CONSCIOUS CATERERS, SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS Erasmus Project

Project Title

CONSCIOUS CATERERS, SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS

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 : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Health and wellbeing; Environment and climate change

Project Summary

Hospitality and Catering Industry can be a key driver for job creation in Europe. A recent survey, led by HOTREC across Europe on this sector demonstrates that since 2000, the number of jobs overall EU grew by 7.1% whilst the Hospitality and Catering sector created 29% more jobs.
This sector is one of the most important gateways to the labour market, which is crucial in the current times of high unemployment, especially amongst young people.
Nowadays, this industry supports approximately 16m jobs, or 1 out of every 13 across EU.

Vocational schools in Hospitality and Catering Industry have crucial responsibilities. Indeed, a youth who attended a school program in this sector has access to unlimited opportunities for professional development and employment. Furthermore, partial or total control of certain tools, such as knowledge of foreign cultures, practice of foreign languages, use of digital communication and new technologies also represent major assets.

Skilled people who work with both food and service are highly demanded. Teachings, fitting in VET curriculums, are based on structured and thoughtful progressions that remain in constant evolution to best fit with the world that surrounds us. However, practice of those professions today is based on an easy access to anything we need, in term of products, supplies or natural resources, regardless of the environmental impact. For the last decades, technology has evolved fast, sometimes for the better, but we are just waking up with conscious eyes, watching what is left behind. Teachers and students work for the same purpose: learning and sharing knowledge. We believe that consumption habits can only be changed from bottom to top.

According to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012 (Rio+20), UNESCO endorsing the 2013 Global Action Programme (GAP) at the general conference, and COP 21 in Paris in 2015, teachers and students need to act as Conscious Caterers. Sustainability has to become a hotspot in Lifelong Learning, in professional practice and in personal daily lives. Thus, the Sustainable 17 goals released lately reinforce the will of raising Consciousness on a world level.

This project, unifying more than 500 direct actors from Virginska School in Sweden, CAHEM in Turkey, International Institute of Hotel Management in India and Albert de Mun School in France, has been clearly raising consciousness on all concepts related to sustainable systems. Over 3 years of conception and 2 years of project completion, each institution have developped a network of professional partner to support all activities, mainly led by students. The objectives targeted have been beyond expectations, in terms of impact, of results, and moreover in terms of acknowledgement of good practices.

Based on the 8 European key competences, C2S2 has combined theoretical and practical activities, dissemination events, exhibitions, conferences, several partnerships with other vocational schools of the branch, and strong collaboration with famous chefs and many professionals, producers, farmers and poviders.
To structure the project actions, C2S2 led them on 4 perspectives : “Food wastage awareness”, “From field to plate, with sustainability in mind”, “Climate and Seasons on Food production”, and “Health, wellbeing and consciousness on food consumption”.
In total, 30 results, professional videos, impacts and acknowledgement have been released, through pedagogical, practical and professional approach. All extracted work have been analysed by the consortiums to reshape and implement these new innovative tools in today’s curriculums, to better fit with the new generation’s learning methods, and sustain the dynamic.
.
Over the 2 years, 4 mobilities have taken place in the partner’s countries to share good practices and behaviours through innovative ideas, discover specific products and better compare climate issues on food production in these 4 complementary countries.

Several Dissemination events and exhibitions have been organised in markets, local partner’s places, Cite of Sciences, UNESCO, associations and governemental organisations to involve professionals but moreover public in our consciousness campaign.
In January 2020, the indian partner, IIHM, will host for the 6th time the “Young Chef Olympiad”, an International catering contest, unifying 50 catering schools from across the Globe. To disseminate and follow-up the project, this contest will be fully involved in Sustainability matters.

As a movie maker followed us all along the project, one trailer and 13 professional videos have been released on Youtube. ITC channels and internal networks have been highly used to collaborate during 5 years. The consortiums will definitely not stop here.
This whole experience pushes them to motivate other stakeholders in writing other chapters of this project, collaborate with other countries and raise the consciousness on a worlwide level.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 123344,75 Eur

Project Coordinator

Lycee polyvalent privé Albert de Mun & Country: FR

Project Partners

• CANKAYA HALK EGITIMI MERKEZI VE AKSAM SANAT OKULU
• Virginska gymnasiet
• International Institute of Hotel Management