Erasmus+

This page is regularly updated: last update March 2023

Dear Partners,

Welcome to Xplora International PIF page. We really appreciate your interest in our organisation and hope you find the information in our PIF useful. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need any further information:

email: info@xplorainternational.org

Presentation of Organisation

Brief Description

In 2017, Xplora International began its journey as a language school based in London. Over the years, we have expanded our offering to provide excellent educational services with specially curated virtual and physical courses and events. In 2022, we established Xplora International Ireland to build on the expertise of our Irish partners and tailor programmes focusing on regeneration and alternative education.

In a world quickly bearing the consequences of the environmental crisis, we believe that now more than ever, people need alternative learning methods that encourage problem-solving skills for a regenerative future. These ideas are at the core of our purpose and vision:

Purpose: To provide excellent alternative educational experiences that equip people with valuable multi-skills, knowledge and inspiration to grow their potential and repair our connections to planet earth. We fulfil this through a range of services that aim to provide a break from traditional education. Using human and planet-centred design, our courses, workshops and events encourage students to creatively engage with their personal and professional development. From Python programming to Arabic culture immersions, we draw on the expertise of world-class facilitators who work across a wide range of disciplines and crafts. Our multilingual and diverse team have years of experience in aiding students to achieve their development goals, providing vital assistance to expand their employment opportunities.

Our guiding values are:

Regeneration - Sustainability is not enough to ensure human survival on planet earth. We cannot sustain and maintain the same systems. We need to repair and restore ecosystems and heal our relationships within these living systems. We are dedicated to spreading awareness of the environmental, social and economic crisis working towards regeneration by giving people the space and tools to work through the issues we collectively face.

Cultural Diversity, Harmony and Respect - We focus on working with unrepresented and minority groups and support actions that take an innovative and creative approach to the inclusion of marginalised groups such as immigrants, refugees, women and children.

Alternative Education - we leverage the power of creative intergenerational learning that is people guided and focused. We are building a global network of cultural learning centres that share information and build on each other's experiences to connect and empower students. This alternative education is based on encouraging students to develop a multi-disciplinary approach to their learning.

Experience & Activities

We are predominantly active in the field of youth and adult education. The key for us is to work on both local and international projects and we try to cover a broad scale of themes and topics responding to the needs of those on the ground. Over the years we have been working on several projects expanding our core services to include:

• Educative Services

• Language Summer Schools

• University Preparation Course

• Business Preparation Course

• Language Exchanges

• Work Experience

• School Integration Programme

• Teacher Training Courses

• Environmental Courses

• Travel Tours and Cultural Immersions

• Life Skills Courses

• Artist Residencies

• Online Classes and Courses

• Consultation

• Regenerative business model consultation

• BIPOC advice and consultation

Since 2017 Xplora International has worked on 18 projects reaching over 15,000 people. Through these projects, we have been able to develop and mould our working practices to provide life-changing experiences to our participants.

Such projects include:

Our Team

We have a team of dedicated professionals with extensive experience in research, project management, teaching, educational management, digital marketing, consultancy, and more. Our team is multinational and highly experienced in their specific areas of expertise and collaborates effectively daily, bringing ideas, creativity and their own perspectives to the progress of our courses and the efficiency of the operational functions which enable them.

Our staff has gained professional experience and research on

• Language learning/linguistics

• Intercultural understanding and communication

• Digital skills and e-learning

• Integration of migrants, social cohesion

• Environmental sustainability

• Developing life Skills Courses

• Supporting multi-disciplinary learning

• Cultural heritage

• Entrepreneurship, especially in youth

• Travel and Hospitality

• Web 3.0 and Metaverse strategies

We also provide courses and advice to our students regarding social integration, finance, accommodation, cultural awareness, and immigration. We regularly organise social outings where the students can explore various aspects of the surrounding area and make connections with other young students. We find it important not only to teach them the courses and activities but also how to integrate into society.

Our core team includes

Wafa Said (Director)

Wafa Ahmed Said holds a Master's Degree in Political Economy and International Law and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics of International Cooperation and Development. She has expertise in economic and social development, international economics, gender and development, labour market, inequalities, international law, project management, and foreign languages. She has also over 10 years of experience in educational development and founded Xplora International in 2017 as she recognised the limits of traditional academia that focus on mono-disciplinary specialisation. She also recognised the lack of cultural integration in the schools that she previously worked in. Through Xplora International, she has built a platform where students are immersed in rich cultural environments. She encourages people to build cross-disciplinary skills that can improve their ability to adapt and thrive in a world of continuous instability and uncertainty.

Maria Oyaga

Maria is a British-Colombian community and creative producer with 15 years of experience working within the World Music and festival circuit in the UK, Colombia and Ghana. She was the Creative Director of the Tribe of Doris Festival up until 2022. This festival provides cultural workshops from different communities around the world, including drumming and dance. She has a Bachelor's Degree in History and Ethnomusicology from SOAS University. She is also a graphic and community designer specialising in planet-centred design and works as a consultant for different organisations that want to work towards a regenerative future. She is passionate about inclusion and accessibility for unrepresented communities.

Pascal Frey

Pascal Frey is a global explorer, cultural entrepreneur and hospitality innovator that seeks solutions to social and environmental issues related to travel hospitality and education. His main interests are hospitality concepts that bridge the social divide of global sustainability by creating platforms where meaningful human interactions can take place and people can learn from different cultures and communities. Pascal is a board member of Meta Foundation in New York, a non-profit that connects the physical and virtual space to bring economic opportunities to communities worldwide.

He as well recently joined Overture Investment Partners in New York City, an investment fund supporting cultural entrepreneurs in the hospitality space such as NOMA in Copenhagen, BoutiqueHomes or Prior. In 2017 Pascal launched Further with Design Hotels, a travelling hospitality laboratory through which hotels across the globe are being transformed into temporal hubs of cultural exploration.

He holds a Diploma in Data Science from MIT and a B.Sc in International Hospitality Management from EHL Hospitality Business Schools. Pascal has worked in different executive positions for Design Hotels, Starwood Hotels & Resorts (Marriott International).

David

David has a BS in Visual Communication & Design and an MS in Digital Marketing & International Commerce. With experience in consumer behaviour analysis, advanced digital marketing and e-commerce skills, and a solid understanding social media marketing and networking, David helps us meet dissemination goals and achieve the impact we set out for. His specialities include content creation, social media and advertising campaigns, Wordpress- CMS, Wix, and Google analytics and Google Ads. He also is a proficient user of a range of digital tools such as Adobe premiere pro, Wondershare Filmora, Canva, PlaceIt, and Videoscribe. He has been involved in a variety of EU-funded projects, developing websites, contributing to social media activities, and helping comply with dissemination KPIs.

NB: Other staff members have not been included in this PIF. Please discuss with us in advance your objectives and requirements so that we can decide with you what members of our team should be allocated to your project’s team.

Associated Partners

We have an extended network of associated partners nationally and across the EU that we can count on to help us achieve quality outputs and meet our dissemination and impact targets. We will reach out to them at strategically defined stages to increase the potential reach of our projects and maximise their long-term sustainability. Our associated partners will be a valuable source of feedback with the potential to help us towards piloting activities and multiplier events. We will also encourage them to contribute towards our dissemination efforts through their own promotional and networking activities so that our projects can have a wider impact. Our associated partners will be discussed and confirmed depending on the objectives and needs of each project.

Requirements

We want to make sure that we have the capabilities to implement your projects successfully and deliver outputs to a high standard. For this reason, we have the following two key requirements:

• We would appreciate having a good understanding of the basics of your project as well as our role and responsibilities so we can ensure that it is in line with our expertise and skillset. We are happy to make suggestions, provide feedback, and even help you conceptualise the project.

• We want to make sure that our activities are not under-budgeted, and so we expect a minimum of 10K for KA210 proposals and a minimum of 35K for KA220. Please note that, in the case of KA210, this is deducting mobilities. Please discuss with us if you feel that the budget allocated to us should be lower, we will certainly reconsider if we feel that there is sound justification.

Besides this, we also work on the assumption that projects will be designed in such a way that the work distribution is balanced and fair across the consortium and that the budget allocated to each partner reflects their responsibilities and involvement in the project.

Some Requests

As we are a newcomer, we would like to make the following requests at the initial stages of our journey:

• We would prefer not to host any TPMs or transnational events in Ireland for the time being. We could make exceptions to this, but please discuss with us if you are planning on this.

• Because of our organisational structure, we prefer to send one staff member only to TPMs if this is possible. However, if sending two staff members is deemed beneficial for the project, we will happily do so.

Our Promise

We understand that putting together the right team can make all the difference to the success of a project. All too often, the right organisations partner up at the planning stage of a project but later on, the staff members allocated fall short of the demands of the project. This inevitably compromises the chances for projects to run smoothly and to produce quality deliverables. That’s why we make it our top priority to handpick staff members that will have the necessary skillset from the outset. In practice, this translates as operating under the following set of principles:

• One of our senior project managers will be allocated to your project and will remain the main point of contact throughout the project’s life. They will oversee and personally take care of the management and reporting activities from our side. They will also be in close contact with our research and dissemination team, supervising their progress and ensuring consistency with work plans and guidelines.

• Other staff members, including researchers and trainers, will be allocated on the basis of the field and nature of each project. We pride ourselves in having a truly professional and diverse team, and we will always strive to assign projects to our colleagues in such a way that they can exploit and continue developing their skills and competencies.

Beyond this, we also guarantee efficient communication, responsiveness, and real engagement throughout the implementation of the project. We make it a priority to always meet deadlines, and we work on the basis that communication needs to happen seamlessly and never exceed 48 hours from receipt of a message regardless of external commitments.