Europen Learning Partnership
European Women - Images of interaction

Bi-national meeting in Esbjerg, Denmark
30th March – 3rd April 2004

Hostess:
Daghojskolen “De Frie Fugle” (day high school “The Free Bird”)
In this Danish partner institution women can find help in a three-month job-oriented course giving them not only further education but also strategies to solve personal crises. The teaching not only includes education through practical experiences but also creative-visual methods. Many women visit the courses as part of a job creation scheme, so only a limited number of them attend on a voluntary basis.

Participants: Heidi Hofmeister as teacher and 5 participants of the Frauenakademie Ulm (Women’s Academy, Ulm – Germany) Randi Hundeböll, Mona Ditlevsen, Birte Duus as teachers and 20 participants of the daghojskolen “De Frie Fugle”
Contents:
-	meeting with women of the partner organisation “De Frie Fugle”
-	exchange on the living conditions of women in both countries
-	joint two-and-a-half-day creative workshop

Workshop:
The workshop was divided into two parts:
The first part concentrated on visual arts and the second part was laid out as a writing workshop. During this time, intense talks with the Danish women about their situation, their expectations and wishes were possible. Each of the participants represented her personal life motto. The workshop’s aim was to design a puzzle, DIN A4 sized, with a picture of oneself, symbols and eventually a short text on the things most important to one’s life.
During the last morning all pieces of the puzzle were put together and presented as a small exhibition in the rooms of the daghojskolen. In June, this exhibition will also be presented on the occasion of the trans-national meeting of the European Learning Partnership in Warsaw, Poland.

In the evening, the participants were invited to a farewell party with a marvellous buffet, singing and dances. During our leisure time we had the opportunity to visit Denmark’s oldest town “Ribe” and the island of “Faro”. Both were really worth seeing.

Conclusion:
We had a lot of opportunities to talk with the Danish women. We would especially like to thank the 3 Danish teachers of Esbjerg - Randi Hundeböll, Mona Ditlevsen and Birte Duus – for their warm welcome and interesting talks. We hope we will meet them again on their return visit in the autumn.