HERO 2.0: Heritage is Europe’s Revolutionary Opportunity Erasmus Project

Project Title

HERO 2.0: Heritage is Europe’s Revolutionary Opportunity

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: Creativity and culture; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage

Project Summary

HERO 2.0: Heritage is Europe’s Revolutionary Opportunity was a project with 5 upper secondary school and vocational school partners from Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Poland and Portugal. The schools share a common vision of teaching: “We want to provide our students with qualitative education, inspire them to achieve the best results in their studies and to become multilingual, tolerant, broad-minded and highly educated citizens, successful in any profession. We prepare them to be successful in studies, achieve the best results in their chosen career and to become successful grown-up people in the future. We want them to become European citizens in a broad sense”.

In this project we wanted to study European heritage emphasizing the importance of the past 100 years. Both students and teachers needed tools to investigate cultural heritage, both national and European, to increase their cultural awareness in a world so quickly changing towards multicultural society. In this process it was important to realize the heritage and values that are collective for all the European citizens. This is not contradicting national or local heritage. Students observed, conceptualized,imagined, discussed, compared and analyzed the similarities and differences between their cultures.

During the project a new European superhero, HERO 2.0, was born: Great Granny. The figure is an embodiment of 21st century’s European values which unites especially teenagers from every corner of Europe. HERO 2.0 story was written into a children’s comic book. Participants acted as associates of the hero and taught younger children about the values behind the story of HERO 2.0.

During the project students took part in activities where history, literature, art, architecture, mythology, innovations, entrepreneurs e.g. of Europe was studied by carrying out motivating tasks and project. These tasks also promoted active citizenship and ICT-skills.

Main objectives of the project were:
– Developing cultural skills and creativity especially in students with poorer grades so their self-confidence and motivation for widely understood education is enhanced
– Strengthening the sense of initiative and entrepreneurship through culture
– Highlighting the significance of the European community and exchange of ideas
– Broadening pupils’ knowledge about different methods and technologies used to “create” culture in the past and in the present times
– Promoting varied cultures within European Union and the importance of literacy and proper argumentation
– Improvement of students’ DTP (DeskTop Publishing) skills
– Preventing discrimination and early school leaving
– Promoting self-respect, respect towards others and ethics in graphic-web design/social networking
– Promoting democratic values and education for active citizenship

Before every mobilization, a research on the country to be visited, including information and pictures, were displayed on the Erasmus+ corner in each school.After each mobility, the application and evaluation of students’ questionnaires on the matter were done. Zoom meetings were held periodically in order to ease communication between coordinating teachers, so that they could decide on further subjects to tackle through the project. A comic book was made by students and teachers, reflecting the activities of the project after each year.

We are happy to announce that the following results were achieved:

* Project motivated our students to closer investigation of the cultural heritage, raised their self-confidence by challenging them with achievable tasks and developed their key competences in a complex way.

* Project raised teachers cultural literacy and awareness and gave them practical tools to bring cultural heritage into subjects they teach.

* Cultural heritage is taken into account in schools’ curriculum. Teachers are encouraged to promote cultural skills in their lessons.

* HERO 2.0 story will stay alive and find new public in as many European school as possible.

Project Website

https://www.facebook.com/HERO-20-327702528094803

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 160199,8 Eur

Project Coordinator

Sonkajärven lukio & Country: FI

Project Partners

• Agrupamento de Escolas de Vialonga
• VZW Leiepoort campus Sint-Vincentius
• III Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace im. Juliusza Slowackiego w Lesznie
• Srednja skola Bedekovcina