WOMEN INDIPENDENCE NETWORK Erasmus Project

Project Title

WOMEN INDIPENDENCE NETWORK

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: Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; Inclusion – equity; Gender equality / equal opportunities

Project Summary

The six partners of our project are located in different geographical environments, varying from a more rural area to small town as well as medium sized and large cities; with different economical, historical, political and social backgrounds, with different world-views, thus offering a very important opportunity of a lively exchange between all participants; but in all our countries we have students come from social and economical neglected families and backgrounds. Facing prejudice or failure, lacking confidence in themselves, they often use bullying, violence, aggressive behaviour against peers especially girls, as tools to assert themselves. Moreover, they do not view schools as an alternative future and a way to be better integrated in the labour market and in society.
So, our project “WOMEN INDIPENDENCE NETWORK” focuses on the one hand on INCLUSIVE EDUCATION with particular attention to GENDER EQUALITY due to the repeated episodes of violence against adolescents and the continuous use of a sexist lexicon among peers even within the school. On the other hand, we intend to focus on the OPEN EDUCATION AND INNOVATIVE PRACTICES IN A DIGITAL ERA in order to promote the participation of students in the training processes through the comparison with peers from other countries, thus improving the foreign language skills, youth potential skills and innovation on the labour market.
In the first year of the project students aged 14-17 will explore personal identity and cultural diversity transnationally, learning and connecting their own cultural identity and heritage with those of others in different times and places, thus developing tolerance towards other people and cultures. At this point they will create in international teams a first common product representing the partnership, keeping in touch by using the eTwinning platform and other socials. In the second year of the project students will focus on the professional requirements needed nowadays in Europe through interviews, workshops, and practical trainings. Learning, teaching and training activities can promote independence and autonomy competences as well as the development of the communicative skills.
On the other hand, in relation to the prevention of prejudices against different cultures, we think that living abroad at host families will allow our students to adapt themselves to other points of views and costumes. The results wil be kept in a portfolio. The heart of this year will be, in particular, the promotion of STEM disciplines among girls and ENCOURAGING NETWORKING among them, the practical trainings in the own country and in the partner countries, fostering tolerance, promoting cross-cultural knowledge and providing students with the necessary competences to improve their entrepreneurial skills; by visiting young enterprises they will also learn that self-initiative and creativity are important keys to success. At the end of the project students will rethink their views and the requirements which young people face nowadays based on newly gained knowledge. They will realise a video/radio report about successful youth enterprises to be shown/sent through the main channels of the local communities.
All the students will be encouraged to take a key role in the organization and dissemination activities of the project using ETWINNING PLATFORM, in the same ways as the communication between staff and students of all the partner schools.
Within the schools themselves we will progress towards creating a European perspective within the curriculum.
Staff members will be able to exchange best practices in implementing occupational guidance/training in the curricula.
The whole project will furthermore raise awareness of our partner schools and the European Union in our local communities.
The main result will be an improvement in students’ motivation and well-being in their education for their working situation and private lives as strong part of their self-esteem. Through the project’s activities we want to educate students about respect for the person, combat physical and verbal violence against women, because we are convinced that school has a fundamental role in this educational process. We want to create a virtual NETWORK between students, the local and international communities and enterprices, to promote equal opportunities for girls and boys. We want to decrease dropout rates of students and help them to realize that they can build their future through hope, optimism, cooperation and creativity and to provide them with the basic and transversal skills necessary to face the issues of the new globalized society.
One of the main results of this project will be an improved quality and equality education through deepening the COOPERATION within the partner countries in order to promote long-learning activities even after the end of the project itself.

Project Website

https://www.polispecialisticosanpaolo.edu.it/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 8258 Eur

Project Coordinator

Istituto Polispecialistico Statale “San Paolo” & Country: IT

Project Partners

• 119 Secondary School “Academician Mihail Arnaudov”
• IES AZUER
• FORAVE – Associação para a Educação Profissional do Vale do Ave
• Colegiul National “Jean Monnet” Ploiesti
• 2nd General Lyceum of Oreokastro