The SkillAiPlus program is based on the Skillai program which was running between 2018-2021. In the Skillai program, the Mushinkai Aikido Association and Slovenian and Dutch partners developed a method that aims to create and support a bullying- and violence-free environment in schools with the help of Aikido.

In the SkillAiPlus program our aim is two-fold: to pass on the Skillai method to Aikido instructors and thereby to enable as many qualified instructors as possible to teach in schools, and to reach out to school psychologists, mediators, social workers and other professionals dealing with children's mental health to enable them to allow them to include the Skillai method to their daily work.

The SkillAiPlus program is financed by the European Commission.

In addition to the Slovenian and Dutch partners, Greek, Spanish, and Romanian Aikido instructors and specialists also participate in the three-year program.

The program is coordinated by the European Aikido Federation. The first international meeting of the program took place on 24 May, 2024, in Athens.

More information about the Skillai program is available on EU Funding & Tender Portal.

Project summary

The MAIN OBJECTIVE of the project is to provide European schoolchildren with an innovative tool to efficiently cope with bullying and other types of aggressive behaviours in a peaceful way. The SkillAiPlus method is based on Aikido, and is transferred to children in cooperation between schools and sports associations. Building on the results of a small-scale project (SkillAi), SkillAiPlus will be developed and deployed to better fit the different target groups and to have a bigger European impact.

ACTIVITIES

1. Skill development of Aikido instructors to apply SkillAi+ (by train the trainer events, blended module, pilot testing and sharing good practices)
2. Skill development of teachers and social workers so they use SkillAi+ (by seminars, pilot testing, blended module and mentoring)
3. SkillAi+ skill development of children aged 10-18 (by pilot events, SkillAi+ School Roadshows, weekly SkillAi+ Aikido sessions, a blended module and individual learning)
4. Endorsing SkillAi+ in the European Aikido network (by a pan-European impact campaign, events and a collaborative educational platform)

TARGET GROUPS (TGs)

• European Aikido instructors (TGA)
• European teachers, social and youth workers, psychologists (TGB)
• European youth aged 10-14 (TGC) and 14-18 (TGD)

EXPECTED RESULTS

• 1000+ Children are skilled with the SkillAi+ technique
• 120+ Teachers teach and apply the SkillAi+ antibullying techniques
• 210+ Aikido instructors are familiar with the SkillAi+ method and apply it in their training practice
• SkillAi+ is part of the Aikido instructor certification process
• The European Aikido community is reinforced and more visible
• TGs multiply the effect, whereby eventually bullying is reduced in European schools

OUTPUTS

• 3 SkillAi+ blended learning for the 3 main target groups including Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
• 2 Guidebooks for TGA&TGB
• 2 Handbooks for TGC&TGD
• SkillAi+ Interactive collaborative platform
• SkillAi+ and its results are disseminated widely

Disclaimer:

“Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.”