Regional Network of Service-Learning of Central and Eastern Europe in cooperation with the national host TOKA and Centro Latinoamericano de Aprendizaje y Servicio Solidario – CLAYSS implemented Service-Learning week. During this week, as part of the project “HEARMI – Boosting HEARts and MInds of youth with Service-Learning”, as one of the planned activities, a conference on Service Learning was held on December 10, 2021 in Prizren, Kosovo.

The conference gathered about 150 participants as well as partners and various stakeholders from the education sector:

• Ministry of Education
• Institutions responsible for curriculum policy
• Educational agencies, school representatives
• Civil society organizations
• High Education Institutions.
• Donors

The conference included positive examples of Service-Learning from the region, which is the pedagogy of SL as well as its potential for learning outcomes for children and / or students.

At the beginning of the conference, a video of the Regional Network of Service-Learning of Central and Eastern Europe was presented.

Then, in plenary session, the panelists discussed why Service-Learning is needed in current and future trends in education – with a focus on how to best prepare young people for 21st century society and the workplace, as well as inputs on where education will go in the future, in the context of Service-Learning. In the second block, the panelists discussed the topic “Service-Learning pedagogy as in-depth in-service teacher professional development”. This panel focused on how this approach directly contributes to the implementation of the curriculum and contributes to the professional development of teachers – including more effective curriculum learning and class management.

The panel was followed by preentation of publication and a collections of Service-Learning practices from the region, followed by workshops. During the workshops, the topics were “What is Service-Learning in COVID-19 context”, “Why the students participation in the Service-Learning practices is crucial” and what are the first steps a teacher can take when they want to start SL practice in classrooms.

This was followed by a regional Service-Learning awards ceremony during which the winners were awarded prizes for three places and the finalists certificates.

With the announcement of the next call for regional awards, the conference ended successfully.