All good times 7! This was the motto we followed when iiINTERest’s (hereafter ii) board went to Kastrup on 11 June 2022 to receive a small delegation of Ahead Initiative’s (hereafter Ahead) employees and board members at the airport. For the first time since 2008, we had succeeded in obtaining permission for three representatives from our Indian partner organization to visit Denmark. Admittedly, there were a few slivers of joy: only three of the four Ahead employees that we had originally invited to Denmark were successful in getting through Denmark’s fine-tuned visa application process. A disappointment both for ii, but especially for Arunesh, one of Ahead’s long-standing and skilled project managers, who (once again) had to pack his bags in Kolkata again.
The ten days when the three Ahead presenters, Abeer, Dibya and Swapan in Denmark were packed. The theme of the visit was education: for children, for young people and for adults. And the route stretched across the country, from Zealand, to Jutland, over Funen and Tåsinge and finally back to Zealand. During the stay, the Ahead delegation visited forest kindergartens, independent schools, secondary schools, and colleges. They were shown around, told stories, greeted children, pupils, and teachers, and debated education with representatives from, among others, The Free Teacher’s School in Ollerup, The Green Free School in Copenhagen, The International High School in Helsingør as well as education-savvy experts from the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS). The themes of the many visits were of course diverse, but nevertheless all revolved around common ambitions such as democratic education, student and local involvement, practical learning, and sustainable education. Themes that all play a central role in Ahead’s education and after-school projects in India. Teachers, pedagogues, and managers from the many Danish educational institutions openly shared their experiences to great inspiration and enthusiasm for the Ahead people as well as ii’s board of directors. In the evenings, when the daily programs were officially over and the Indian guests had fed themselves with Danish food, experiences were shared and ideas were discussed and developed: what do the institutions do, why does it work, and how can some of the same ideas be used in an Indian context? Because even though eastern India, where Ahead works, differs from Denmark in many areas, we still have many common visions. The desire for locally relevant learning, for the development of viable people, and for an understanding of nature’s processes and sustainability. And while much Danish educational thought goes back to the Grundtvigian free and high school movement, Ahead has been largely inspired by the philosophy and practice of the popular thinker and educator, Rabindranath Tagore (who in his time himself visited the International College in Helsingør).
In addition to the semi-boring Danish summer weather, the visit offered plenty of inspiration, which will especially be able to be integrated into the two ongoing projects the Education Project (which is currently in its 3rd phase) and the Afterschool Project (a newer project in its first phase). Furthermore, the visit was a much needed and happy reunion with a small selection of the Ahead people, whom we have otherwise not met in the physical world since before Corona. The opportunity to learn together and discuss common thoughts and visions is an indispensable prerequisite for a strong partnership and for the development of good and visionary projects. We very much hope to be able to repeat the great success that the visit was when we will again in a few years try to hold another partner visit. By then, hopefully with all the invited Ahead members present on Danish ground.