Music and performing arts at the service of the community. Socializing our cultural heritage. Erasmus Project

Project Title

Music and performing arts at the service of the community. Socializing our 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 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Social entrepreneurship / social innovation; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

The project that is now reaching its end “Music and the performing arts at the service of the community. Socializing our cultural heritage” Erasmus+ KA229, within the EU’s Erasmus+ programme in the field of education, in Key Action 2, has been developed within a STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP made up of 3 schools from different countries with different artistic concerns which have been shared among them and their communities:
– Heinrich Heine Europaschule, de Dreieich (DE)
– Liceo Statale Gaio Valerio Catullo, de Monterotondo (IT)
– IES Santa Catalina de Alejandría, de Jaén (ES), as coordinator and belonging to the National Agency ES01

In this final report we mustn’t neglect the effect that the exceptional situation of health, social, economic and mobility (not only at European level but worldwide) has had on the development of the project along the last 6 months (1/4 of it). It is clear that the activities due to the last quarter of it have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and everything drastically changed in our everyday society. We would never have imagined that our projects, our educational centres, our lives, our countries and the whole of Europe would totter facing something as unexpected and convulsive. Little by little we have been recovering health and a certain normality that has allowed us to finish the project in time and form, in part thanks to the fact that a large percentage of the goals initially set had already been achieved with the development of the activities that were carried out during the first 18 months.

Fortunately, being on schedule until the end of February, all the general objectives, framed within the two horizontal priorities of the project, have been achieved, i.e. enhancing Europe’s cultural heritage and boosting the acquisition of key skills and competences. Only a few of the specific objectives, linked to activities to be developed in the short-term exchange to Spain, which was not carried out due to force majeure, have not been achieved (e.g. everything related to flamenco).

At the end of February 2020, when the health situation was becoming more difficult in Italy (one of the countries of the association) and was already beginning to have a great impact in Spain and Germany (the other two)the coordinators of the three centres made every effort to ensure the safety of the participants while assessing the degree of achievement of the objectives initially set.

Thus, many of the local activities, 4/4 of Long Term Mobilities and 2/3 of Short Term Exchanges, have been completed, although neither the joint training of teachers nor the DCI being carried out in Spain.We obviously, were aware that such decisions would entail the repayment of the budget share allocated to non-implemented activities.

According to the specific indications addressed to the beneficiaries of the Erasmus+ projects in process in Spain, “within the framework of the mobilities related to the risk areas affected and declared by the competent authorities…., the force majeure clause may be applied in a justified manner, in accordance with Clause II.1 of the General Conditions of the grant agreements”. At the same time, it was up to the organisations and individuals participating in Erasmus+ programmes to decide whether to cancel or postpone planned mobilities in affected areas

After careful analysis of the numerous communiqués of the European Commission and the National Agencies on the health crisis and how it was affecting the development of Erasmus+ projects, UNANIMOUSLY, it was decided to close our project on schedule (31/08/2020) based on educational, social, cultural and mobility restrictions in the participating countries and without a possible extension, especially because of the uncertainty of its implementation during the course of 2020/21, since it was not possible to guarantee the safety of the participants and having achieved the objectives of the project.

In terms of the results obtained, in addition to the direct benefits of actively participating students (improvement in linguistic, digital, entrepreneurship, cultural, social and civic awareness and expressions and learning to learn), activities related to the project theme have been launched in the participating centres (Erasmus+ club, circus/acrosport, collaboration with associations, reading club and dialogue groups,theatre and dance workshop, didactic concerts and music masterclass). In addition, the number of mobilities of students initially programmed in charge of the management budget has been increased and the project has been disseminated among our educational communities and our environment.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 66345,2 Eur

Project Coordinator

IES SANTA CATALINA DE ALEJANDRIA & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Heinrich Heine-Europaschule
• Liceo Statale Gaio Valerio Catullo