During 2025, the Widespread School partnership met in person on two important occasions that marked key moments in the development of the project: the project meeting in Grad Zadar (Croatia) on 4–5 June 2025, and the project meeting in Espoo (Finland) on 2–3 December 2025. In both cases, the meetings combined working sessions with visits to local educational, cultural and community institutions, allowing partners to directly experience how Education Outside the Classroom is embedded in different territorial contexts.
Grad Zadar Meeting (4–5 June 2025): Defining the Final Version of the Toolbox and Exploring the Local Ecosystem
The meeting in Grad Zadar was mainly dedicated to defining the final version of the Widespread School Toolbox, building on the experiences gathered through the local pilot actions implemented in each territory. Partners shared concrete results, indicators and reflections from their pilots, identifying key strengths, challenges and opportunities emerging from practice.
The programme also included several visits to local institutions involved in the Zadar pilot action, offering a concrete example of how the city functions as a learning ecosystem. Partners visited Primary School Petra Preradovića and explored learning activities hosted by institutions such as the National Museum Zadar, the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology and the University of Zadar. These visits illustrated how cultural heritage, museums, universities and public spaces can become active learning environments through cooperation with schools.
The project meeting sessions took place in community spaces such as the Duke’s Palace, the Zadar Youth Centre and the Zadar Public Library, reinforcing the idea of education as a shared responsibility across institutions. The Zadar meeting also created a strong connection between local practice (WP3) and policy development (WP4), highlighting how territorial experiences can inform broader educational strategies and policy discussions.
Espoo Meeting (2–3 December 2025): Sharing Focus Group Insights and Experiencing Learning in Nature and Community Spaces
The meeting in Espoo focused on sharing and comparing the outcomes of the focus groups and policy awareness workshops carried out in each partner territory as part of WP4. These discussions brought together insights from teachers, school leaders, policy makers, universities and local stakeholders, and helped identify common priorities for the policy
recommendations.
Alongside the working sessions, partners had the opportunity to explore the Finnish context through visits to Saunalahti School, where outdoor learning and community-based approaches are part of everyday practice, and to the Espoo City Library, highlighting the role of libraries as inclusive learning and meeting spaces. The programme also included a visit to Haltia – The Finnish Nature Centre, located in Nuuksio National Park, where partners experienced how nature-based education and environmental learning are integrated into the Widespread School approach in Finland.
These visits provided concrete examples of how schools, municipalities and cultural and natural institutions collaborate to transform public spaces into meaningful learning environments.
Shared Reflections Across Territories
Across different national and local contexts, several common themes clearly emerged during both meetings: strong institutional and political support, shared responsibility among actors, flexibility and reduced bureaucracy, strong local networks and a shared understanding of the territory as a learning ecosystem.
Common Learning and Shared Challenges
Both meetings highlighted that, despite differences in educational systems and local conditions, partners face similar challenges and opportunities. Teachers across territories reported increased student motivation and meaningful learning experiences, alongside common organisational constraints. At the same time, municipalities and local institutions
emerged as key actors in providing vision, coordination and long-term support.
