CHERISH – Cultural Heritage Education to Reinforce youth engagement and Improve Social coHesion Erasmus Project

Project Title

CHERISH – Cultural Heritage Education to Reinforce youth engagement and Improve Social coHesion

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 : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage; Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation

Project Summary

In honour of 2018 as European Year of Cultural Heritage, many researches, publications and findings shed light on how cultural heritage and cultural education allow learners of all ages, from children to adults and elderly, to broaden their horizons by developing further knowledge, skills and competences. Cultural education gives them the opportunity to become more open-minded, to embrace the diversity characterising Europe, and understand and respect its values such as peace, tolerance and democracy.

CHERISH tackles a significant immaterial cultural heritage such as medieval and Renaissance sports and re-enactments taking place in 4 small towns across Europe, namely in Sansepolcro (IT), Torrijos (ES), Mindelheim (DE) and Visé (BE). Cultural organisations in these towns carry on secular traditions such as flag waving and flag games, crossbow shooting and crossbow tournaments, archery and swordsmanship. In collaboration with public authorities, they also organise annual or bi-annual events that are cornerstones for local communities and magnets attracting hundreds of tourists worldwide, passionate about traditions and re-enactments and willing to learn more about the medieval and renaissance cultural heritage, both material and immaterial.

OBJECTIVES
The main goal of CHERISH is to develop innovative practices to raise awareness on the importance of Europe’s cultural heritage through educational activities, aimed at the acquisition of physical and mental abilities and the key competence of Cultural awareness and expression, involving pupils, schools, teachers and cultural organisations.

The partnership composed by 5 Cultural associations (IT, BE, ES, DE), 2 Secondary Schools (ES, BE) and 1 VET Centre (IT), expert in ERASMUS + projects has identified the following specific objectives:
– to promote the acquisition of key competences and abilities related to cultural heritage, particularly to medieval and Renaissance sports, re-enactments and performances, which still need to be enhanced at European level as common cultural identity and heritage
– to support teachers, educators and all the relevant cultural heritage key stakeholders in designing and implementing structured non-formal and informal learning activities to allow youngsters to acquire these abilities and competences
– to set up a formalised cultural network as basis for a future Cultural Route, with a solid school ambassadors’ programme, which guarantee further sustainability to the educational programme beyond CHERISH project completion
– to foster understanding of European and cultural values.

TARGET GROUPS
– secondary school pupils
– teachers
– schools
– cultural makers
– cultural organisations
– policy makers
– local community

The 4 Short term staff trainings, together with 2 school exchanges taking place during the historical events as real life experiences for pupils and other specific activities will lead to the following Intellectual Outputs:

O1 – CHERISH Multilingual Handbook for teachers and cultural makers – Cultural awareness and expression activities collecting a set of learning and educational activities that they can adopt and adapt to introduce EU cultural heritage in the classrooms.
O2 – Quality Report: Monitoring and evaluation report on how to implement effective learning activities to develop Cultural Awareness and expression and physical and mental abilities such as coordination, concentration, dexterity and spatial perception. The Quality Report and related survey is aimed at assessing: – the Competence of Cultural Awareness and expression and the physical and mental abilities of coordination, concentration, dexterity and spatial perception of pupils; and the skills and competences of teachers and cultural makers in addressing cultural education and heritage.
O3 – Cultural Network of Medieval Sports and Re-enactments – it is a network of partners established with a three-years agreement of collaboration and commitment to put into practice what suggested as policy recommendations by the OMC Working Group on Cultural Awareness and expression including a proper school ambassadors’ programme.

With this project, the partnership aims to respond to the need to give young European generations new concrete opportunities and structured tools to increase their sense of community belonging and promoting lifelong learning competences and personal skills that allow a balanced personal growth. CHERISH project also aims to create a network operating at European level – that can lead to a new Cultural Route – between towns in different countries twinned and united by similar traditions, raising awareness among schools, teachers, European policy and cultural makers on the importance of networking and enhancement of European cultural heritage.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 381834,91 Eur

Project Coordinator

Gruppo Sbandieratori Sansepolcro & Country: IT

Project Partners

• Instituto de Enseñanza Secundaria Juan de Padilla
• FORMA.AZIONE SRL
• SOCIETA’ BALESTRIERI SANSEPOLCRO
• Collège Saint-Hadelin
• Frundsberg Festring Mindelheim e.V.
• COMPAGNIE ROYALE DES ANCIENS ARBALETRIERS VISETOIS asbl
• Ayuntamiento de Torrijos