Our daily bread Erasmus Project

Project Title

Our daily bread

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 Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Ethics, religion and philosophy (incl. Inter-religious dialogue); Research and innovation; Labour market issues incl. career guidance / youth unemployment

Project Summary

Our daily bread is a man-made product and shaped by its specific regional context. It is used as a symbol in numerous traditions and religious rites. Bread is therefore something that connects us with and distinguishes us from other Europeans since it identifies us as people of a specific culture and geography. The topic of this project “Our Daily Bread” enabled students from 4 countries to work on different aspects of bread, such as its connection to agriculture, bread making professions, the science behind its making, its marketing and its various traditions.

The project improved participating students’ language skills and their intercultural competence as well as allowing them to participate in an open and tolerant European society. The encounter with young people from various cultural backgrounds was key in shaping this participation. The selected partners exemplified the heterogeneity of the European member states. This provided students with a different kind of learning experience than what they usually experience in a classroom. The project gave them insight into various jobs in order to improve their mobility in an increasingly international job market. It also helped them to gain valuable skills in digital communication since the project required a regular exchange of ideas, results and materials through digital channels in English, a language which wasn’t any participants’ first language.

Overall, more than100 students took part in mobilities or were involved in their preparation and dissemination. A team of more than 20 teachers worked on the project in the various schools. Beyond that, a number of students, parents, teachers and external partners had the opportunity to work on aspects of the project in and outside of school. This included businesses, farmers, religious and cultural leaders and a local university.

During an in person transnational project meeting at the beginning of the project, teachers were able to lay a good foundation for the work ahead. This was followed by a series of work phases in each school which were structured by the mobilities. Between them, each school prepared their thematic focus, planned for and evaluated the mobilities, kept in touch with their partner schools and produced results. Despite the different emphasis, all mobilities shared this key elements:

– visits of non-school partners
– intercultural learning
– implementation of new methods of learning

The participants’ work on the project was shaped by the use of digital media so that these could be shared with a wider audience. The work on specific examples illuminated the various thematic aspects of the topic as the students met with bakers, chefs, food technicians, religious leaders or marketing experts. As a result of these experiences the students produced learning materials such as videos, articles and presentations. Despite occasional difficulties due to the lingua franca English, which participants spoke with varying degrees of competence, everyone was able to communicate respectfully and overcome differences to achieve a fruitful working relationship.

On the project website (www.our-daily-bread.eu), we have published a selection of materials and results in English. Especially worth mentioning is the bread dictionary in all four participants’ languages plus English. The final mobitlity and transnational teachers’ meeting in Germany had to be cancelled due to the COVID19 pandemic, which also resulted in the cancellation of the bread festival of cultures, the intended culmination of all project work. This is also the reason why an in person preparation of the final report with all partners was not possible and why they instead had to coordinate efforts digitally, something made even more difficult by lockdowns and school closures. However, all participants tried to achieve most of the remaining aims in a digital format. At last, a final meeting of students and teachers from all partner schools took place in form of a video conference where recipes and presentations were shared.

The project had a lasting effect on its participants, who had a chance to gain or renew a spirit of commitment to the European idea. It also got many students passionate for such a mundane topic as bread baking, with many of them still practising and sharing the skills they have aquired. For a large number of our students this was the first chance to work freely and creatively within a diverse group of people on a long term project without having to worry about their academic performance. Many of them, students and teachers alike, were able to form lasting friendships with their European partners. The opportunity to meet so many representatives from various professions has also helped students in make more informed career choices. The interest for European work and the Erasmus+ scheme has grown amongst our whole communities and the schools were able to strengthen their public profile.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 100835 Eur

Project Coordinator

Gymnasium Wendelstein & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Colegiul Tehnic “Marcel Guguianu”
• Istituto Tecnico Commerciale “Vitale Giordano”
• IES Clara Campoamor