12.09.2017 eaea grundtvig award 2017

Creative classes enabling learning in Hungary

EAEA GRUNDTVIG AWARD 2017. Believing that creative art courses can benefit adult learners, the Kistarcsa Cultural Association developed mosaics and ceramics courses for pensioners and mother with young children.

“In the case of aging adults the opportunity of lifelong learning is prioritised in order to maintain intellectual and physical health. In the case of younger participants one of the goals was to provide an alternative way of income,” Ferenc Kereszti elaborates the motivation behind the choosing of the target groups.

The project included international exchange and the learners got the opportunity to get to know more about the local methods of making ceramics and mosaics.

“Our goal was to make the community more vivid, to have the participants become active members of their community.”

Visibility through public artwork

The project didn’t create art just inside classrooms but also wanted to bring it to public places. Thus the learners designed a stone mosaic to be put in the centre of the town. After the authorization from the local government, students created a mosaic mandala of 3,5 metres in diameter in the centre of Kistarcsa in Hungary.

Two years after the beginning of the project, the most active learners now form a real community. International exchange and meetings have given participants the chance to become familiar with the different cultures of the partner countries. Thanks to the active visibility in the local community, the adult learners of the course have become well known in the town.

“As everybody knows the artists behind the mosaic are not professional artists, we hope it can inspire others to take part in similar courses in the future,” Ferenc Kereszti concludes.

The project: Kistarcsa Cultural Association
  • Award category: European projects (Hungary)
  • Learner target group: Pensioners, mothers with small children
  • Innovative practice: Cooperation between the local community and adult learners

Project coordinator

Project partners

  • DIKEPAP, KIKE, La Meridiana

Resources

The article series shares good practices on engaging new learners by introducing the nominees of the EAEA Grundtvig Award 2017.

Text: Lou-Andréa PinsonPhotos: Kistarcsa Cultural Association

News

More news >
10.02.2026 EAEA Annual Conference

Introducing EAEA’s 2026 Annual Theme: Resilience and Community-Building

EAEA'S 2026 annual theme is closely linked to current EU priorities, especially the Democracy Package - including the Civil Society Strategy and the Democracy Shield initiative. At a time of rising Euroscepticism and threats to democratic values, adult education has the power to strengthen democracy by promoting civic engagement, critical thinking and participation.

09.02.2026 climate

How learning and action shape a more sustainable society: golden nuggets from neuroscience to foster a constructive climate change debate

On February 4-5, EAEA participated in a learning symposium and keynote speech around climate education research and action, in Geneva, Switzerland. The events were organised in the context of the Horizon Europe LEVERs project, in which EAEA is a partner.

04.02.2026 digitalisation

Remote work: Challenges and opportunities for ALE in the digital world

EAEA’s Communication, Capacity-building and Membership Officer, Marina Sakač Hadžić, attended a conference on the topic of Remote Work & Social Change, taking place at the University of Antwerp on the 20th and 21st of January. She combines her work at EAEA with a PhD in law, bringing together insights from non-formal adult learning with ethnographic research.