Cultural heritage – sports, recreation and tourism today Erasmus Project

Project Title

Cultural heritage – sports, recreation and tourism today

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: Regional dimension and cooperation; Health and wellbeing; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage

Project Summary

Cultural heritage is an important factor in the development of an individual’s identity and a sense of belonging to the people. The European Commission has already declared 2018 to be the European Year of Cultural Heritage and recommended a more intensive integration of cultural heritage content into schools with the aim of discovering the richness and diversity of European cultural heritage. In accordance with reference of the European Commission, our project deals with the development of sports based on national traditional activities as an element of immaterial cultural heritage of both nations. It was created in the partnership between Primary School OŠ Janka Kersnika Brdo, Brdo pri Lukovici from Slovenia and Pornaisten Yhtenaiskoulu, Pornainen from Finland. Both partner schools want to emphasize the pedagogical value of cultural heritage and its importance in the development of personal, interpersonal and intercultural competences. We would like to raise awareness in pupils, who are the main target group, of the role of cultural heritage in terms of the development of sports activities. These are sports that derive from farm work, activities and our ancestors´ need to overcome various distances. By using diverse research methods, pupils will collect informations and present them to their classmates. The result of this activity will be a school exhibition of traditional activities, sports and equipment and enrichment of the knowledge of pupils about the cultural heritage, enhanced intergenerational cooperation and participation in sports and recreational activities. The aim of the project is to explore the traditional sports of both countries at both partner schools in order to fullfill the school time.
The international dimension of the project will enable students to discover the richness and diversity of European cultural heritage – by participating in it, they will put a pebble in a mosaic of understanding the EU’s slogans united in diversity. The pupils of both partner schools will therefore, within the two exchanges, in English present the traditions of their ancestors, which are the reason for today´s wide range of sports (recreational) activities. They will learn to play or carry out these activities based on experiences of older generations and modern guidelines. Their results about common characteristics and differences will be publically presented. They will learn Finnish and Slovene terms and explore their development through time. Pupils will develop their ability to perform in front of an international audience, overcome prejudices and strengthen cultural awareness. At the same time, they will develop a sense of a healthy lifestyle and well-being.
The project activities are carefully planned and integrated into the ordinary activities of both schools, as all pupils will be included in the research and presentation of traditional sports, and the results of international activities will be presented to all pupils. In internatinal activities, each school will include 14 of its pupils aged 12 to 13. For the preparation and management of the project and the organization of project activities, the project includes principals from both schools and three teachers from each partner school who have been selected on the basis of previous experience and expressed motivation in participating in international projects. Before the start of each exchange of pupils, a coordination meeting of teachers from both schools is planned for the purpose of better regular organization of activities, monitoring of the achievement of the project´s aims and strengthening of international cooperation among teachers. Both partner schools, with an international project on the topic of traditions and sports as elements of intangible cultural heritage, wish to exchange examples of good practices for integrating cultural heritage into teaching and school activities. With international cooperation, we want to develop new teaching methods and strategies and increase the quality of educational activities at both schools. In the long run, both schools will be systematically even more open to the synergy with national and international organizations in various fields for updating and strengthening their activities. Teachers, pupils and their parents will be more inclined to learn foreign languages and participate in international projects due to participation in this project.
Cultural heritage is a central component of cultural identity, cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. The virtual world especially in young people endanger the role of a true cultural heritage and leave it behind their everyday lives. Pupils often do not feel respect and belonging to their ancestors, their cultural traditions and their way of life in the past. Through this project, we want to strengthen the cultural awareness, belonging to the people and the EU with the help of sport as a universal language of socializing, respect and integration.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 17733 Eur

Project Coordinator

OS Janka Kersnika Brdo & Country: SI

Project Partners

• Pornaisten Yhtenäiskoulu