Celebrations in Europe – let’s celebrate Europe Erasmus Project

Project Title

Celebrations in Europe – let’s celebrate Europe

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

Project Summary

Our project “Celebrations in Europe – Let’s celebrate Europe” is looking for a positive perspective of European unification. The students should experience and communicate differences and similarities of their cultural heritage as confident citizens of one European Union that consists of different regions and different countries.

The participating schools are located in Germany, Romania, France and Belgium. The schools teach young people from 16-19, who are the target group of the project. The schools teach general as well as vocational education.

The project reaches its goal to show diversity and unity at the same time by a European celebration at the project’s end. By then we will raise awareness that we are based on our European heritage which is however interwoven in the second decade of the second millennium. This openness and the exchange require life-long learning of all participating individuals as well as a democratic way of communication which can be set as a model for society and the EU. These big goals should be reached in four steps and via manageable tasks and interim results. The schools are linked via eTwinning and work individually on the project tasks before and between meetings.

In a first step the students exchange their views on different Christmas traditions. These are present in all member states notwithstanding the individual faith of the participants. During this first meeting the students prepare a Christmas celebration that incorporates elements of all countries. Additionally, we are going to create a family album with photos of the participant’s families Christmas celebrations of different decades. We are also going to collect different recipes and Christmas carols in a booklet. This step of the project offers a glance into the private life of families in different countries that will show the things we have in common and will practice the appreciation for existing differences.

The next step is devoted to the Europe of regions. The schools are going to participate in local or regional festivities and document their activities. In the project meeting they will find out that all regions enjoy their celebrations differently by introducing the respective customs to one another. Intensifying their involvement in their community’s activities they live active citizenship and deepen social cohesion.

In a further step the participants are going to investigate national holidays of the participating countries. Firstly, they are to be historically classified. The students will raise their awareness for the manifold developments in European history in different parts of Europe throughout the centuries. Mostly, national holidays celebrate a process of unification. The students will find reconsider in how far these processes have been successful and if these developments can be a model for European unification. They will reflect on the different intensities the nations celebrate their national holidays as well as on national landmarks and stereotypes. They are going to create an online quiz on this topic.

The project culminates in the European celebration at the last project meeting. Having had the European perspective in view during and between the first meetings, by then contents and reason of the European holiday will have been identified by then. The holiday will be celebrated using the unified creative force of all our students and teachers of general and vocational education. While students in hairdressing will develop the European outfit, the designers are going to design the invitation, the students from catering/housekeeping are going to plan the buffet, media experts digitalize the event and the students form social care will plan the course of the event with activities such as a fashion show, role plays, songs, lotteries, just to mention a few. Additionally, the results of the project so far are going to be exhibited, to manifest how much the four schools have become a European project team. The celebration is not only for students, but open to the complete school community and parents as well as representatives of the communities.

The European holiday will become part of the yearly school calendar and will be celebrated in school and via eTwinning with the partners yearly, thus upholding the positive European perspective in our schools.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 110094 Eur

Project Coordinator

Berufliche Schulen des Werra-Meißner-Kreises in Witzenhausen & Country: DE

Project Partners

• OGEC Providence Sainte Thérèse
• LICEUL TEORETIC ,,LUCIAN BLAGA”
• CECS LA GARENNE