Onsite Course for Ambassadors: Building an Innovative Community

Wilhelm Vukovich, European Commission; Carla Lourenço, General Directorate for Education, Portuguese Ministry of Education; Teresa Lacerda, Portuguese National Support Organisation; and Rute Baptista, Central Support Service, opened the event by welcoming the participants and stressing the importance of ambassadors in the eTwinning Community. 

Joana Cunha, biology teacher and ambassador of the Torrance Center® in Portugal delivered the first keynote speech where she focused on top skills and creative problem solving. During the keynote, she talked about how creative problem solving involves breaking down a problem to understand it, generating ideas to solve the problem and evaluating those ideas to find the most effective solutions. It uses techniques to make the problem-solving process engaging and collaborative. 

Marta Giuliani, Central Support Service, delivered the second keynote session which focused on the vital role of ambassadors in building and maintaining online communities. During the speech, she explored the meaningful role of ambassadors in fostering a sense of community within online networks. 

Participants learned about the key elements of effective community building such as: engaging in activities; creating rituals that reinforce the community spirit; identifying community representatives; and finally, defining a shared identity. The day ended with the first phase of the interactive activity. The ambassadors were asked to imagine themselves as inhabitants of a town called ‘Ambassadors’ Town’ and to identify the challenges they were facing in the various buildings according to the different topics assigned. 
 

The first day of the event was streamed online, allowing both onsite and online participants to engage in the conversation and share their perspectives. 
The second day started with workshop sessions. Workshop leaders focused on a variety of topics, including artificial intelligence, well-being, collaborative creating solutions with design thinking and community building in project work. 

The last day started with the ambassadors’ presentations generated from the interactive activity. The ten groups took to the stage to creatively present the topics discussed during the networking moments of the previous days with songs, videos or short theatrical performances.  

 Then, it was time to give the floor to the ambassadors and listen to their testimonies about their work on innovation and community building. Six ambassadors from six different countries were invited onto the stage to share their practices.

Irene Pateraki, from Central Support Service, delivered a moving closing speech that resonated with all participants. Drawing from her personal journey as an eTwinner, NSO and CSS, Irene highlighted the significance of being part of the eTwinning community.  
 

The event was a unique opportunity for professional and personal enrichment for those who participated. The event highlighted both the professional and personal enrichment that eTwinning has brought to longtime eTwinners. 

‘What I liked most was the possibility to know, interact and exchange experiences and practices with like-minded colleagues. This gave me a lot of energy and motivation to continue promoting eTwinning despite the difficulties.’