Encompassing cultural heritage of small European towns Erasmus Project

Project Title

Encompassing cultural heritage of small European towns

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage

Project Summary

Encompassing cultural heritage of small European towns (ECHOSET) is a project to be developed between secondary schools of Poland, Germany, The Republic of North Macedonia, Spain, Lithuania and Croatia. It will involve students aged 15-19, and school subjects of English Language, Mother Tongue, Literature, History, Geography, Religion, Maths, Music, Arts, Foreign Languages, Households and selected vocational subjects. The project involves six schools from very different cultural backgrounds and significantly different student structures, but all have one common feature: they are located in small European towns. This seemingly disadvantageous position often affects the development of self-esteem of children, their future choice of study and professional orientation, which we want to change with this project and provide our students with opportunities for quality informal and intercultural learning.

The partners are schools that have recognized the need for additional work on the global competences of their students and their social awareness. Students are significantly scorned in their worldview, tend to nationalism and racism and other social phenomena. By incorporating them into an international project, connecting with peers from other parts of Europe, through themes related to a common cultural background, but also by exchanging and respecting our diversity, we will urge to mitigate the radical social phenomena and raise awareness of the cultural heritage of the nations involved in the project, but also Europe in general.

The main objective is to make students explore local traditions, crafts, food, songs, folklore, legends, archeological sites, attractions, and present it
as related to European citizenship. It will bring communities together and build shared understandings of the places we live in. Thanks to the modern technology and the Internet, findings will be shared on eTwinning, and Facebook page. Project staff will motivate students to use their digital skills in a positive way, to encourage the sharing and appreciation of Europe’s cultural heritage, to raise awareness of our common history and values and to reinforce a sense of belonging in a common European space. The most important outcomes of our project will be the basis of videos/digital stories, multimedia posters, quizzes, board game and brochures, an online Dictionary of Proverbs and Sayings, and an eTwinning project that will disseminate our knowledge, findings and experiences gathered.

Participants will have great opportunity to practice new languages, mainly English, through the interaction of students and teachers during the activities in each school as well as during the mobilities, and will get an insight into the different nation’s everyday way of life since most of the
mobilities will be hosted in families. Partners will include in the project students facing different social and economic barriers, enhancing the dimension of social inclusion.

The ECHOSET project will continue after its regular activities stop, after the 2 years of its duration, because it will result in a series of new strategies, techniques and materials that will serve teachers, in handling classes. It could also become a basis for preparing future projects of involved schools, as we already used some products of previous Erasmus+ projects.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 186222 Eur

Project Coordinator

Zespol Szkol nr 2 w Lubartowie & Country: PL

Project Partners

• I.E.S. GABRIEL Y GALAN
• “Sv.Kliment Ohridski” High School
• Ekonomska skola Pozega
• Silales r. Pajurio Stanislovo Birziskio gimnazija
• Clara-Schumann-Gymnasium