Erasmus+: Our cultural diversity - our common strength

Partnership with Sweden and Italy

Project description

Considering the following facts taken together, our school's motto being 'Innovation as Tradition', our new long-term school project being entitled 'humanism and innovation', and us being a Unesco associated school as well as a European Parliament Ambassador School, it goes without saying that associating our pupils even more closely to this set of ideas and sharing it with others. Is a necessity. The cultural heritage and values that we have and share are central to our daily lives, sometimes without us being aware of it. The school's population becoming more multicultural and more traditions and cultural backgrounds coming together is definitely enriching, but at times may cause friction. It is therefore important to raise awareness as to common grounds existing within this diversity. Increased knowledge of this variety causes greater tolerance and understanding, and everyone will contribute to establish stronger bonds and help in the peace-building process.

Moreover, in times of Brexit, developing nationalist tendencies in a number of European countries, refugee crises, climate change, it is absolutely vital to inform and instruct young people, to raise awareness of common grounds and existing bonds, in short, of the common cultural good.

Enabling pupils from different countries to exchange experiences and do activities together when meeting will definitely build bridges and make more responsible and stronger citizens out of these young people. Nothing helps more in the learning process than field trips with pupils; it motivates and definitely has a greater impact on the learning processes than what we can convey in a classroom. It is extremely important for young people to know about the national and regional cultural heritage, but also the European dimension. The added value to our daily lives provided by the large community that the European family should be becomes the focus point in such a project with a country from the north and a country from the south of Europe, together with Luxembourg as a founding member of the EU. It is important to set frames and goals, made possible thanks to this Erasmus+ project, in order to associate new partners and provide greater opportunities of exchange.

Objectives

The focus lies on the cultural heritage of each one of the partners and the analysis of the differences and the points in common we have. The exchange project with other European pupils is an opportunity for all of us to (re) discover the cultural heritage of the respective region, and to share these experiences with others. Diversity is not a weakness; once known and understood, it is a richness, a strength.

1) We would like to bring teachers and pupils from three completely different regions/countries from Europe together in one project to draw their attention to the importance of cultural heritage and the values associated with it.

2) By exchanging information, meeting in three different countries, doing activities and creating things together, the pupils should feel part of a large community and realize the strength of it.

3) When establishing new bonds, the language and communication skills will improve. English will be the main language used; however, our learners of Italian may on top of that profit from the exchanges with the native speakers from the Italian school.

4) We would like to share pedagogical means and methods used, be it when the mobilities take place or in between the latter.

5) The three schools will promote the use of the eTwinning platform; pupils and staff will in future have increased awareness of cohesion and European citizenship, beyond the context of cultural inheritance.

Participants

The groups that will participate from each school are the following:

For Luxembourg, Nancy Janssen as general coordinator, Véronique Igel, Italian language teacher form the core group. The pupils, aged between 16 and 18 will be analyzing topics in relation to UNESCO world heritage, the values of freedom, tolerance, peace, go on the one or the other field trip in the capital or country. The pupils’ ideas and impressions shall be written down, visualized or recorded, so as be shared with the partner schools.

The school from Italy is represented by Nadia Priotti.

The school from Sweden is represented by Rosina Artuso-Saklanti.

Management and implementation

The Athénée de Luxembourg is responsible for most the application form and the coordination; the two partners will contribute to the general planning, introducing the project at their school, organizing the meeting of the three partners in the respective country, and working towards the conclusive statements and conclusions, as well as the multiplying effect of the project.

All three partners will help plan and organize project activities and keep the partners informed and updated.

Methodology and expected results:

The so-called products of the activities such as texts, works of art, blogs, video-clips, or other, can be shared within the respective school communities, but also uploaded onto the eTwinning platform. Towards the end of the project, it is necessary to evaluate the whole. Each partner has to draw conclusions for themselves, and together we shall come to a general conclusion, putting the outcomes of the project to the public.

Putting theory into practice

Participants from the three schools have started communicating via TEAMS, as the project could not go ahead as was initially planned, we had first meetings online to exchange ideas and set up a ‘Logo competition’. Moreover, a very interesting presentation on ERASMUS of Rotterdam was given by a group of Luxembourgish pupils.

From 6 to 9 October 2021, the Athénée hosted a first in-person meeting, and with the delegations of teachers from Italy and Sweden, we discussed the new schedule of the mobilities and the activities planned, fixed dates for the first mobility in Sweden in March 2022, a second mobility in Italy in October 2022, and a final mobility in Luxembourg at the end of November 2022. We had organized a workshop relative to the eTwinning platform, which will be made use of as the project progresses.

The participation in this project will definitely strengthen the awareness of each participant that European projects and especially Erasmus+ projects are extremely fruitful, contribute to a better understanding of our common past and help in the construction of a peaceful common future.

Curiosity, interest in foreign countries, their culture and values remain in the minds of people and will be increased through this project. Also, the project will enable the teachers who participate to develop new skills and competences, and the pupils will be enriched in many ways through these transnational meetings.