Reflections of the lead partner

By now, we would have finished the Welcoming International Talent-project. Would have, if COVID-19 would not have turned our world upside down. As it Is now, we will be facing restrictions in personal contacts for at least another half-year.  These personal contacts are, in my view, very important for a project on transfer of a good practice, if not essential.

Luckily, we have had a good starting year of the project, where we were fully on schedule with the transfer. The personal relations have been made, and they will remain.

All are partners have made progress in the last year, maybe not as fast as expected, but as fast as possible in the circumstances. We are still committed to finish the project successfully.

The Leuven-experience, which we all were looking forward to, last year, will be held in January, digitally. This is an interesting challenge: how do you make a lively and meaningful Transnational Virtual Meeting?

We all have had our share of digital meetings last year: Teams, Zoom, Meets, Webex, you name it, we have done it. To be frank, most of these meetings are tiring and often unfulfilling.

However, I also have seen good examples. Recently I participated in an online ‘Design Sprint’ led by Stefaan Vandist from Pantopicon. It was a mix of digital conferencing, Zoom-style, online whiteboarding exercises with Miro and offline exercises for all individual participants. It was engaging, inspiring fun, and, effective.

I also have seen other examples of good digital exchanges. The URBACT team in Paris has set up a range of tips, and we have had a webinar on how to organize such a digital event.

The Transfer networks are about learning. We are learning an unplanned skill now, digital event organizing. This is not a handicap, it is a chance to grow.

I look forward to sharing our learning points with you!