Cultural differences in Food Erasmus Project

Project Title

Cultural differences in Food

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: Creativity and culture; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning; Health and wellbeing

Project Summary

We have had a pilot exchange this schoolyear with our students, which was succesfully completed. Our students went to Italy and the Italian school came to the Netherlands. This project was a pilot project to see whether it would be succesful to have an exchange project at our school. The subject of our project was getting to know a new culture. It was a big eye opener for our students. Our school has been the first school in the region to organise an exchange on the “mavo”, which is the lower general secondary education. Because of the fact that our trip has been succesful we want to continue organizing projects to broaden the students’ perspectives about diffences between cultures within Europe. People usually tend to think that people living in Europe have the same ways of living and eating habits. We want to show our students that there are differences and try to get our students to understand and realise these differences. We believe that cultural differences in food is a topic that influences both countries.
The topic food can add lots of values and cultural elements but can cause confusion by the diversity in the way people use it in their lives. Agriculture, productional food, times of consuming food, health issues because of food are important topics of society. As society we feel connected with each other when we have a dinner together. We also have a different opinions regarding to what see as healhty food and what we eat during different times of the day. The project will also give an insight to the foodproduction in both of the countries.
To understand a bit more of the different types of food consumption and production, the students will do research on different cultural food aspects that have been brought to the countries by migrants. Also they will have the ability to visit factories where the most popular food aspect.
With this aim we focus with this project to get the students to understand what importance the cultural aspect of food and manufacturing food or implementing different styles of food have in the two countries. The students will get to learn about the history, the growth of different types and the economical values of the foodproduction.
We can find information and look at the history of the importance of food and it becoming a cultural heritage and let the students use the information by implementing 21 century skills, presenting, interviewing people, talking, interviewing people and exchaning information in a respectful way. With this intercultural interaction this project contributes to enlarge knowledge about aspects that are in our lifes but we never think about. The focus will not only be on obtaining knowledge but also to enlarge the motivation to communicate with students from other Europe.
Both schools aim to work in an international setting and aims that the discussion will be done in a respectful and meaningful way.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 29148 Eur

Project Coordinator

Carmelcollege Gouda & Country: NL

Project Partners

• IISS Gaetano Salvemini