From January 15 – 18, 2019, a four-day international conference, Building Bridges, took place at the University of Graz. Building Bridges was organized by the Institute of Educational Sciences of the University of Graz. The organization team received support from colleagues at the institute including Univ.-Prof. Dr. Rudolf Egger and cooperating partners from Germany, Sri Lanka and Cambodia. Building Bridges served as a successful kickoff to the CONTESSA project.
The kickoff began on January 15 with a welcome ceremony including a keynote speech from a representative of UNESCO and presentations from each of the partner universities. Each university representative gave an overview of the current state of education in their countries and provided a glance into their culture. After hearing from each speaker, the 75 participants moved into the banquet area, where they were able to mingle with one another and share a meal together. It served as the perfect location for an introduction to CONTESSA, a harmonious blend of cultures and an important exchange of knowledge.
From January 16 – 18, representatives from each partner university engaged in daily workshops and networking meetings to begin the preparation and development stages for CONTESSA.