MAXICO - MAps of eXperIences for thriving COmmunities

<< Background >>Koopkultur and its partner organisations applied for the MAXICO project as a result of the common need for an accessible methodology in community mapping practice, the need for clear guidelines for participation in the education sector with the help of community mapping, and to explore the possibility of creating a social feedback mechanism between and among citizens on the one hand and educators, (spatial) planners and scientists on the other.<< Objectives >>The following objectives have been proposed: Objective 1: To exchange good practices on citizen participation and inclusion through co-creation as a process, in order to explore how we can encourage active participation, facilitate civic education and promote civic engagement. Objective 2: To create training events for educators and learners in different fields of education (formal, non-formal, adult, civic education) in order to experiment with the collected best practices and to test their performance in different (international) contexts. Objective 3: To publish and disseminate an online methodology (e-publication) that brings co-creation into the educational environment.Objective 4: To organise two public events in different European countries to bring our methodology to communities with fewer opportunities.<< Implementation >>We have proposed and implemented the following activities 1. Project management activity consisting of monthly online meetings, regular email communication, activity plan tracking and reminders 2. Four transnational partner meetings in Germany, Finland and the Netherlands in which the partners participated 3. Training event for educators in Germany: each partner sent international experts in the field of education and participation to reflect on the collected community mapping practices and to give a professional input 4. Training event for learners in the Netherlands: each partner sent participants to reflect on learners' experiences by trying out different community mapping methods 5. Project online platform: we launched the website https://maxico-box.eu/ 6. Publication of the e-book: the e-book is available for download in two languages on the platform: https://maxico- box.eu/publication/ 7. Public dissemination event in Berlin: about 40 people from marginalised groups participated 8. Public dissemination event in Finland: the project results were presented to over 40 international experts and professionals in the fields of education, mapping, geosciences, but also youth workers and public sector workers.<< Results >>Maxico project outputs: - Maxico online platform: https://maxico-box.eu/ - Maxico smart practices publication available for download in two languages (English and German): https://maxico-box.eu/publication/ - 27 methods handouts available for download in two languages from the MAXICO TOOLBOX: https://maxico-box.eu/toolbox/ - 1 input presentation for training with adults in the field of education and participation - 12 participants at the trainers' training in Berlin were equipped with knowledge on how to approach community mapping in a practical way. - 12 participants at the Learners Training in Groningen experienced and reflected on participation as part of the community building process through community mapping.- 40 refugee participants were given the opportunity to co-create and share their impressions of favourite places in Berlin using selected community mapping methods. - The importance of the implementation of interdisciplinarity and non-formal education methods in participation has been brought to the attention of 55 professionals from relevant fields of education, private and public sector and government. This has the potential to achieve tangible participation and community change.