Ustanova za obrazovanje odraslih Dante - Adult Education Institution Dante

Who we are?

The Adult Education Institution Dante is a modern and efficient institution that has been carrying out adult education programmes in Rijeka, Croatia, for over 30 years. Dante attracts numerous generations of adult learners by offering quality educational formal and non-formal programmes and courses (focusing on foreign language learning, vocational programmes, intercultural communication, basic skills, teaching methods and approaches, transferable skills, and entrepreneurship) that respond to the needs of modern society and contribute to the development of adult education at the local, regional, and European level.

Dante’s career centre offers career counselling services to people who are at key milestones in their educational or career path. For more than 30 years, we have been engaged in adult education and we have been following changes in the labour market, and we have recognized the need to develop a career counselling program for all those seeking guidance.

What we do?

The Institution closely cooperates with state institutions – the Ministry of Science and Education, the Agency for Vocational Education and Training and Adult Education, and the Croatian Agency for Mobility and European Projects. In addition to national cooperation, Dante has considerable experience in international cooperation and partnerships, having participated in the Lifelong Learning Programme, Erasmus+ (KA1, KA2, KA3, Forward-looking Projects), CERV, and the European Social Fund. It has also been awarded the 2020 Erasmus accreditation in the field of adult education for the period 2021-2027.

Dante is a European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) member and has hosted and organized numerous international meetings, training events, and conferences related to adult education. In particular, Dante has hosted conferences partially funded by the Central European Initiative (CEI) action plan and focused on key issues related to adult education in Croatia (Adult Education and the Labour Market, Developing and Understanding the Professional Identity of Adult Educators) as well as the 2018 ESREA conference on 2030 education goals and adult learning. In 2021, Dante held an international conference on the past, emerging and future trends and issues in adult education titled Adult Education in the 21st Century – Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed.

Dante is a member of several European networks of professionals and organisations (Let Her In, New Ideas for New Opportunities) whose aim is to eliminate the obstacles that adults and educators face as well as contribute to sustainable adult education and learning, vocational and work-based learning. Development And Networking for a Training Evolution is a newly founded network by Dante, whose aim is to strengthen the capacity of stakeholders in the education system at the national and international levels, and consequently, improve and establish quality systems within the entire education sector.

Best practices

• FIGHT THE FRIGHT – Facing the Fear of Public Speaking in a Foreign Language – developing public speaking in a foreign language using drama techniques and interactive materials and resources.
• VR4LL – developing VR environments and tasks to enhance language learning effectiveness.
• FAST TRACK – helping adults identify and get on the right career path.
• S2CENE – establishment of national and regional networks of Second Chance Schools (SCS) for young adults’ education in Europe.
• R(AE)L INCLUSION – providing support and training to adult educators facing difficulties in responding to the needs of adults with disabilities
• KAUZ – Climate Justice, Work and Future – Learning just transition through solidarity-based living and production models.
• C4CC – Calendar for Climate Change, Inter-generational Education to Ease Global Warming
• Taste of Harmony – a project aimed at supporting intercultural dialogue through sharing personal stories and meaning embedded in recipes

Publications

• Dante Institution – Three Decades of Faith in the Power of Education (2021)
• Education 2030 & Adult Learning: Global Perspectives and Local Communities – Bridges or Gaps? Agendas, praxis and research: BGL-ALC 2018 Conference Programme Book (2018)