OUR INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES

 2007   Guaporé, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasile
        

The School carried out in August an updating seminar addressed to jewelry producers of Guaporé, a jewerly cluster located in the Brazilian Rio Grande do Sul state, in cooperation with the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Porto Alegre, Senai and Sebrae.
The course, which lasted a week, involved 22 participants, among entrepreneurs, designers, model-makers and managers, with the goal to explore in depth the complex world of fashion and jewelry trends and to provide the students with some research tools that may come out really helpful every time  they have to design and launch new collections.
This innovating initiative, both for the methodology applied and its contents,  had been conceived by the School just to cause an immediate output and aroused a strong interest in the participants and organizers.
The topics dealt with represent the achievement of recent niche researches, given out just to fashion and jewelry experts.

2006 Bucaramanga, Colombia

Programa de Competitividad del Sector Joyería:  realisation of the first phase of the programme, addressed to the goldsmith field of  Santander, a region of Colombia.
The first phase of the programme, addressed to the goldsmith field of a Colombian region of Santander, realized by the Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri di Vicenza on request of CDP Joyería (Centro de Desarrollo Productivo de Joyería) of Bucaramanga, Colombia, ended with excellent results. The School has been selected from CDP, with the official approval of the Banco Interamericano of Development ( BID ) among 50 educational European Institutions , to prepare and realize the full educational project. The course, of 192 hours, focused on creativity , design and communication in goldsmith field, had the participation of 39 goldsmiths sent from their firm to learn new techniques to improve inner creative resources. Our specialists planned and treated a programme focused on a search based on local culture. Students realized a jewellery line  inspired to the great historic-artistic Colombian heritage working out in a modern way. This is only the first part of a wide programme called “Programa de Competitividad del Sector Joyería” that CDP is planning thanks to the BID financial support. The Programme treats all the goldsmith subjects with monographic courses attended by students form all over the Country. In February 2007 a second part of the programme, dedicated to setting and engraving, will see the Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri di Vicenza again as protagonist.

        
2005 Svezia-CEDEFOP Study Visits
The School of Art and Goldsmith of Vicenza  has been selected between the 33 agencies participants to the communitarian program "Study Visits" organized from the Cedefop for the second half of 2005 and reserved to the European in charge of the Education . The plan, than for Italy is managed and cured from the Isfol,  has the main objective to favor the exchange of experiences and debates between experts of different Countries of the Union on several themes of common interest and to supply opportunity of future synergies and collaborations in net between agencies that operate in the field of the education in all the communitarian territory. The visit study to which the School has been admitted is carried out between 28 November and 3 December 2005 in Sweden, in the cities of Borås and Goteborg and has seen the participation of 13 people in charge for Education from 8 Countries of the Union. There they visited the most important  Swedish educational Institutions and knew the organization of the national educational system.

2005 Guadalajara, Messico  - workshop on goldsmith creativity
Assistant headmaster of Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri di Vicenza, Prof. Luigi Barato, run a workshop of four days in Guadalajara University, “Tecnologico de Monterrey”, addressed to  goldsmith entrepreneurs of Jalisco state. In the first part themes linked with creativity were developed while in the second part an analysis on their own production was done.

2003-2005 Pasto, Colombia

Laboratorio Colombiano de Diseño para el Desarrollo de la Artesanía y la Pequeña Empresa
The Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri di Vicenza took part in this great educational programme co-financed by the European Community and run by a German society called Integration Gmbh that provide counselling for a wide range of field: from goldsmith to textile fibre, from international commerce to wood working. The international experts sent by  the School participated to the creation of a permanent workshop in Pasto , a Colombian city in Nariño department, where they had a powerful educational path addressed to local artisans with the aim to deepen technical know-how and creativity to exploit local resources as metal and vegetable fibre. Once again,  the successful inspiring philosophy of the Scuola d’arte e Mestieri di Vicenza has been the enhancement of local cultural roots in creation of artisan products.

2002 Bogotá, Colombia

The Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri of Vicenza implemented jewellery courses in Bogotá, in cooperation with Artesanias de Colombia, an Economic Organization depending on the Ministry of Economical Development, Minercol and the National Commission  of “Regalias”.
The courses are addressed to trainees already employed in goldsmith sector and long-lasting seven training weeks in different fields: creative design, goldsmith workroom, goldsmith casting, engraving and stone setting. At the end of the course a booklet has been realized to explain the target and the training way of the educational path and to show the results of the students that realized same complete of  jewellery collections that drown their inspiration from the traditional Colombian Culture.
 

2002-2004 Meycauayan, Filippine Asia-Invest Promoting Philippines-Eu Business Cooperation
The project takes place at the PJC (Philippine Jewellery Center), a training center located in Meycauayan, Bulacan and has been conceived and promoted by the MJIA, the Meycauayan Jewelry Industrials Association, in cooperation with the European Union. The aim of the project is to create a cadre of local experts or trainers who will serve as local advisers and assist in sustaining as well as maintaining the technological development programme of the jewelry industry.
The Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri of Vicenza takes part to this project by sending its International goldsmith experts to the PJC, in order to implement the different phases of the programme. The project ended with a study mission realized in January 2004: addresses involved had the possibility to get in touch with lots of educational institutions and productive firms in many European countries: Belgium, France, Italy, England and Spain. In Italy a study mission has been organized by Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri di Vicenza during the goldsmith Fair Orogemma 1. Philippine delegation had the possibility to get in touch with Italian  firms and goldsmiths and visited the Artisan Association of Vicenza. They had a three days workshop  in the Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri that scheduled training activities: Management, Technical and Marketing Consultancy; Production Management Training, Design, Technical Skills Training.

 2002-2004  Leonardo da Vinci Programme: Goldsmith Packaging
The project, financed by the European Community within the “Leonardo Da Vinci Programme  “ was carried out together with different vocational training and service organisations .The partners involved in the project are the following:
for Portugal: AIOS-MundiServiços
for Great Britain: Birmingham Institute of art  Design- School of Jewellery
for Germany: Tüv Akademie GmbH
for France: DFM
for Italy: Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri di Vicenza
It scheduled that the involved countries identify the main professional profiles existing in their respective goldsmith sectors and  realize a comparison among  their needs  and expectations for the future development.The final aim is the creation of pedagogical tools, in order to learn to technicians and specialized operators of the goldsmith sector to transfer their knowledge to the younger workers. The research on the goldsmith sectors of the countries involved in the project  and focused on the investigation on the different existing professional profiles, vocational training needs, The international meetings took place: in Lisbon in Vicenza, Monaco di Baviera and  Lisbon again to present the study and the educational material produced. A web site has been created to publish and spread the results of  the project: www.aios.pt/goldsmith_proj.html
Educational material produced as result of the project can be look up in the Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri di Vicenza

2000 Bucaramanga, Colombia  Creativity and design course for goldsmith operators  This project ranked in the ambit of the training programme realized in cooperation with the “Centro de Desarrollo Productivo de Joyeria” was developed in subsequent stages, all focusing the importance of jewellery design in goldsmith. The Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri di Vicenza sent their specialists with the aim to stimulate trainees to search their own cultural roots and to find in them a source of inspiration to create a unique and original jewellery collections.
The trainees were students of the Industrial University of Santander, teachers of this University, teachers of the Academy of fine Arts and  goldsmith artisans.       

2000 Dominican Repubblic -Assistance Programme in Jewellery Manufacturing”

The Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri of Vicenza carried out a training project for the Dominican goldsmith sector, particularly in stone setting and  design, at the instance of the Training Institute “Nelda S. Valpiana Community Centre” of Santo Domingo. The other partners of the project were: the Catholic University, the Independent University  of Santo Domingo and the Association for the Development of San José de Ocoa. The trainees were inexpert young workers, interested in acquiring a professional training in this sector, and adults who wanted to specialize their professional profile and update their skills.
 

1994-1999 Artigas, Uruguay

Cooperation Programme between  European Community and Eastern Republic of Uruguay

The goal of the Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri of Vicenza was to develop the production and trade of semiprecious stones, in Artigas, Department of Uruguay, rich in amethyst deposits, through the reinforcement of the activity of a cooperative set up with this  purpose.The organization of the training activity begun in 1994. It consisted of different projects: a first step with preparatory courses of gems analysis, stones cutting and management giving autonomy to the cooperative, which was actually existing but not operative.This first phase lasted fifteen months and was constantly coordinated by the Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri, both in Europe and in Uruguay.A socio-historical analysis was then carried out in a period of eighteen months, both in Europe and in Uruguay, in order to realize a careful study on the Uruguayan culture, with the aim of identifying and creating gold items with amethysts, respectful of the originality of this country. The amethyst, made precious by the gold working techniques, could find in this way a well defined niche market with Latin American cultural peculiarity. A book-document was then realized, defining the methodology adopted in the socio-historical analysis (printed in 2500 copies in Spanish). It was presented in Montevideo and then promoted on the whole country. In the meantime, a second project was being carried out. It was called “Artisans’ Training” , organized by the “Asociacion para el fomento de las Ensenanzas Artisticas” of Madrid and coordinated by the Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri of Vicenza. This new cooperation project included a training activity (continuation and improvement  of the didactic activity carried out during the first project of the Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri) and the creation of an Information Centre in the Artigas cooperative, with the aim of promoting its economic activity.

EXPLORTATORY MISSION ABROAD

2006 explorative mission in Perù
The premises of the mission carried out by the School of Arts and Crafts in Peru in November 2006 date back to the meeting which took place in the seat of the School a month before with the main representatives of Propyme, an institution linked to the Pacific University of Lima in order to promote vocational training projects addressed to Peruvian SMEs operating in different craft sectors. In that occasion, the Dean of the University and the Propyme’s Director proposed to the School the design of a common project aimed at the development of design, creativity and communication for the Peruvian jewellery sector. Consequently, the School sent to Peru one of its representatives with the goal to survey the characteristics and the vocational training needs of this sector. The objective was achieved through several visits to jewellery firms and contacts promoted with those institutions which support the development of the Peruvian jewellery, widespread in some strategic production sites, such as Lima, Cusco, Huancayo, San Jeronimos. The output of this mission was the design of a vocational training project from the School, which should be implemented in Peru, through the participation of its international consultants, in partnership with Propyme.

 2006 Visit in Colombia
The Direction of the School of Art and Goldsmith of Vicenza has been invited to participate to a cycle of diplomatic meeting in Bogotá, Colombia. The week of summit meetings, than have been carried out under the supervision of the SENA, the most important formative Institution of the Country with a capillary distribution net on the national territory, has been the occasion in order to renew the privileged relationship of cooperation that the School entertains from years with this extraordinary Country and in order to inquire on the possibilities of increase of the relations in future perspective.

2003 Colombia Attendance the meeting Business to Business
The School attend the “Meeting Business to Business” arranged by the Italian-Colombian Chamber of Commerce of Bogotà to promote contacts and partnership between Italian and Colombian Institutions and Firms. The invitation addressed to the Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri di Vicenza was due to the consolidate relations between the School and Colombian Institutions and has the aim to work at a new collaboration with same important Educational Institutions of Bogotà and Medellin.

2000 Colombia
In October 2000 the Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri di Vicenza Headmasterand exponents had a fact-finding mission in same of the most important cities of Colombia (Bogotà, Medellin and Bucaramanga ) by invitation of important Goldsmith Associations and Educational Institutions of Bogotà. The mission had the goals to enable the Scuola to get in touch with the local social and economical reality, to identify the training needs in the goldsmith sector and to conceive, in cooperation with the local Authorities, a spectrum of jointed initiatives for future educational projects.

1998 Messico
On behalf of the Town Council of Taxco, the Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri of Vicenza together with the Asociation para el Fomento de las Enzenas Artisticas de Madrid has visited the Mexican region of Guerriero and its capital city Texco.
The mission  investigated the real situation and the educational needs in the goldsmith field to arrange a programme whose goals were: - to allow the association among silver firms in Taxco and to identify a range of products typical of this region that can face the International trade by occupying a particular market niche; - to lay the basis for a process of association among the firms that allows them to promote their products with  successful results.

1996 Paraguay
In December 1996 the school was given the task to carry out a survey called “Support  to  the gold  sector  in  Paraguay”, with the purpose of identifying and preparing an  operative  programme  able to qualify the  existing manpower,  to modernize  and to  power their  technological  instruments and raise the level of efficiency of the existing instruments in the socio-productive system of the gold micro-business in Luque (15 kilometres from Asuncion).A report was presented in Brussels and translated into an operative programme.

THE MOST RECENT FOREIGN DELEGATION VISITS

2006   Korean delegation

During Orogemma Winter Fair in January 2007, a Korean  Delegation composed by the President and same teachers of the Korea National College of Rehabilitation & Welfare of Seoul visited Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri di Vicenza with the aim to promote the mutual acquaintance and students exchange. The Korean college has a two-year goldsmith course. They were interested in knowing about educational layout and subject-matter in the Scuola d’Arte e Mestieri di Vicenza as for inner and international activities.
 

2007 Cambodian delegation
In June 2006, the School of Arts and Crafts received a Cambodian delegation made of 30 representatives of institutions and firms of Phnom Penh, engaged in a study mission in Vicenza, under the scope of an Asia Invest project carried out in partnership with the Crafts and SME Association of  Vicenza. The meeting aimed at promoting the mutual acquaintance between the School’s and the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce executives. Besides, it was the first step to conceive and ratify the intention to design a common project, addressed to exploit the Khmer cultural elements in the stone manufacturing. At the moment, the development of such project, which should participate to the next Asia Invest call for proposal, is under consideration.

In the last years , Scuola d’arte e Mestieri di Vicenza meet representatives of international Institutions  involved to promote partnership and educational projects with us:

2006 October: Peruvian Delegation  - Universidad del Pacifico and  Propyme of Lima
2006 May: Brazilian Delegation  - Italian Chamber of commerce  of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul
2006 March: Brazilian Delegation - Sebrae and Municipal Institutions  of  Paranà State                         
2005 June: Colombian Delegation -Cámara de Comercio Italiana para Colombia of Bogotá and Gobernación de Antioquia
2004 March: Indian Delegation - Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce of Mumbai
2004 November: Mexican Delegation - Secretaría de Promoción Ecnomómica,Gobierno de Jalisco