Heritage: European Identity Erasmus Project

Project Title

Heritage: European 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 : Strategic Partnerships for Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning; Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

At first, we noticed a need in our school which was the lack of European identity and knowledge about their towns, origins and heritage, which linked to two priorities we had, such as the improvement of the English language skills and giving our students the opportunity to know foreign European countries resulted in the application for an Erasmus + scholarship for which the German and the Polish schools where contacted and we started to work in the HEI project. The project was called HEI, (Heritage: European Identity) as the three words summed up the main objective of our project clearly. The concept of heritage and cultural values, cultural competence, language skills and social interaction are completely related to our national and international heritage; so heritage defines us as European citizens giving us an intrinsic identity our students needed to know. We wanted our participants to understand the importance of lifelong learning, the use of ICT and the positive aspects of multilingualism as a direct means of increasing their autonomy in life. We thought heritage would make them comprehend themselves better and improve as self-conscious citizens, getting to know their origins and at the same time its cultural implications.

We aimed to make students aware of their identity as European citizens and the working and social conditions in a more and more European future and we also wanted to provide them with tools and an understanding of how they could build their own future. We believed that the more familiar our participants were with the current and past realities surrounding them, the less fearful they would be. Their work on heritage would let them know how they could manage their inclusion into an international world. Getting to know and overcoming their cultural differences, improving their English competence and strengthening their qualities through mobility and cross-border cooperation.

With these premises, the project began with three participating organizations: the coordinating school “Escuelas Profesionales Sagrada Familia de Andújar” from Spain, Ulrichsgymnasiun Norden from Germany and Zespol Szkol Mechanicznych im. Komisji Edukacji Narodowej from Poznan, Poland.

The main activities undertaken in this project were:
– The First Transnational Meeting in Andújar to plan the project in detail.
– C1. A short-term exchange of groups of pupils in Andújar, which involved 36 students and a group of teachers from the 3 schools plus the host Spanish families, Andújar Town Hall, a regional newspaper company, transport companies, a museum, flamenco shops, dance academies, a flamenco club and the tourist centre. The participants worked in activities related to the local and regional material and immaterial heritage, including a presentation of the host school, cultural visits to Úbeda and Baeza as well as to Granada, guided tours by the students, videos and brochures, workshops on immaterial artistic heritage, a gymkhana and a questionnaire.
– C2. A short-term exchange of groups of pupils in Norden, which involved 36 students and a group of teachers from the 3 schools plus the host German families, Norden Town Hall, a radio company, a newspaper company, museums and transport companies. The participants worked in activities related to the local and regional material and immaterial heritage, including a presentation of the host school, cultural visits to Norderney and Bremen, a gymkhana as a town rallye, guided tours by the students, cultural ceremonies, a traditional local sport, typical food, travel diaries by the students and traditional German songs.
– The Second Transnational Meeting in Poznan to evaluate C1 and C2 activities and plan the final one and all other project activities to be done.
– C3. A short-term exchange of groups of pupils in Poznan, which involved 36 students and a group of teachers from the 3 schools plus the host Polish families, Poznan Town Hall, a radio company, a newspaper company, museums and transport companies. The participants worked in a series of activities related to the local and regional material and immaterial heritage, including a presentation of the host school, cultural visits to Torun and Ostrów Lednicki, a gymkhana, guided tours, museum visit about typical food, historical monuments and museum visits, a video, collages and a questionnaire.
– The Third Transnational Meeting in Norden to evaluate all the activities done during the second part of the project and prepare and plan the necessary documentation for the final steps of the project.

In these activities our students have done guided tours for the visiting students, reports, questionnaires, adverts, photos, videos, brochures, diaries, workshops on traditional heritage, visits on cultural heritage and gymkhanas, and a project website has been created. Besides, they have gained cultural knowledge, English and ICT skills, tolerance, cooperation and a European spirit, which are impact examples of this project.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 61340 Eur

Project Coordinator

Fundación Escuelas Profesionales de la Sagrada Familia & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Ulrichsgymnasium Norden
• Zespol Szkol Mechanicznych im. Komisji Edukacji Narodowej