Dare Project Field Monitoring - 07 August 2016

In the field monitoring meeting, representatives of the Israeli Erasmus+ office visited Haifa University to hear about the progress of the DARE project in all Israeli institutions. All the Israeli partners attended this important meeting.

The visit went very well, we presented the activities carried out so far, a summary of different reports (FWPs, QA plan, dissemination plan, consensus report and comparative framework, proposed institutional report) and our website, Facebook and online table of dissemination.

The Israeli partners also shared their own experiences and briefly described how their institution addresses issues of dissemination, sustainability and impact.

Dare Project Field Monitoring in Georgia October 2016

Access to Higher Education International Perspectives - 19 June 2016 

DARE project was presented by Prof. Hanan Alexander, the Dean of Students and DARE coordinator, and Dr. Galit Caduri, DARE's project manager. 

Prof. Ovidiu Gavrilovic from the Faculty of Psychology, Alexandru Cuza University in Iasi, Romania discussed issues related to accessibility by exploring with the participants their own perceptions on concepts such as narrative, identity, the "Other", diversity and personal development. He also discussed the "danger of the single narrative" that we hold when communicating with the Other. 

Dr. Jo-Anne Dillabough from Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, UK presented the concept of "accessibility" in terms of the challenges that policy makers, professional, and educators in the UK are facing when dealing with issues of accessibility of disadvantaged groups (migrants, ethnic minority, displaced people etc.) to higher education.

Erasmus+ day in Tel-Aviv - 8 December 2016

Dissemination of the Ideas of the EU International Project DARE in Georgia

Sokhumi State University, Tbilisi Georgia

26 of April 2017

On April 26, 2017, the conference dedicated to the dissemination of the DARE  international project funded by the European Union Program Erasmus + was held at Sokhumi State University (Developing programs for Access of disadvantaged groups of people and Regions to higher Education  - DARE).

The organizer of the conference was the project member organization European Access Network (UK) from Great Britain and Sokhumi State University from Georgia. 

The conference was opened by the local coordinator of DARE project at Sokhumi State University, Dean of the Faculty of Education Prof. Lia Akhaladze, who spoke about the goals of the conference: "Our meeting aims to introduce the public and make a report on implementing of DARE project ideas. To summarize the work done within the project and at the same time to disseminate this information; Academic, governmental and public sectors to be in touch with each other to discuss the  issues of access to higher education and to continue cooperation on these issues in the format of dialogue. More importantly, to disseminate information about DARE ideas and support formation of  public opinion in the field of access to higher education of socially vulnerable groups  in terms of   actualization, advocacy and increasing of public involvement."

Inclusive Education in Higher Educational System

The joint national conference of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia and Sokhumi State University was held on  September 28, 2017 at the hotel "Hualing". The topic of the conference  was “Inclusive Education in Higher Educational System", that is one of the most important challenges for our country.  The conference was supported by the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia Ms. Lia Gigauri, the Rector of Sokhumi State University, Prof. Zurab Khonelidze, the Head of  Inclusive Education Development Division of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia Eka Dgebuadze, the representatives of the Division Tamar Zhgenti and Maia Mikautadze.

Presentation of DARE at the Forum of Heads of Accessibility Centers in Israel April 22nd 2018 

Georgian National Meeting, Dissemination: Posters, Policy Recommendations and Student Participation

The National Meeting graciously held at Telavi State University was very successful. The group agreed on a format for students presentations in the upcoming CM-- covering students feedback, their feelings, situation analyses before and after DARE project and their their expectations. The group then work-shopped writing up the policy recommendations that have been and will be implemented in each institution within DARE as well as those that will be recommended on the national level. The national recommendations focused upon adding means in which students from ethnic and religious minority and majority groups interact and do tasks together; focusing on methods that identify students with learning difficulties before National Entrance Exams; and the recognition of distance learning. Finally the group agreed upon producing posters for dissemination and exploitation that highlight the "DARE difference" and for which drafts will be presented at the upcoming CM for feedback.

The Israeli national meeting was scheduled to be held at Sapir College, but due to the proximity of the roads to clashes at the Gaza boarder and rocket-fire, the meeting was held via video-conference. The participants were Prof. Hanan Alexander, Ms. Corina Hershcovitz and Dr. Rachel Pear (UH), Dr. Rhonda.Sofer (GACE), Dr. Heidi Flavian (Achva), and Anna Kupesok and Ortal Gadot Landau (Sapir). The meeting was deemed a success by participants with a number of decisions made by the group. For instance, Israeli team members liked the poster series theme suggested by their Georgian colleagues "DARE with us". These posters will crystallize how each institution has been changed because of DARE and invite others to join-- either as new prospective students or as other IHE who would like to adopt similar programs. The Sapir team volunteered to help produce the poster drafts for all institutions for the CM so that they could be work-shopped as a set. Other topics discussed included policy recommendations, uploading material for the website, and ideas for intensifying dissemination activities. Everyone went home with a lot to do and results would be shared at the CM in one months time.