Launching the online learning platform: A new shared space to bind the growing NEMESIS community

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18 Dec 2019

Launching the online learning platform: A new shared space to bind the growing NEMESIS community

By ASOCCE / ZEMOS98

NEMESIS’ online learning platform marks a new step in the journey of the project.  The online platform provides resources to teachers and educators interested in applying the model. There they can find practical information, good practices, and online courses for their professional development. 

The platform also works as a hub for educators and social entrepreneurs to be part of an online community of like-minded people interested in education and social innovation. In short, the platform matches schools with experienced social innovators practitioners (SIPs) so that together they can create projects that benefit the local community. The functions of the new platform merit some explaining. And who better to do this than two of the social entrepreneurs who are already stuck into their NEMESIS journey? We sat down with SIPs Natasha Anathisadou and Alex Theodoridis to discuss their experiences of the project so far and to ask how the new platform will prove useful in the progression of NEMESIS.

Matching Entrepreneurs with Projects

One of the uses of this new platform was illustrated by Natasha. She noted how the new platform is particularly well geared towards prospective social entrepreneurs like herself who could be interested in joining. In its earlier stages, members of the programme sought out relevant entrepreneurs to see if they would be interested in joining. The online platform, however, would give prospective SIPs a greater insight into the range of school projects on offer, allowing them the chance to see which one would be the best fit for them as a partner and where their skills and contribution would be of most use. They can also upload their portfolio of work and create a profile that can be viewed by other schools and partners.

NEMESIS Portfolios

Natasha knows the good that can come from marrying a SIP to a project related to their field. She experienced this first hand when she was matched Rockingham School’s project ‘Forever Fashion’ in England. Thanks to the experience she had gained through setting up her own sustainable fashion business ‘Generation Generous’, she was perhaps more qualified than any to help these students realize their plans. The case was similar for Alex, who was matched with a project related to his own social enterprise ‘Boroume’. He distributes excess food from homes and businesses to homeless shelters and those in need. Both noted how the lessons they learned from their social endeavours meant they were able to contribute a lot to their given projects.

“I have lived through the motions of it. I have the inside information”.

Natasha remembers fondly how passionate the children were about their NEMESIS goals and feels proud she was able to be a source of inspiration. Likewise, Alex concurs that his school visits were, for him, the most impactful part of the project. If this is the level of success that has come from the matches we’ve made so far, then imagine what projects we can achieve if SIPs have a platform to select and create projects by themselves!

Natasha Athanasiadou, Social Entrepreneur & Partner in NEMESIS

“SIPs would be able to see open projects where they can offer their help as well as areas of interest that they can contribute to or initiate and run.”

“Ideally, it will be a very helpful tool which will connect them to schools and their students who need their guidance and inspiration in order to become themselves also social innovation practitioners!”

Training Programmes

Furthermore, Natasha and Alex believe the new platform to be worth its weight in salt for another reason: training programmes. That’s right. The platform will serve as something of a guideline. It will be a toolkit that can empower our students, parents and teachers to succeed and to help stimulate ideas that can further develop and improve the programmes that they have designed.

Examples of these training programmes include teacher training modules, a medium for teachers to get a grounding in the NEMESIS ethos. It provides examples of ways to apply the social innovation education model – something that we reckon will come in handy given that this initiative is one of the first of its kind. 

Connecting the NEMESIS community

Last but not least, both Alex and Natasha see the online platform as a way of “connecting a community of changemakers across countries, progressions, and ages to make social innovation a norm in education”. Given that the schools and social innovation practitioners (SIPs) involved in NEMESIS are now spread over a host of different states, this new measure seeks to bind the international NEMESIS community. The platform is available in seven languages* and has a Co-Creation Area where teachers and students can find the tools for work in their Social Innovation projects as well as sharing ideas and content.

This aims to allow all NEMESIS individuals to maintain relations, exchange ideas and ask one another for advice that can help to develop each person’s respective project and, in this way, continue to advance the programme as a whole. This is certainly what Alex believes:

Alex Theodoridis, Social Entrepreneur & Partner at NEMESIS

“For me it’s the exactly its raison d’etre, namely to create a place where the various stakeholders of a different approach to education in the future can meet, discuss, co-create and change young people’s minds about their approach towards society, the environment, etc.”

It is hoped, then, that the platform will strengthen the international NEMESIS community – one that Natasha and Alex perceive to be full of likeminded people and many of whom they would call “friends” by now.

Are you a school willing to learn more about NEMESIS or thinking about joining the project? Feel free to surf the web and drop us a line (hello@nemesis-edu.eu) or fill our contact form.

Are you a social innovator who would like to collaborate with the schools in your area? Click here for more info on how to become a mentor.

* Deutch, Ελληνικά, English, Español, Français, Nederlands, Português

13 Sep 2019

Teachers’ Training Event in Thessaloniki

By STIMMULI

Some days before the official start of the academic year 2019 -2020, the NEMESIS team organized a teacher’s training workshop in the premises of the 9th high school of Kalamaria in Thessaloniki, Greece. The aim of the workshop was to introduce to new schools and the 56 participating teachers the NEMESIS educational philosophy and set the ground for their involvement in the second pilot year of the project.

The training focused on different aspects of the projects:

i) concepts around social innovation and social entrepreneurship,

ii) the key principles guiding the NEMESIS educational model, namely: the student-centred approach, co-creation and transformative social action,

iii) the project mechanisms that will be utilized in each school to facilitate the pilot implementation such as the co-creation labs and the NEMESIS SI open learning platform.

To avoid long theoretical discussions, teachers from the three Greek schools that participated in the first pilot year of the project shared their experiences and helped the new schools with practical tips and guidance. Also, the Greek SIP Alexander Theodoridis from Boroume helped the participants to better understand concepts around social innovation and social entrepreneurship and the role of the SIPs in the NEMESIS co-creation labs.

Overall, the discussions held during the workshop enabled the new teachers to get to grips with the NEMESIS model but most importantly brought to surface some “expected” challenges for implementing the NEMESIS model in the new academic year. As anticipated, the challenges that were pointed out relate to

i) teachers established teaching practices and the need to change their instructional style, step back and let students lead the way,

ii) difficulties in understanding the wider concept of social innovation

iii) existing attitudes and narrow perceptions towards linking entrepreneurship and school education.

However, the valuable experience and the lessons learned from the first pilot year will help the NEMESIS teams to better address teachers concerns and challenges ensuring an even more successful and enlightening second pilot year whereby more than 30 schools around Europe will try to implement the NEMESIS model in their contexts.

Dr. Aristidis Protopsaltis (ILI-FAU) giving a presentation during the training

 

The NEMESIS team would like to thank all participants and wish them a creative and successful school year.

 Do you want to learn about other schools projects in NEMESIS? Click here.

Are you a school willing to learn more about NEMESIS or thinking about joining the project? Feel free to surf the web and drop us a line (hello@nemesis-edu.eu) or fill our contact form.

Are you a social innovator who – as those mentioned here- would like to collaborate with the schools in your area? Click here for more info on how to become a mentor.