Two kinds of transnational project meetings took place within the project:

Steering Committee meetings:
The goal of these meetings was to plan the overall activities of the project, monitor the project work plan and overall performance, tackle possible problems and agree upon related contingency plans.

• Porto 3rd – 4th of September 2019
• Antwerp 22nd – 23rd April 2020
• Online 3rd September 2021
• Porto 6th – 7th of December 2021

Working Group meetings:
The goal of these meetings was to plan in details the work of each Working Group under the overall responsibility of the SC.

Pandemic:

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic we decided to organize steering committee and working group meetings online. This also resulted in the organization of additional working group meetings, as the work online differs from in-person contacts and requires different working forms.

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‏‏‎ List of meetings

Kick off

Title: Kick-off meeting
Starting date: 24/02/2019
End date: 25/02/2019
Description:

All partners attended the project’s kick-off meeting in Antwerp on February 24 and 25th 2019, which was attended by 12 participants. At the kick-off meeting the project contents, administration, timeline and organization were discussed. A dedicated working session on the Impact Framework of Erasmus+ was held. The working scope of each of the three working groups was formulated/defined and work packages were set and distributed to each group. The sequence of activities was discussed and, for the timeline, a Gantt chart displaying the activities per working group was created and adapted where necessary. The organization of the project as well as all responsibilities between coordinator, working groups and the steering committee were set. The steering committee agreed to Miriam Pasqual Benavent as project coordinator since the initial project coordinator, Susanne van Els, discontinued to work for ZUYD Hogeschool. Susanne van Els continues to be involved as an expert working from the side of the AEC, and plans to participate at all transnational WG meetings.

Steering Committee meetings

Title: Steering committee meeting 1
Starting date: 03/09/2019
End date: 04/09/2019
Description:

The first steering committee meeting was carried out September 3-4 2019 in Porto and attended by 10 participants. It included updates from all workstreams, a reflection on the first ISP in particular, organizational and process changes as well as a reflection of the project’s impact so far. Organizational changes were subsequently implemented. Changes to the project organizations were necessary as Miriam Pasqual Benavent could not continue as coordinator from September onwards. The new project coordinator from ZUYD Hogeschool, Anja Krans, started in October.

Title: Steering Committee 2 (Antwerp)
Starting date: 22/02/2020
End date: 23/03/2020
Description:

The second transnational project meeting of Steering Committee was held in Antwerpen on 22-23 February 2020 (totally 9 participants). As recommended in the initial feedback of the project, this meeting was closely scheduled with the C1 activity and the WG2 meeting. It allowed for members to interact among working groups and participate in the project activities. Besides administrative topics, the overall project progress, its general schedule and also the schedules per working group were discussed and adjusted where necessary. The steering committee reported and reflected on the three newly finished LTT activities and discussed planning and schedule of the dissemination events.

Title: Steering Committee meeting 3 (online)
Starting date: 03/09/2021
End date: 03/09/2021
Description:

This was the first online Steering Committee (SC), because of Covid-19.This meeting came after we had this long period of recalabration, and of having two ISP’s upcoming. Plus two of the IO’s were finished, or partly finished.

Thus the meeting had as its subject the finetuning of the IO’s: in particular IO1 was finished, included an article of IO3; IOs needed to get a digital publication still at the EOA website. The IO2 was lacking the wished for input from the professional field, but the upcoming ISP will be all about linking the students and teachers with this professional field.

The upcoming AEC Congress is also discussed; the Manual can be presented there in paper form – partly – but will also be presented as ISSUU, which will be a big advantage for the dissemination. STOCKHOLM will have a presentation with Sara of AEC, and EOALAB will be presented as an example of shared education. There will be a session at the Pre-Conference, and we will have an information market, where we will present a loop of a teaser of the Manual and EOALAB.

There will be an extra WG meeting (WG1+2+3) in between the Pre-Conference and the Conference of AEC, because the planning with the last ISP PORTO (Sept/Oct) ad the last ISP RIGA (Sept) does need another moment to come together and align the final results.

Title: Steering Committee meeting 4 (Porto)
Starting date: 06/12/2021
End date: 07/12/2021
Description:

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Working group 1 meetings

Title: WG1 meeting 1
Starting date: 18/06/2019
End date: 19/06/2019
Description:

The first transnational project meeting of WG1 was held in Antwerpen on 18-19 June 2019 (10 participants). Members presented themselves and gave insight in each other’s programs in relation to the EOA and internationalization. Student exchange was discussed, both general and practical. Part of the meeting was devoted to the analysis of the information obtained through the EOA-coordinator. Another focus of the two-day meeting was the C1 Learning Teaching Training Activity in February 2020 in Antwerp: a first thought on the themes and the moderators and establishing the link with the “Next Doors” project week at the Royal
Conservatoire Antwerp. Furthermore the structure of IO1 (manual for shared education). A questionnaires was developed to gather further input on the IO.

Title: WG1 meeting 2
Starting date: 02/12/2019
End date: 03/12/2019
Description:

The second and thirth transnational project meeting of WG1 was held in Stockholm on 2-3 December 2019 (totally 8 participants). Part of the agenda was the report on a working session held by working group members during the international coordinator’s (IRC) meeting of AEC in Prague 2019. There, WG1 held an interactive questionnaire with the IRC’s, followed by an open session with 20 other participants, on the basis of which the IRC questionnaire was fine-tuned. The answers to the survey were analyzed by WG1 members. WG1 also decided to hold a number of in-depth interviews with other stakeholders, whose input was also reviewed and discussed. The C1 activity was designed on basis of the input gathered. Twelve themes were defined in relation to shared education; moderators were appointed. Finally, the chapter structure of the C1 manual was discussed and decided, including chapters connected to the work of WG2 and WG3.

Title: WG1 meeting 3 (hybrid)
Starting date: 05/10/2020
End date: 07/10/2020
Description:

Title: WG1 meeting 2+3
Starting date: 02/12/2019
End date: 03/12/2019
Description:

Meeting 3 was held in a hybrid way, some members participated online and others were live in Stockholm. The members paired up in teams of 2 or 3 and dealt with the outcome of the research work: the descriptions received from the EOA, the result of the Netigate survey, in the information of the Klankbordwerkgroep and the input of the Prague meeting with the IRC have been processed. One member starts with the proofreading of text on English language use. Clear deadlines for the redaction work were set. The meeting also dealt with the presentation of the work of Working Group 1 on the AEC congress workshop. Main intention for this workshop was the check if the manual was evolving in the right way for external readers. The WG member also made arrangements re. the input to Working Group 2. We started discussing the communication of the manual and the making of a promotional teaser movie.

Title: WG1 meeting 4
Starting date: 04/11/2020
End date: 05/11/2020
Description:

Because of the Covid restrictions, WG meeting 4 was held totally online. The input of the interviews in depth were discussed. The meeting focused on the presentation of the project in the AEC congress and the further work on the manual. We discussed the connection between WG1 and WG3 and how both working groups could link and help each other. Cross reading and sharing outcomes and texts were some of the actions decided on. Big question in the connection with WG2 is the impact of the COVID pandemic on the professional opera field and on the ISP’s. Finally we discussed the adaptions to the Gantt Chart for Working Group 1.

Title: WG1 meeting 5 (online)
Starting date: 08/02/2021
End date: 09/02/2021
Description:

Also this meeting was held online due to Covid restrictions. The feedback from the Content team resulted in actions to be taken on certain chapters in the Manual. We examined the current text material in the manual and discussed the structure of the whole manual. Per chapter, we identified the texts to be rewritten or shortened and what to be put into the research chapter 5 as background information on the methodology. The team was divided in subgroups of 2 members to work on assigned text tasks. In this meeting we assembled the input for the summary in Chapter 4 of the manual. Next step identified was sending the cleaned-up version to outside readers.

Title: WG1 meeting 6 (Antwerp)
Starting date: 23/08/2021
End date: 25/08/2021
Description:

Meeting 6 was held in Antwerp. We went through the manual page per page and continued detailed editing of manual. This resulted in clear assignment of further rewrites after this meeting. We considered making a short version of the manual. We decided to incorporate this into the summary in chapter 4. We rearranged the research material in chapter 5 and made arrangements for the promo teaser.

Working group 2 meetings

Title: WG2 meeting 1
Starting date: 09/04/2019
End date: 10/04/2019
Description:

The first transnational project meeting of WG2 was held in Maastricht 9 and 10 April 2019 (8 participants). Working group members set the organizational structure of the group. AS main part of the meeting, the schedule of activities for Preview Maastricht in detail, the selection of experts as well as the contents of activities were decided. During the WG2 ISPs, working group members worked closely together in running and observing activities and discussing feedback. At each ISP a WG session will be conducted to consolidate observations and discuss the way forward.

Title: WG2 meeting 2
Starting date: 05/09/2019
End date: 06/09/2019
Description:

WG2 conducted its second working group meeting, September 4 and 5 in Porto ( 7 participants). The successes as well as improvement ideas of the activities from Preview Maastricht were reflected upon and plans made to prepare the upcoming activity in Vilnius. WG2 decided to focus its output on key aspects of opera creation, such as the role of technology in creating, staging and performing and mapping the traditional and avant-garde opera labor landscape in figures. Given the recommendation from the initial project feedback, the third meeting of WG2 was planned around the C1 activity in Antwerp in February 2020. It allowed WG2 members to interact with members from other working groups. At the WG2 meeting in Antwerp, reflections on the recent ISP in Vilnius was discussed, plans made for the third ISP in Porto. In addition, ideas for the structure of the IO of WG2 were discussed and developed and the workplan of WG2 decided.

Title: WG2 meeting 3 Antwerp
Starting date: 20/02/2020
End date: 21/02/2020
Description:

The third transnational project meeting of WG2 was held in Antwerp on 20-21 February 2020 (totally 8 participants). As recommended in the initial project feedback, date and place were closely planned in connection with other project meetings (LTT C1 and the second steering committee meeting). At this meeting in Antwerp, reflections on the recent ISP in Vilnius was discussed, including student sand teacher feedback. Plans made for the third ISP in Porto, based on the input from the previous ISP. In addition, ideas for the structure of the IO of WG2 were discussed and developed and the workplan of WG2 decided.

Title: WG2 meeting 4 (online)
Starting date: 04/11/2020
End date: 05/11/2020
Description:

Because of the Covid restrictions, WG2 meeting 4 was held totally online; 5 people participated. This meeting was planned just after the first dissemination moment (Multiplier event 1 on November 3rd), just before the AEC conference (with another dissemination moment), and partly together with the other WG’s, so there were separate WG2 moments, and joint moments – all possible thanks to the working online. This stimulated the integration and connecting of the topics with other WG’s (WG1 ad WG3) of the different IO’s.As the working group had a kind of delay – waiting for Covid to be over – this meeting functioned as a kind of re-kickoff. The WG reformulated the goals of the project ánd of the ways to connect all outputs. In WG2 the form of the output of IO2 was also discussed: since almost all computers and laptops do not have the possibility of importing DVD’s, creating one felt as rather outdated. Thus the format of the IO was thoroughly discussed. As the different recommendations and articles might not deliver one overall vision, but show a variety of thoughts and recommendations, a rhizomatic form of presenting the materials looked a much better idea. Ideas about the creation of an interactive landscape, a labyrinth-format came to mind. This needed to be developped further in the upcoming months.

Title: WG2 meeting 5 (online)
Starting date: 12/02/2021
End date: 12/02/2021
Description:

This WG2 meeting 5 happened online because of Covid-19. Besides this meeting of WG2 – and not in this Mobility Tool – the WG had online meeting on July and August 2020, and fo example also in April and July 2021. The fact that it is impossible to meet for two days online (via zoom or teams), made us decide to not cover all WG meetings in the Mobility tool (even though of the other meetings agenda’s and meeting notes are available). But that the WG’s had regular and more frequent online meetings, was decided in this very meeting, to have every month a zoom/teams meeting. Because meetings became more necessary to continue the process and monitoring of the development of the IO2.

In Total 6 persons participated, 3 of ZUYD, 2 of PORTO and 1 of Vilnius. At the very moment of the meeting the chances of having a last live ISP in or before Summer  decreased, so the focus of the meeting was on the ‘what to do?’, as in: how to change the meeting into a digital/virtual one, but still making sure that we get good results out of it, needed for the creation of the IO. Also the ISP PORTO was planned; a subteam was formed. The WG meeting also discussed the finishing of artciles and aligning them with the other IO’s.

Title: WG2 meeting 6 (online)
Starting date: 12/03/2021
End date: 12/03/2021
Description:

As was clear that the project had an extension this meeting was all about aligning the work and articles, and organising the content of the last ISP in Porto (PREVIEW PORTO). This would work with an open call for students for all partner institutions. At the same time this session was dealing with the abstracts and articles to be written, and the creation of recommendations. The format of the DVD was also questioned as no one ‘reads’ DVD’s anymore. But what to replace it with?

Working group 3 meetings

Title: WG3 meeting 1
Starting date: 17/06/2019
End date: 19/06/2019
Description:

The first transnational project meeting of WG3 was held in Parma on 17-19 June 2019 (totally 7 participants). The meeting was fundamental for the establishment of the working group, mutual knowledge and the assignment of roles. WG3 defined aims and goals, compared methods’ confrontations and comparisons in learning & teaching phonetics & diction in our classes. It then focused on one of the main goals of WG3. WG3 organized a first “Russian Experiment”, with a small group of four students from different countries, in view of the future LTT “Russian week”. Using the experiment WG3 was able to understand the needs and difficulties of the students better, and was able to define the objectives, methodologies and materials needed for the LTT. In order to understand the status quo of the study of languages for singing and its difference per institution, WG3 developed a survey which was sent to students and teachers of the EOA.

Title: WG3 meeting 2
Starting date: 16/09/2019
End date: 18/09/2019
Description:

The second transnational project meeting of WG3 was held in Riga on 16-18 September 2019 (totally 8 participants). During the meeting, the questionnaire was finished and refined, and a second experiment (“Italian experiment” this time) was held. A larger group of students from Riga was involved in it (six active students, and another six listeners). Starting from correctly studying Italian sounds (with International Phonetics Alphabeth), arriving to fully interpreting an Italian Aria, passing by the Rhythm, the Key-words and the Phrasing: these were the steps of this experiment, ended with a very illuminating phase of feedback from all students and teachers, in preparation of the ‘Italian week’ (initially scheduled in September 2020, but now postponed due to Corona emergency).

Title: WG3 meeting 3 (online)
Starting date: 04/11/2020
End date: 04/11/2020
Description:

Due to the pandemic, the third transnational project meeting of WG3 was held online on 4 November 2020 (totally 9 participants). This was the meeting of the restart for the concrete works of WG3, during which it was possible to resume the threads of the speech and the work interrupted due to the lockdown. During this meeting, all the tasks are re-assigned, and the activities rescheduled. Everyone works now on outcomes of “Russian week” and on background materials (books, handouts, links etc): the purpose is not exhaustive, but open, in constant evolution. The results of the Survey previously produced and distributed to the EOA partners have arrived: they focus on the status quo of the way foreign languages (specifically Russian and Italian) are now usually approached and studied in our Institutions. The results, elaborated and analyzed, will be implemented in the final IO

Title: WG3 meeting 4 (online)
Starting date: 14/01/2021
End date: 14/01/2021
Description:

The fourth transnational project meeting of WG3 was held online on 14 January 2021 ( totally 8 participants).

During the meeting, it was clarified how the work of the group is interconnected to that of other groups, especially WG1: our IO3 will become a chapter of IO1, but will also appear as a separate element so that it can provide useful material and ideas for work and reflection. for all EOA Partners, as well as for anyone who wants to consult it. The EOA website will host the results of our work. The schedule for our 5-day programme is settled and our work (a model for programme-based teacher exchange) fits well in the new Erasmus+ programme (the Blended Intensive Programme).

Due to the pandemic situation, It is clear that the second ISP, the “Italian week” in Riga, cannot be scheduled for May, as we hoped. It will be hopefully  postponed, to September (2021)

Title: WG3 meeting 5 (online)
Starting date: 07/05/2021
End date: 07/05/2021
Description:

The fifth transnational project meeting of WG3 was held online on 7 Maj 2021 (totally 7 participants). Given the positive trend of the pandemic, during this meeting, it was decided to fix the last LTT (“Italian Week”) for September, and keep it live,  in Riga. Option b (an online version of it using the LOLA-GARR technology that both institutions involved are equipped with) remains in the drawer, only in case the pandemic worsens significantly. In the meantime, the final Manual is ready, in its first draft, and it is being revised, with the contribution of all of us. We are ready for the last LTT of WG3, and the last phase of intensive work on materials

Working group 1, 2 and 3 meeting

Title: WG1+2+3 meeting (Antwerp)
Starting date: 02/11/2021
End date: 03/11/2021
Description:

This was originally planned as a 6th meeting for WG3, but after such a long time not seeing each other, the need was felt to come together and discuss live the becoming of the IO’s, the status of the content, the way the different IO’s interconnected.  All organisations were represented except RIGA (11 persons in total). Burning issues in this meeting were:

1) status of IO’s?

2) preparation of the presentation of the EOALAB in the AEC Pre-conference and in the conference in two sessions.

3) dissemination. This is key to the project and will come back in the very last SC.

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