“Tragedy and Hope – Learning from the past, living in the present and looking into the future” Erasmus Project

Project Title

“Tragedy and Hope – Learning from the past, living in the present and looking into the future”

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 Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

The context of the project “Tragedy & Hope”, which runs from October 2017 to October 2019, was Europe that has been united in peace and prosperity for more than six decades. This was also reflected in the composition of the partner institutions from Poland, France and Germany. In addition, the network with the Armenian educational landscape and the integration of an Armenian school has been successful. On the one hand, the focus was on historical tragedies such as the Holocaust or the Armenian genocide. At the same time, an arc was made to the current tragedies of our time (e.g. Middle East). In view of the growing nationalist/populist tendencies in Europe, the project has created a counterpoint and shows how hope can arise from disasters and the important role of reconciliation and international understanding.

At each school, a project group of ten pupils (10th grade) was formed, led by two teachers. The focal point of the project work was the meetings of “ERASMUS AG – Tragedy and Hope” held at least every 14 days.
Each of the three partner schools approached the topic in different ways: the German group focused on the Armenian genocide (analysis of Antonia Arslan’s book “House of The Larks”, historical examination of the genocide, current position in political/social discourse). The Polish group approached the topic of Holocaust through the analysis of music pieces and lyrics. And during the joint project week a song on the topic of hope was developed. The work of the French partners focused on the examination of various texts, including Hannah Arendt, the preparation of interviews with contemporary witnesses and the rehearsing of a small play. Information about the current state of work and the corresponding (intermediate) results were exchanged via a common Facebook group and by e-mail and contact was kept in touch.

At the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the project period, the young people were asked to record their expectations, their knowledge gain and their final evaluation of the project in the form of essays and mutual interviews. In addition, panel discussions, exhibitions, theatre performances and concerts were organised at all three schools, spread over the entire project period, in order to make the project results accessible to the widest possible audience.

Three learning activities were carried out. These were used for the exchange and joint work as well as for the presentation of the respective work results, the visit of memorials, the exchange with representatives of non-governmental organisations and the intercultural meeting. The aim is to provide the young people with the deepest possible insight into the everyday world of the respective host country.

Two project meetings have also taken place. The “kick-off” event in October 2017 in Droyßig/Germany served to complete the preparatory measures (e.g. finalization of learning agreement). The second meeting took place additively in Armenia (this was organised additionally and independently of ERASMUS+, but was directly related in terms of content and personnel. Both meetings were attended by two teachers and two students per partner institution.
In terms of methodology, we attached great importance to cooperative forms of learning. Since language plays a central role, we pursued the approach of semantic holism and thus want to take account of the fact that words/concepts can only be interpreted with the inclusion of the respective cultural context.

As a result of the project, the young people have worked out where historical tragedies originate, what mechanisms they follow and in what form they are processed in literature and music. Furthermore, the focus was on raising historical awareness and the transferability of this experience to current world political contexts. The participants were supported in their development into critical, reflective personalities and multipliers of the “European idea” and democratic values.

The benefits of the project were thus also in strengthening social inclusion and promoting the acquisition of skills and competences (e.g. intercultural competence, language skills, methodological competence). Through the close cooperation of the partner institutions, we also hope to build long-term friendships.

In addition, individual results and testimonials could and can be integrated into the regular lessons (history, religion, languages, social studies). In this way, the entire school community could/can participate in the project activities. Due to the wide range of dissemination activities, the project has finally had an impact on the social environment of schools and the general public.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 82200 Eur

Project Coordinator

CJD Christophorusschule Droyssig & Country: DE

Project Partners

• LYCÉE VOLTAIRE
• V Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace im. Janusza Korczaka w Tarnowie