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Preface “Methods”
There are many suggestions regarding the definition of the term “method”.
In our understanding methods serve a meaningful planning process of an
exchange week and its division into individual stages. They describe the manner
of executing activities in order to achieve a self-imposed goal. A method
therefore isn’t an end in itself, but a way to achieve goals. Since many ways
can lead to a single goal, we sometimes also refer to minor exercises or simple
techniques as methods.
We have declared activities with manual work-oriented intergenerational
subprojects a method of transnational exchange with the elderly, well aware
those generations of volunteers before us have been active in this field.
However, here we refer to an extract from the final report of the “Studie zur
Realität und Innovation in der europäischen Begegnung” (study concerning
reality and innovation within a European encounter) by the foundation Alfred
Toepfer Stiftung F.V.S., conducted under Alexander Thomas, Astrid Utler,
Ulrike De Ponte and Stefan Schmid. It evaluates 190 German projects of
European youth encounters and states: “Even the mention of a joint project
work seems more intuitive than conscious: in terms of intercultural learning
one needs to know that it enables experiences of discrepancy, which are essential
in the field of interculture, experience and action“(I.c. page 9). In addition
to discrepancy experiences, we believe that this method of joint project
work also enables a direct positive learning of transnational cooperation and
togetherness without taking the path via discrepancy. We therefore consider
this method and its description more relevant than others.
However, as with all other methods the problem remains that there are
no real ‘if –then’ relationships. The implementation of this method does not
automatically and not always lead to the desired goal and must therefore be
observed and attended to in context and, if need be, improved and adjusted
(by means of other methods).
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