Pilgrimage routes of Europe: a legacy to enhance. Erasmus Project

Project Title

Pilgrimage routes of Europe: a legacy to enhance.

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: Entrepreneurial learning – entrepreneurship education; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation

Project Summary

Pilgrimage routes of Europe: a legacy to enhance.
Acronym: P.R.E.L.a.T.E.

Participating Organisations:
Scuola Secondaria di primo grado “Ettore Romagnoli”, Gela (IT), coordonating institution;
Ogec saint-denis, Loches (FR), partner school;
Santa María la Nueva y San José Artesano, Burgos (SP), partner school.

France has been a partners school of the applicant institution for many years, Spain was chosen via the School Education Gateway. The selection was made among the requests received on the basis of the school profile and staff skills.

Objectives
The projects aims at studying Via Francigena, Camino de Santiago and Saint Martin’s route as pilgrimage routes certified by the Council of Europe. A specific study about those routes was launched by the Council in 1987 with the purpose to demonstrate how the heritage of the different European countries and cultures contributes to a shared European cultural heritage. Steps have been taken to foster awareness of this shared European heritage as the basis of a common European identity and a source of socio-economic and cultural development.This project will foster a strong sense of citizenship in target groups, and will develop also other European key competences (foreign languages, basic skills, ICT).

Reasons for developing the projects were:
cultural, with reference to the discovery and enhancement of the heritage;
educational, with reference to the purpose of educating students to protect and enhance heritage;
didactic, with reference to innovative teaching methods;
transversal, with reference to key competences and skills for life, which will be fostered by the project activities.

Target groups were: students, within an age range of 12-14/15; teaching staff; school communities; the local area; cultural authorities and associations.

All the project phases were developed in the same order by each partner so that construction of shared results/parallel curricula will be possible.

In the first project year we have discovered the main pilgrimage route on a European level in the partner countries. In particular, we aimed at: getting to know who pilgrims were; studying the topic of travel as human movement for a religious purpose; getting to know pilgrimage routes, discover the factors that affected pilgrimage and the influence of religion and trade on it;work on a digital curriculum to use a scientific and digital approach;promote inclusion
In the second year we have focused on the ixdea of enhancing cultural, social and environmental value of the routes as key elements for sustainable tourism. As a consequence, we have started studing virtual business linked to pilgrimage routes and sustainable tourism. so that possible firms could be established on Heritage sites, thus fostering the entreneurial skills in students and staff.

The methodological approach was twisted on innovative methods (debate,ICT ,practice firms simulation) but also on traditional methodology (cooperative learning,task based approach).

Staff and students were selected according to fair transparent procedures,equal opportunities will be granted for all participants.

Task sharing between partners was designed so as to enhance each school peculiarity. Italy has coordinated ICT training activities, as the Italian contact person, responsible for the school Digital Curriculum, has certified ICT skills an experience as a teacher’s trainer. Each partner has worked on the idea of practice firm.

All partners have monitored the progress and evaluated the impact of the project throughout its lifecycle, in line with the monitoring and evaluation strategy in order to measure to what extent objectives of the project are being met; whether the project is on track to deliver the planned activities and outputs; whether any corrective action needs to be taken.
The impact of the project at a local, regional, national, European and sectoral level was also captured.

Involved schools have tranferred the innovative educational practices implemented in the two years project’s length, also promoting entrepreneurial skills, fostering creativity and giving students a stronger sense of responsibility towards cultural heritage.
The design of practice firms, moreover, has fostered life skills in each of the target group addressed, especially in students, thus showing an orienting function and a high quality impact.

Project Website

https://tizianafinocchiaro3.wixsite.com/pilgrimagerouteska2

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 69400 Eur

Project Coordinator

Istituto Comprensivo “Ettore Romagnoli” & Country: IT

Project Partners

• Santa María la Nueva y San José Artesano
• college privé saint-denis