Global Sounds – Magic and fusion of sounds during the encountering of cultures (an international student exchange project to broaden musical and cultural horizons and to develop young people’s personal identity) Erasmus Project

Project Title

Global Sounds – Magic and fusion of sounds during the encountering of cultures (an international student exchange project to broaden musical and cultural horizons and to develop young people’s personal identity)

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: Social dialogue; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

The title of the project is: Global Sounds – Magic and fusion of sounds in the encounter of cultures (an international student exchange project in the field of music and dance for the personal and cultural identification of young people). The project targets on the development of (cultural) awareness of adolescents and the realization of joint international culture festivals in the participating countries. They should express the importance of the common European cultural heritage. By dealing with their own culture-specific aspects such as traditional or well-known songs and dances, the students first develop an awareness of their own culture and then during the meetings with the futher participating countries about their cultural habits. During the meetings and the joint preparations on the hand hand possible prejudices will be reduced and on the other hand the constructiveness of multiculturalism becomes visible during the joint stage performances.

In consultation with each other the respective schools prepare a joint cultural program. There are also interfaces so-called creative mergers in which joint dances and musical contributions are performed in order to emphasize the aspect and value of the common European cultural heritage and the added value of intercultural diversity. During the preparation period the pupils are prepared not only for the practical rehearsals within a course, but also for the country-specific and intercultural aspects of the target country. The project-based student exchange (pbse) provides accommodation in host families during the meetings as this guarantees an authentic insight into the culture of the target country and in addition the participants can develop more intensive friendships which they continue over the project period. The planned cultural festivals are bridges for the multilateral (European) relationship and can be seen as role models. They are supported by the embassies of the participating countries. The major festivals will be realized in meaningsful places such as the German General Consulate in Istanbul as well as in the Turkish General Consulate in Essen. These festivals will be joined and wintesses by officials like mayors, local politicians and representatives of the participating countries. The highlights of the project are the crossover between the musicians from the various countries which bring to bear the potential of a common cultural heritage and the associated enrichment for our society. This is more important than ever, especially according to global political tensions and nationalist tendencies. The project spans a period of 24 months, in which all four participating schools prepare for the meetings using a jointly defined project schedule. On the one hand, the plan provides transparency for everyone involved and on the other hand it serves as a binding framework for orientation. The four meetings are baesd on each other in terms of content, aspiration and represent a successive development. The stages are are briefly listed below. For further information see training, teaching and learning activities:

Global Sounds part 1/4 (Macedonia) – the birth of an international stage group
Global Sounds 2/4 (Croatia): Consolidation of friendship among the group and consolidation of the stage repertoire
Globals Sounds 3/4 (Turkey): Let’s turn the music on and start the show (first big festival experiences)
Global Sounds 4/4 (Germany): The highlight of Global Sounds (magic and fusion of sounds in the encounter of cultures)

The project is controlled in the respective schools by so-called Erasmus + teams which consist of a co-coordinator, a person responsible for the content preparation, and additional support (usually from the school proncipals). Video conferences take place every two weeks to exchange information on the current status of developments. Communication takes place mainly via the eTwinning platform. If necessary additional support tools will be used as well. The students also learn how to use the eTwinning platform during the preparation period and establish contacts with their partners through small inputs and push tasks. During the project phases in the target country the participants are prepared for the respective cultural festivals in small groups through music workshops and cooperations with extracurricular supporters. The embassies establish contact with extern artists and supporters. The project framework and the excursions are also based on the musical and cultural content. The freetime program thus includes getting to know and trying out culture-specific musical instruments from the partner country, visiting a musical event and sightseeing.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 129425 Eur

Project Coordinator

Städt. Gesamtschule Iserlohn & Country: DE

Project Partners

• SOU Gimnazija “Goce Delcev”
• Glazbena skola Karlovac
• OZEL AKA KOLEJI