Can food mould culture? Tracing the importance of food culture for our common European cultural heritage. Erasmus Project

Project Title

Can food mould culture? Tracing the importance of food culture for our common European cultural heritage.

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 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage; Agriculture, forestry and fisheries; Social/environmental responsibility of educational institutions

Project Summary

Can food mould culture? Tracing the importance of food culture for our common European cultural heritage.

This biennial project focuses on searching traces of food culture within our common European cultural heritage. ‘In between need, hunger and satisfaction, humans establish a cultural system – their cuisine. They almost solely satisfy their organic, physical needs by applying passed on cultural methods. Moreover, eating and drinking appears as a social framework which secures and enables orientation and communication among social groups as well as individuals.’ (Ulrich Tolksdorf)
Due to this fact, it is possible ‘to obtain an excellent insight into cultural developments of social issues by examining a specific food culture. Food culture thereby serves as a mirror by which not only eating habits, but also socio-political values and hierarchies can be detected.’

Consequently, the question arises, how can traditional food manufacturing processes and eating rituals be presented and experienced in a culture promoting way Europe-wide.
Now this question ‘Can food mould culture?’ will be pursued in France, Greece, Italy, Poland and Germany. Our students will trace typical local-specific products and investigate manufacturing processes, while considering their traditional and economic importance.

During their activities transnational student groups will visit for example olive and wine growers, shepherds, horse breeders and fishermen and thereby get to know their cultural background. At the end of each project a public closing ceremony will be organised. Similar to a food market, the students will medially and culinary present the product as well as the agricultural farm or enterprise they visited. Finally, the results of all the five different projects will be published in a European cookbook, including information on all the recipes, products and institutions involved.

Subordinate goals of this project are: creating awareness for the close link between regional supply chains and a sustainable environment, realizing the link between food culture and social as well as regional identity and last but not least recognizing economic opportunities of regional enterprises.

Moreover, the project enables interdisciplinary learning. At the Gymnasium Lappersdorf teachers from all kinds of subjects (history, social studies, economics, biology and geography) are involved. In addition to that the project will further shape the school’s profile as a member of the UNESCO-schools network and so have a long-lasting effect.

At each school ten students from year 9 respectively 10 will join the project. They will register for an ERASMUS club and work on the project during regular meetings in preliminary stages. Over the two-year-period, 10-12 teachers at each school will be involved in preparing and organising the event on-site.

The students’ search for cultural traces should finally end in recognizing a common European identity and help eliminating prejudices and stereotypes. During their activities in Lappersdorf, Avellino, Plougastel, Larisa and Braniewo, they will develop further, more intense awareness of Europe’s diversity and the importance of its cultural heritage.
The participants will create ‘commercial’ product videos about the enterprises and products they dealt with, they will improve their abilities regarding graphic and media design and will organise the public closing ceremony as well as compile the cookbook. Current, daily news about the project will be published in a blog and on social networks.

At the final meeting in Larisa the whole project will be evaluated by students and teachers and the European Cookbook will be presented to the public. Besides that, concepts will be developed on how to integrate the topic in the individual curricula.
It is expected that the project will have long-lasting positive effects on all people involved: students, parents, teachers and the region they live in. The students will adopt a better understanding of Europe’s cultural heritage and will be concerned about preserving its cultural resources. Additionally, they will establish contacts to European friends as well as enterprises and producers, which could influence their professional future. Teachers will experience a very different approach to work and receive much positive feedback. Last but not least the public’s perception of all the participating schools will be very positive and thereby improve the schools’ status.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 164950 Eur

Project Coordinator

Gymnasium Lappersdorf & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Liceo Scientifico “P.S. Mancini”
• 4 Geniko Lykeio Larissas
• Zespol Szkol Budowlanych w Braniewie
• College Saint Jean de la Croix