On 16 May 2024, an event to disseminate the Outside project, led by our Spanish partner Poderío Training & Research, was held at the facilities of the Colegio Séneca (Córdoba, Spain).
The event brought together 50 participants, belonging to the educational community of the school, although there were also guests from other areas of adult education. Thus, among the attendees were teachers, parents, students and authorities belonging to public and private educational authorities.
The activity was part of the Erasmus+ Day organised by the school itself, which included a presentation of the Erasmus+ Programme, its different options and the funding possibilities for various transnational programmes. This was followed by a presentation by Juan Antonio Luque, the school’s international projects manager, who gave a presentation of the schools that the school is currently running.
To conclude the event, and in an appeal to both teachers and parents, José Carlos León (Poderío T&R) gave a presentation on the ‘Outside’ project, introducing the concept of hikikomori, its origin, causes and consequences among young adults.
Colegio Séneca had implemented in the last two years another interesting Erasmus+ project, ‘Together Again’, which dealt with the socio-emotional impact that the period of confinement and social distance caused by the pandemic had had among adolescents and young adults between 12 and 18 years old. This experience was the nexus for presenting Outside, taking hikikomori as one of the parallel consequences that could be observed in recent years with the voluntary isolation of young adults.
The presentation of the project aroused enormous interest among the audience, especially among parents of students between 12 and 18 years old, as many of the characteristics of individuals suffering from hikikomori disorder were easily and quickly recognisable among those present.
During the event, the different activities and results that will be generated during the project were presented, and the second and last transnational meeting to be held in Cordoba at the beginning of June was announced.
