Europe to Open up to Citizenship and Commitment through Sport Erasmus Project

Project Title

Europe to Open up to Citizenship and Commitment through Sport

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Gender equality / equal opportunities; Integration of refugees; Disabilities – special needs

Project Summary

Three French primary schools in Normandy and three Greek primary schools in Central Macedonia have developed the Erasmus project ESCALE on the subject of school diversity, inclusion and “living together” in school. Each of the schools welcomes a very different audience – socially favoured city centre population, pupils from disadvantaged priority neighbourhoods, pupils with disabilities or in precarious situations with refugee status, or with academic difficulties. Whatever their profile, the 6 partners observe the same withdrawal of their students into their own environment with a preference for social grouping and a low curiosity for the others specially when these latter are different.
Considering this, the schools have decided together
– to develop an opening to Europe in their school thanks to an Erasmus project
– to enable every student, regardless of his social, geographical or academic situation to open up to differences and to experience a mobility in order to meet different people.
– to participate to the building of a European citizenship for young pupils by developing the notion of living together in schools and across borders.
– to enable pupils with different profiles to develop a common citizen attitude thanks to collective activities around sport and its values that they will use afterwards to make their school a better place for inclusion and friendship.

144 French and Greek 8 years old schoolchildren , 25 educational staff – teachers, specialist educators – will first get to know each other, then discover each other’s country and culture by exchanging information and working on representations on the country, the region, the neighbourhood, the school they are from.

The mobilities in both countries will then be an opportunity to discover the life of a French or Greek school, the local heritage of the partner through a program developed by the students but also to forge strong links between the participants through a sports activity that will develop mutual support and solidarity.The 2nd year activities dealing with sport issues such as social or gender equality, inclusion, developped by the students on the eTwinning space of the project , will help them to identify the values needed to live together in school and across borders. The reception in Normandy of all Greek students and the participation of all the participants in the Franco-Greek Olympiads organized as part of the project will allow students to put into authentic action the citizenship built throughout the project.

Diversity and social inclusion are at the heart of the project: activities conducted with students and in which families will be involved must lead students and their families to consider diversity and inclusion in schools as a greater value in the education and in the construction of individuals. “Social” mobility will be accompanied by geographical mobility that will allow students to move out of their posture of withdrawal and to open up to another culture with curiosity by developing autonomy, self-confidence and trust in others. By practising collective sports and reflecting on how sport values can contribute to help people live together in harmony, pupils will develop new attitudes (mutual support, solidarity, team spirit, respect ) that they will use to participate in the construction of a more open and inclusive school environnement.

The expertise of the three Greek schools in welcoming pupils with special needs – refugees, students with disabilities – and their participation in the national network for the prevention of school violence through mediation as well as their involvment in a project concerning the recognition of disability at the school, will help to increase the competence of French schools in this field. The aim is ultimately to establish a network of 6 French and Greek schools mobilized around issues of school diversity and inclusion and opened to new European partnerships. The active participation of students in building an open, tolerant and citizen school environment in each school will also be part of the success of the project.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 6035,49 Eur

Project Coordinator

Ecole Primaire d’Application Haie Vigné & Country: FR

Project Partners

• 3rd Primary School of Serres 3o δημοτικό σχολείο Σερρών
• Ecole Bosnières
• 1st Primary School of Polygyros
• Ecole Les Vikings
• 19th Primary School of Serres