In 2023, the LifeLong Learning team in Dublin South City Partnership secured accreditation with Erasmus+, as a Community Adult Education provider. This results in funding each year to promote learning opportunities for the various teams of people we work with.

Erasmus+ is the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe.
The programme places a strong focus on social inclusion, the green and digital transitions, and promoting young people’s participation in democratic life.
It supports priorities and activities set out in the European Education Area, Digital Education Action Plan and the European Skills Agenda. The programme also supports the European Pillar of Social Rights.

Having accreditation is providing us with the opportunity to widen our horizons, as learners and practitioners in adult education; to see how other countries and organisations work and what they do; and to share our experience both away and when we come back.

In 2025, Dublin South City Partnership’s Lifelong Learning Team was delighted to complete a learning exchange visit to Bad Kösen, Germany, as part of our Erasmus+ programme on inclusion and integration in adult education.

In preparation for the trip, participants took part in a series of eight interactive workshops, developing cross-cultural communication skills and getting ready for international exchange.

From 1st to 6th June 2025, DSCP learners and staff joined workshops, cultural visits, and exchange activities with local organisations in Germany. Our hosts, the Catholic education centre Konrad Martin Haus, warmly welcomed the group and arranged visits to local community projects as well as a rich programme of cultural activities. This created valuable opportunities to experience European approaches to adult education and inclusion, while also sharing our own perspectives from Dublin.

Since returning home, participants have shared their experiences with the wider community — bringing back fresh ideas, greater confidence, and new learning to peer groups and activities across DSCP.