Harmonize: Building Bridges Erasmus Project

Project Title

Harmonize: Building Bridges

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: Inclusion – equity; Romas and/or other minorities; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

CONTEXT
Across Europe, societies are growing evermore multicultural. Unfortunately, this is giving rise to cultural conflicts and expressions of xenophobic sentiments. Our schools are a microcosm of this, and our students often meet people of different backgrounds for the first time within the school environment. As educators, we therefore have the moral obligation to provide an inclusive school environment where the value of unity in diversity is practiced, showing students from a young age that difference ought to be celebrated, not hated. However, at the same time the increase in multiculturalism in our schools is a relatively new phenomenon, and we as Catholic school educators feel ill-equipped to uphold our crucial responsibility. We need novel ideas and better understanding on how to create a holistically inclusive school environment for all regardless of students’ different backgrounds and cultures, one that is built on mutual respect, taking into account the different tenets of each minority group. To this end, we formed a consortium between 5 Catholic Schools from Malta, Spain & Ireland, and devised this project to address our needs.

OBJECTIVES
1) To provide 22 educators with the opportunity to exchange best practices and ideas in order to increase their personal-level social and intercultural competences and capacity to address the challenges of a heterogeneous learning environment
2) To jointly develop a skeleton professional development training for educators on multiculturalism, and how to create an open and inclusive multicultural school environment
3) For 22 educators to exchange best practices on how the inclusion of students of different backgrounds and cultures can be ensured at school-level via long-term school policy development
4) To develop a strong relationship between 5 European schools from 3 countries.

ACTIVITIES
-Spanish, Irish schools, Sacred Heart will hold and film semi-structured discussions for groups of students on how they experience multiculturalism in their everyday life. This will enable us to start exploring the theme through students’ personal narratives, and establish the starting point (i.e acceptance of differences in current school environment). Will be presented in C1
-C1 Malta & Gozo: Maltese schools will host an academic conference, school visits, workshops, discussions and exchange of good practices. The aim is to develop the educators’ personal competences and understanding of multiculturalism on a personal level, establish the status quo in our schools, and identify current good practices for embracing diversity. Workshops will include the creation of a skeleton for a professional development training session on multiculturalism that can be adapted and disseminated
-C2 Ireland: The mobility in Ireland will focus on exchanging best practices for what we need to do at the school-level (rather than personal educator level) to ensure the positive inclusion of all students through group discussions and workshops, and an academic lecture. We will jointly come up with concrete ways on what changes need to be made to SDPs to ensure sustainability and real change through the project.
-Ongoing local activities, all schools: Groups of students will start exploring topic of multiculturalism by creating and studying creative works of literacy, art, music, and drama that critically explores the theme of differences and inclusion. Students of host schools will present some of these during their respective school visit.

PARTICIPANTS
For each mobility, 4 participants from each Maltese school and 5 from each European school (for balance), from these relevant departments: SMT, Pastoral Care, Student Services, religion and social studies teachers. An open call will be held

RESULTS
-At least 22 educators will exchange best practices on developing their social/intercultural competences and integrating a multicultural approach into their day-to-day work;
-Educators will jointly develop a skeleton professional development session on multiculturalism and exchange ideas on including inclusion into schools’ SDPs;
-5 European schools will establish a strong relationship that can lead to future Erasmus+/eTwinning projects;
-School children will be introduced to the theme of multiculturalism through local activities

IMPACT & LONG TERM BENEFIT
-5 schools will become more inclusive of students of all cultures and backgrounds, encouraging others do the same;
-Students will benefit personally by feeling more accepted, and by understanding the worth of the value of unity in diversity;
-Early-school intervention that presents a positive narrative of differences, and shows children how to practice inclusion and acceptance, is the best solution for countering xenophobia in the long-term. Therefore the long-term benefit of this project is that our students will grow up to be active, responsible,

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 42920 Eur

Project Coordinator

Sacred Heart College Senior School & Country: MT

Project Partners

• Bishop’s Conservatory Secondary School
• Bidaide Fundazioa – Amaurre Ikastetxea
• Our Lady’s Secondary School Templemore
• De La Salle College Malta