HERITAGE: A JOURNEY FROM OUR PRESENT TO OUR PAST Erasmus Project

Project Title

HERITAGE: A JOURNEY FROM OUR PRESENT TO OUR PAST

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 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Civic engagement / responsible citizenship

Project Summary

The project “Heritage: a Journey from our Present to our Past”, suddenly interrupted by the uninvited but now sadly famous guest, has allowed 5 schools from 5 European countries (with a large number of their students, teachers, families, communities and stakeholders) to live and share unique and constructive experiences both from an educational and relational and social point of view.
We can and must divide these two years of activities into two macro periods, pre and post covid.
In the pre-covid period, the three planned mobilities were achieved without any obstacle or difficulty with a success that goes beyond what we had planned.
The post-covid period, from March to August, unfortunately coincided with a period in which the school experienced a great moment of confusion, looking for the various ways to continue the didactics.
The mobilities have been blocked due to force maejeure. Unfortunately, there was not the time to organize the activities in a virtual way. The mobility in Croatia fell just at the beginning of the lock-down where nothing was clear and we still hoped that it was just a moment.
The second cancelled mobility in Poland fell in a not adequate time, when each school was reorganizing the main activities, exams and so on.
However, there was an interesting contact via Zoom, a digital platform that has become a very useful companion of these months, between teachers and students to exchange impressions, emotions and fears in the Covid era.
Despite the uninvited guest, we can proudly state, thanks to a constant, rich and detailed monitoring, that the project respected all the steps, completed them successfully and achieved the objectives brilliantly.
The first phase, the research and adoption of the monument, saw the protagonists of the project engaged in the study of their territory, doing research, questioning citizens and institutions. The pupils had the task and responsibility, with the right guide, to choose the monument to take care of and bring it to the international renown. Everybody studied hard. This step made possible to achieve one of the main goal: to promote the feeling of belonging to the city and encourage a responsible citizenry.
We started to communicate since the beginning with regular Skype meetings among teachers but also with two by two students meetings. Communication was possible through the different media from Facebook, E-Twinning with the page of the project, Whatsapp and Instagram. Promoting contests, such as the logo contest or the video contest, a cultural contest, was really motivating.The European dimension was very well spread into school contest and outside it. Every year we celebrated also the European day of Languages and the Erasmus days with different digital and cultural activities.

While the children were documenting themselves to become Ciceroni of the monument, and by producing a video, the teachers prepared themselves on the CLIL Methodology during a learning meeting in Italy so that they could subsequently ensure that their students were able to promote the monument internationally.
An added value of this mobility was the participation of 18 Polish students hosted by the Italian ones. The Polish students supported the travel expenses with their own economic resources

Achieved objectives: To develop languages competences through CLIL methodology, ability to speak in public, reinforce ICT skills ability
During the following mobilities in Spain and in Greece students were ready to accompany their peers to visit sights of historic interest in their country, concentrating their attention around the monument making it the protagonist in a music performance in Spain and in a art exhibition in Greece. Big town events that involved the whole community not only the school members.
Achieved objectives:
– To inform the citizens of their heritage sites
-To foster the educational role of the city, as a space generating individual and collective identity
-To develop European dimension
-To be more confident in speaking in public
– to develop artistic skills ( playing an instrument, singing, drawing taking photos)

Dissemination was constant too for the five countries. Big public events, recurring contacts with media, production of articles, up-loading of web pages, releases of interviews.

Developing and disseminating this project in Europe we reached a large number of people and we became a good example for many who could take inspiration from it. Replication is really possible. We also hope, at the end of Covid-19 issue. to take again our last and main goal that is going on with this project involving much more countries.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 83245,06 Eur

Project Coordinator

ISTITUTO COMPRENSIVO STATALE “A. R. CHIARELLI” & Country: IT

Project Partners

• Osnovna skola brace Radic
• CEIP ANTONIO MACHADO
• 17th Primary School of Kalamaria
• Pierwsza Spoleczna Szkola Podstawowa