Christmas newsletter 2017

New adolescent building in TTG

Eurasia Christmas Newsletter 2017 for our dear friends and members

It is with great joy that we are starting to prepare festivities and events to celebrate the 20 years of Eurasia in 2018 in Switzerland and Vietnam

The actual work of Eurasia already started in an informal way in 1992.

Eurasia was born from the encounter of experienced professionals in the fields of special education and social therapy in Switzerland perceiving the suffering of children living with disabilities in Vietnam and urgent needs of their families. The meeting of this challenging reality with those who have a capacity to understand, and a will to act in order to relieve this suffering, built a bridge out of which Eurasia was born. For over two decades this collaboration has brought about many manifestations of social innovation and global care.

In 1998 the Association was formally inaugurated and since then our activities have developed constantly and have grown into a solid network of concrete projects in Vietnam and Europe.

A very dynamic Vietnamese team and the dedicated Board of the Eurasia Foundation and Association have worked together tirelessly in order to respond to the changing needs of the individuals living with disabilities and their families, and also the needs of the professionals who have the integration and wellbeing of these marginalized people at heart. The work of Eurasia is constantly adapting in a very fast-changing society, always facing new challenges and opportunities. Our tasks have also evolved over the years towards a wider ecological awareness and the need to develop social entrepreneurship in order to make the life and work of people with disabilities sustainable. We also decided to bring Social and Emotional Learning to so called « normal children ». All these new developments have the same goal: Integrating individuals with disabilities and other marginalized people more and more and helping them participate actively in societal change. These transformations are expressed through a new « subtitle » in our logo:

Eurasia Foundation and Association for Social Innovation and Compassion in Action

20 years of Eurasia festivities 2018

In Vietnam, at The Peaceful Bamboo Family, Hue, the festivities of Eurasia will take place on the 12th and 13th of April 2018 with 2 days of ELI training and on the 15th of April 2018 a full day of joyful celebration with our friends and partners. Dear friends if any you wish to join us please let us know!

In Switzerland the dates for the 20 years festivities are : 21st and 22nd of September 2018 for an ELI workshop and a festive and joyful celebration on the 23rd of September. We are currently developing a detailed program is and you will receive updated information soon! Please keep the dates in your diary!

Below you can see all the achievements of Eurasia of these past 20 years that we wish to celebrate and the projects which have been envisioned for the coming… 20 years… by a young, dynamic and committed team

Special education:

• Special classes in primary schools in Hue
• Special schools
• Home based rehabilitation programs
• Vocational training workshops
• Organization of festivals and exhibitions for/by children living with disabilities
• Early detection and parental advice in HCM and Hue
• An inclusive Waldorf kindergarten

Social therapy:

• A home for elderly ladies
• The Peaceful Bamboo Family, Tinh Truc Gia=TTG, a Camphill community
• A social entrepreneurship project

Teacher training:

• A one year post graduate certificate in special education and social therapy
• Regular ongoing professional training since 1999
• Scholarships and internships for educators
• Trainings for parents and volunteers
• ELI : Eurasia Learning Institute

Environmental projects:

• Planting trees
• Biodynamic garden and biodynamic training

Care education

• Social Emotional Learning programs for primary school children
• Nature programs for school children
• Mindfulness Based Happiness and Compassion Program

Eurasia Learning Institute ELI

Our mission

Based on decades of successful practice in the fields of education, special education, social therapy, ecology and social innovation, Eurasia Learning Institute for Happiness and Wellbeing (ELI) offers experiential programs leading participants from inner transformation to engagement for a happy and sustainable world.

Our passion

Co-creating true happiness by living in harmony with self, others and nature

Our identity

A diverse community of change makers, acting out of compassion and insight

Courses

- Special education and social therapy

- Call2Care, Social Emotional Learning and Mindfulness in Education

-   Biodynamic agriculture

-   Community life and ecology

- Gross National Happiness in organizations, education and business

- Experimental programs from “Kindergarten to University”: Connecting with Self, Others and Nature

Eurasia projects for 2018 in Vietnam and Switzerland

Happy schools

In 2015, Eurasia and the university of Hue worked in partnership to launch a pilot project called “A Call to Care”, whose aim was to develop the social and emotional skills of primary school children. The efficacy of this project has been scientifically proven and has encouraged us to develop it further. Eurasia will develop a training program for primary and secondary school teachers, which includes the Happy Schools framework, which is promoted by UNESCO. This program will be put in place in the whole province of Hue.

Empowerment project

An increasing number of primary and secondary schools come regularly to The Peaceful Bamboo Family (TTG), our living and working community for people living with disabilities. They come to learn about ecology, social work, handicrafts and artistic activities. This program has been a great success in terms of integration, as the young people living with disabilities are the ones who introduce the school children to the different activities in TTG. Thanks to donations, we have been able to buy the material, which allows us to cater for hundreds of children on a regular basis. We have also been able create a space which is adapted to the needs of this project and which allows the young people of TTG to do their work in an independent manner.

Empowerment project: the young people of TTG teaching primary school pupils

Eurasia projects Switzerland

In Switzerland, the young Eurasia team is working to:

• train themselves by working directly with the more experienced Eurasia team and also following diverse trainings such as the Gross National Happiness Master Class, project management, community life and social and emotional learning.
• raise funds through conferences, workshops, retreats,
• develop the image of Eurasia and widen our network by being present on the alternative scene and by creating new means of communication more adapted to the evolution of Eurasia: new logos,  banners, a new website and creating new networks in Europe
• develop an ELI Learning Centre in Switzerland  following the success of a seminar called “Youth for Change” for young adults, which was held in July 2017.  This will take place again in 2018 and will include coaching for young people who are engaged in implementing their own personal projects.

Recent innovative social project

Another project which is currently being developed is a living and educational community with a social vocation in Switzerland.

In November, five adults and three children moved into and started renovating a farm for a social community in Gimel, Switzerland. This project aims to change our way of thinking and living, to create healthy and sustainable relationships and structures for people and planet. The values of this community are aligned with the values promoted by Eurasia, but it is an independent structure. Collaboration with Eurasia the future could include the domains of education, training, opening of their doors to refugees and the management of human resources. This community, like the Peaceful Bamboo Family in Vietnam, has the potential to become a training and experimental Learning Centre for the ELI training programs. It is also a place where the young people, who are part of the ELI Learning Lab training, could come to learn about life in a community with a social vocation.

Having shared with you all this wonderful news, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, full of hope and positive energy, and once again, express our deep gratitude for your generous support.

For your donations:

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Account: 987.86.01

IBAN: CH78 0076 7000 A098 78601

Eurasia Association

CCP 17-496738-5

http://www.eurasia.org.vn