Let’s Know Each Other, We and Our Tourist Potential Erasmus Project

Project Title

Let’s Know Each Other, We and Our Tourist Potential

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: Teaching and learning of foreign languages; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage

Project Summary

Now our project has finished, we can affirm that we have, to a large extent, achieved the goals set at the beginning of this adventure. Nonetheless, we very much lament its unexpected and abrupt ending which was a crushing blow we had no other choice but to accept, as many other consequences of the pandemic. On this matter, we have not been able to carry out three of the mobilities we had scheduled: on the one side, the student exchange in Majorca and the trip of the Polish teachers to the island, in March and April 2020 respectively; on the other, the trip of the Spanish teachers to Lublin to conclude the project in June 2020.

Otherwise, we have reached the rest of the goals and we are greatly satisfied with the performance of all the people involved in the project: students, families, teachers (organizers and collaborators) and institutions, both from the Polish and the Spanish sides.

The activities developed throughout the first academic year of the project (2018-2019) were:
– Creation of the project web page.
– Call for a contest to choose a logotype for the project.
– Talks by different professionals of the tourist industry, both in Poland and Spain, some of whom were parents of our students.
– Elaboration of minitourist guides, with different itineraries in Majorca and Lublin to be posted in the future virtual travel agency.
– Making contact between Spanish and Polish students in order to communicate through French and English and prepare the mobilities.
– Making of a Polish and Spanish cookbook.
– Drafting of a basic travel glossary in French, English, Polish and Spanish.
– Joint planning of the programmes in Palma and Lublin (places to visit and activities to be developed during the exchanges).
– Four mobilities: two to Lublin and two to Palma.

The activities of the second year of project implementation (2019-2020) meant, mainly, the continuity of the ones started the previous year but also:
– Creation of a virtual travel agency.
– Call for a contest to choose a logotype and a name for the travel agency.
– Creation of a video about Majorca.
– Mobility of Spanish students to Poland, being the Polish composer Frederick Chopin the unifying thread as he spent thewinter of 1838 in Majorca.

This project has involved about 80 people (students, teachers and collaborators from different institutions) who have been able to deepen into the knowledge of the partner country, its culture and its people. Moreover, we think that the approach to the tourist industry in both countries has contributed to our students’ awareness of the professional possibilities of this sector.

Regarding the profile and the number of students involved in the project, we had planned to do two mobilities each academic year, one for each participating school. The students who travelled were different each year. Thus, along the two years, Spanish and Polish students, age group ranging from 15 to 18, travelled to Majorca and to Lublin in order to get to know the culture of the partner country and share experiences with teenagers with similar interests and dreams. In each country, they were hosted by their partner’s family. The selection criteria were as follows: medium level of French and English, interest in working with partners and teachers and family availability to host a guest. Moreover, the teachers involved in the project were 6, three from Spain and three from Poland. No need to say that we counted on the help of our school managing teams, administrative staff and colleagues from other departments as well as the local and regional education authorities from both cities.

In relation to the activities, we created a virtual travel agency which was run by the students. Therefore, Majorca and Lublin have been promoted through the elaboration of mini tourist guides that include different routes. During the mobilities, students were able to go along these routes and cover the news for future publication (graphic and written information). The link between Poland and Spain was the Polish composer Fréderic Chopin, who spent the winter of 1838 in Majorca and who had bonds with France.

Our goal developing these activities was to show our students the huge tourist potential that Majorca and Lublin have, to produce their own tourist offer and to do it on a basis of respect and esteem towards the natural and cultural heritage of each region. The reflection on the need of sustainable tourist model has lain behind the whole project.

From the methodological point of view, cooperative learning and project work made the basis of our action up. We understand that, working together, students have developed qualities such as respect, tolerance, empathy and solidarity, all of them enriching at a personal level and necessary for the present-day labour market.

Once the project, which was advertised not only in our respective schools but also on the local press and on eTwinning, has been developed we think we have contributed to the personal development of our students and that we have woken up their curiosity to know other countries and people. Furthermore, we also think they have acquired new knowledge (linguistic, digital, cooperative skills, concept of European citizenship) which will indeed be very useful for their future personal and professional lives.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 57546 Eur

Project Coordinator

IES Son Rullan & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Zespol Szkol Ekonomicznych im. A. i J. Vetterow