other citizens in the community. For further information and contact: leena.penttinen[at]kiuruvesi.fi

Lithuania - Petrasiuniai community centre (Petrašiūnai Bendruomenes Centras):
The organisation is located in a former industrial district of the city of Kaunas, the second largest city of Lithuania. It provides community organising and community development activities for a variety of groups in the local community. This includes health and non-formal education and training services for senior citizens (senior women). The Community centre is a leading expert in providing self-help and self-support services for senior people in communities. For over 12 years, Petrašiūnai community centre has been providing consulting and non-formal education services for groups of adult people from the neighbourhood. The services include all kinds of non-formal education – English and IT courses, painting, sewing, etc. Working with adult people in the neighbourhood always involves working with volunteers including senior volunteers. The Community centre currently provides services run by over 25 volunteers. For further information and contact: pbc[at]takas.lt

Hungary – ÉLETFA Help Service Association (Életfa Segítő Szolgálat Egyesület):
was founded in 1989 in the Community Centre of Csapókert in the city of Debrecen, in the north-eastern part of Hungary. Six people work for the organization, the members of the association are all specialists of various human institutions of Debrecen, university and college lecturers, specialists working in the field of social and cultural issues. Our work is backed by other professionals, university and college students and volunteers.

The activities of the organization:
• Continuation of model experiments in the field of social and community service development.
• Propagation and extension of the settlement tradition to regional and national level.
• Propagation and extension to regional level of voluntary work, holding training at the Életfa Voluntary Centre.
• As major participants in community development and community work on local, county and regional level, we contribute to the formation of a national network.
• Initiating and participating in various forms of cooperation between non- profit organizations on local, county and regional level.
• We are members of the Regional Civil Conciliatory Forum. The president of the Association represents the Forum in the Regional Development Council.
Co-operation with international organizations operating in the fields of socio-cultural issues, community development, community work and the settlement movement. We are member of the International Federation of Settlements and Neighbourhoodcentres IFS. For further information and contact: info[at]eletfaegyesulet.hu

United kingdom -  Amber Valley Centre for Voluntary Support:
The Amber Valley Centre for Voluntary Support is based in Ripley, Derbyshire. It provides support to voluntary sector organisations, many of whom offer services to older people or those with specific disadvantages. Our role is to bring people and organisations together for discussion, to strengthen communities and to offer access to training and learning for older people or for those who wish to learn how to support them. We ourselves provide domestic support and befriending to older people in our communities. For further information and contact: lynn[at]avcvs.org

Romania – Women Organisation of Bihor (Uniunea Femeilor Din Bihor):
The purpose of the organisation is to help and support the women to improve their life conditions with a focus on their role in the family. The organisation is based in the city of Oradea, but its activities include the entire Bihor county. Our concern goes to: children, adolescents, young women, wives, mothers, workers, grandmothers. Each generation has its distinct role and responsibilities in the family and in the professional-, socio-cultural-, economic- and political life. Main objectives of the organisation are: 1) To observe the universal women’s rights, the rights of the child and the family; 2) To promote women in the economic-, cultural-, social- and political life; 3) To provide social assistance for families in difficult circumstances.
Some activities are: ‘Open windows towards the sky’ (social assistance for the elderly); ‘Neighbours for neighbours’ (material and inmaterial support for families in need); campaigns against violence on women; seminars on democracy & civil society. For further information and contact: mioritasateanu777[at]yahoo.com