Manuel and Manuel Erasmus Project

Project Title

Manuel and Manuel

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: Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

In our project we wrote a book for teenagers, using the three different languages of our project: English, German and Spanish. The book with the title “Manuel and Manuel” is about the two main characters Manuel and Manuel, one from Germany and the other one from Spain. These characters meet and find out that even though they have got the same name and a few other similarities, there are also differences between their two cultures and home regions. One can say that they go through the same process as the authors of the story, the participating students. An innovative aspect of this project is, that 8th and 9th grade students wrote and illustrated a book for other students at the same age, which got printed at the end and published for a great variety of people. The students became authors and are able to support the learning process of others – and also help teachers with the teaching process. The book will definetely be very useful for language lessons and also for geography and art lessons.
This project gave the participants the opportunity to directly get into contact with another country and another culture. Nowadays where globilisation gets more and more it is fundamental to set up a ground for teenagers for a better understanding. The possibility to look across the borders to another country opened up the perception of the students for something new – not only on a cognitive, but mainly on a far more touching emotional level. The students’ personality got strenghtened. On the one hand they got to know themselves and their environment better, became more independent and worked on their language skills – and on the other hand they got to know another country and another culture. They were able to develop their own point of view by getting to know similarities as well as differences between the two countries and learned, not stick with certain stereotypes. This was supported especially by the two exchanges when they stayed for ten days in their partner’s family. On the one hand they had to host their guest for 10 days, look after the guest and take responsibility – and on the other hand they had to live in a strange family for 10 days, in a foreign country and a different culture. All These were experiences which made them grow.
Additional to the book there were other smaller products like videos of each partner, showing the school, the hometown and the participating students and teachers. There were also exhibitions to inform others about the project and the work that has been done. There have also been a few Spanish lessons to get a feelin for the partner’s mother language.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 58875 Eur

Project Coordinator

Gemeinschaftsschule Husum Nord & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Colegio S Jose en Reinosa Instrucción Cristiana Hermanos de la Prov N S del Pilar Colegio