BOLSTER

Building a green transition with everyone

How can the green transition be shaped with the people it affects—not just for them?

BOLSTER is a European project that puts adult learning and civic participation at the heart of a just transition: a shift towards a more sustainable society that takes social inequalities, local realities and people’s ability to influence decisions seriously.

From September 2026 to February 2028, four organisations in Germany, France, Italy and Poland are working together to help adult education providers create more accessible opportunities for learning, dialogue and participation. The project pays particular attention to adults who face barriers to education and civic life, including people with fewer formal qualifications, unemployed adults, people with migrant backgrounds, and residents of rural, peripheral or post-industrial areas.

Turning learning into participation

BOLSTER will equip educators, trainers and community organisations with practical ways to involve these adults in discussions about the future of their communities.

The project begins by listening to local needs and building relationships between education providers, community organisations and other local stakeholders. These insights will inform a practical participation approach, a competence framework and learning resources for adult educators.

Training and peer exchange will help professionals put these resources into practice. An international staff training course in France and an adult learning mobility in Poland will connect learning with real-life experience. The Polish mobility will take the form of a Living Lab, bringing participants together to learn through exploration, collaboration and practical activities.

Local pilots across the four countries will then test the methods with adult learners, support the development of community proposals and create opportunities for dialogue with public and civil society stakeholders.

Petite Graine’s role in France

Association Petite Graine is BOLSTER’s French partner.

We contribute to understanding local needs and bringing stakeholders together, connecting adult learning with community participation and the challenges of the green transition.

Petite Graine is also responsible for preparing and hosting the international training course for educators and partner staff. The training will draw on non-formal education, collaboration and inclusive facilitation. Through local pilot activities in France, we will test the project’s tools with adults and use their feedback to improve both the resources and our own educational practices.

Resources and practices that last

Across the partnership, BOLSTER aims to train at least 35 educators and engage at least 200 adults who face barriers to participation.

The project will develop open-access learning resources, support an ongoing professional peer-learning community and produce recommendations informed by local experience. Its longer-term ambition is to help other adult education organisations adopt these methods and embed inclusive participation in their everyday work.

A European partnership

BOLSTER is coordinated by eSquare e.V., Germany, in partnership with Association Petite Graine, France, Centro Studi Metiva Academy, Italy, and Fundacja Młodzi dla Europy, Poland. It is an Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership in Adult Education.

Follow our updates to discover local activities, European learning opportunities and the resources developed throughout the project.

BOLSTER is co-funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ programme.