Our Spaces Erasmus Project

Project Title

Our Spaces

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: Social entrepreneurship / social innovation; Social/environmental responsibility of educational institutions

Project Summary

The project „Our Spaces“ is set up between 6 schools from different countries around the Baltic Sea (DE, FI, EE, LV, PL, SE).
All of our schools aim at teaching students about their democratic rights. Yet, democratic participation is not limited to making use of a citizen’s right to vote, but also encompasses participation in decision-making processes in our local communities. Shared spaces are vital elements of both our communities and our schools and we are convinced that it is a major social responsibility to help create well-designed, -maintained, inclusive and safe shared spaces that allow social mixing, civic participation, recreation, and a sense of belonging. Accordingly, we want students to develop concepts for some of these spaces and contribute to making these spaces more attractive for a variety of users and purposes. In times of increased migration and tourism public spaces are increasingly used by people from diverse cultural backgrounds who perceive the space around them very differently. Also, migration changes the structure of the school community and as a result spaces at school are used by children from different cultural backgrounds. Consequently, diverse perspectives should be taken into consideration when designing shared spaces to make them attractive and usable for a variety of groups. By exchanging ideas and comparing perceptions with other young people from different countries, diverse ways of designing and using shared spaces can be utilised. In addition, successful concepts can be taken as examples of good practice and inspiration, both in a geographical as well as political respect.
Throughout our project there will be two international students meetings (EE 2019: public spaces in the community, LV 2020: shared spaces at school), attended by 6 students and 2 teachers from each school. The students are to discuss and develop concepts for a chosen space in internationally mixed groups. Excursions and mental maps are used as a basis for a discussion. On the last day of the workshop week the teams introduce their ideas to the audience at the hosting school. The teams are free to choose the method, e.g. presenting a model, a poster, a video, a leaflet, a role play etc. The students have to consider the following aspects: an overview of the plan, argumentation, sustainability, youth involvement in the design process to better understand their needs. On the one hand, the national teams are to see each other as representatives of their home country. They are to collect and bring information on the topic and teach the others some aspects of their culture and language. On the other hand, the students are to interact as individuals, make personal contacts across language or national barriers and practice to stand up for their own opinion in an international context. To facilitate personal contacts and to create an atmosphere of trust all students are to sleep in internationally mixed rooms and to organise getting-to-know activites.
Besides the students meetings, there will be two teachers’ meetings attended by at least two teachers from each school where experts give lectures on the topics (FI 2020: How to use eTwinning more effectively, SE 2021: Shared spaces on the internet). The participating teachers will develop ways in which the new ideas can be included in the project.
To spread the project idea at all schools the results of the workshop week will be presented (wall displays, presentations, visit to lessons, articles, etc.). There will be classroom activities (questionnaires on the topics, theoretical knowledge, designs of shared spaces developed in various subjects, etc.) to make more students aware of the meaning and potential of shared spaces.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 113320 Eur

Project Coordinator

Auguste-Viktoria-Schule & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Dundagas vidusskola
• Tallinna 21. Kool
• Rovaniemen koulutuskuntayhtymä REDU
• Västra Stenhagenskolan
• Zespol Szkol Ogolnoksztalcacych