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The Journey Asia Piskunowicz Behind every project, there is a project team. Even if often it’s not the most visible, it is one of the most important elements of a successful initiative – its driving force. The team of Education Unlimited! has gone through several stages and many changes, but throughout the whole year some unbelievable people, committed to the project have worked on a totally voluntary basis, making it all possible.
IX. THE JOURNEY
Finding each other wasn’t easy in case of the Education Unlimited! team. It took a while to spot education enthusiasts, experienced enough to dive into international project work. Eventually the team members were coming from such different locations in Europe, that one could easily stretch a map of the continent on them. These diverse backgrounds were both advantage and a challenge for the team work. On one hand individual experiences enriched the group as a whole, on the other hand different views, preferences and standards made working harmoniously together definitely tougher. To balance the reality of distance-communication, two main team meetings were organised. The first one, in Poznan, was like an adventure that many of the participants hadn’t experienced before. Spartan conditions and most unexpected logistic surprises combined with passionate and lengthy discussions about education, created the remarkable atmosphere of that meeting. For the second meeting they gathered in sunny Athens. This meeting was very different. Despite the hard work, they all got affected by the summer feeling and enjoyed the Greek lifestyle, while still managing to fulfil the meeting agenda. In the meantime an occasional part-of-the-team gathering took place in beautiful Valletta. Very specific moments in the teams’ distance work were when writing grant applications. Even though the Poznań meeting was the first time most of the people ever met, they immediately took tasks within the project.