Acting Out Democratic Values in a United Europe: Forming Resilient Citizens Erasmus Project

Project Title

Acting Out Democratic Values in a United Europe: Forming Resilient Citizens

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 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

In a period of global uneasiness and manyfolded mistrust, the Erasmus+ project “Democratic Values in A United Europe: Forming Resilient Citizens” was meant to assist adolescents from different countries and different walks of life to overcome clichés and stereotypes and to identify with a democratic and united Europe. The teachers and pupils involved decided to choose individual role models as they – according to the fundamental assumptions by motivational psychology – have a particularly lasting effect on the target group itself but also on other, not directly involved personnel. So finally, each of the altogether six schools found one relevant role model who met the criteria in the project’s overall context of “democratic values” and “united Europe”. The role models fit the core values – which were distributed to each school for a detailled approach – as there are: tolerance (Germany), peace (Turkey), human rights (England), democracy (Spain), EU Citizenship (Italy) and friendship (Portugal).

Altogether there were six schools involved in the proect which are spread all across Europe. The Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium Waldkirch (Germany) was the co-ordinating school. Partner schools were as follows five further institutions: Gazi Anadolu Lisesi in Samsun (Turkey), Lewisham Southwark College in London (England), C.P.I. Santa Lucía in Moraña (Spain), I.I.S.S. Carlo Maria Carafa in Mazzarino (Italy besides Agrupamento de Escolas de Albeufeira Poente (Portugal).

Showing a high degree of heterogenity in terms of pupils and students (e. g. age and background), the internal accentuation of certain focus areas (e. g. early childhood development at a primary school vs. vocational education at a secondary school) and last but not least the geographical position in a way completed the schools one other.
These different profiles early on appeared to be beneficial in order to preserve the acctractiveness of the numerous tasks and activities to the target groups in the long run.

Focussing on a particularly intensive analysis on the role model’s biography another goal was to bolster the member’s resilience, too. Working on concrete situations in the life of the role model, identification with that personality became possible – which now will have a lasting effect on the pupil.

Just because of the fact that this project aimed at rather weak students and their participation, too, all participants early on put much emphasis on various means of communication and up-to-date exchange platforms. The heterogenity of the partner schools did not appear to be a problem with the intensive and extensive use of ICT appealing to students. It was in fact the opposite. Without a doubt, there were different age groups involved (predominantly primary school kids at CPI Santa Lucía vs. much older vocational students from Lewisham Southwark College). However, a productive exchange of ideas took place with the result that all the aims of the project could be achieved. The main activities done were amongst others:

– the creation of numerous web-based results platforms: Facebook, Youtube, Instagram (video and photo documentation)
– two eTwinning projects (one per school year) including concrete project-bound tasks
– one pre- and one post-survey on democracy and role models at the six schools
– the creation of a project magazine (at least one per school)
– the composition and staging of a relevant theatre play
– an active and in-depth (re)consideration about the values of a united Europe
– a biographic analysis and identification with a role model displaying high affinity to the given core values
– the extensive and intensive use of ICT
– the involvement and incorporation of major school departments and major groups of students at the schools
– numerous intensive and targeted public relations activities with non-school institutions and partners
– the safeguarding and continuous development of personal competencies and resources (“soft skills”)
– a final evaluation of the project by a neutral institution

The results achieved correspond with the aims set once in 2016. Some themes and activities had to be adapted due to outer influences and situational decisions (Brexit, diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Germany). Still, problems of this kind were solved by the partners with no greater complications. Both teachers and pupils felt very pleased in the course of these two years. Many people had the chance to get involved and thus diverse ideas influenced the realisation of the project.
In the short and the long run lasting model scenarios of friendship occurred – amongst students and teachers – which, as a result, will trigger future projects. The target group overcame the fear of all that is foreign or unknown. Particularly in the course of the short-term exchanges of pupils such an identification with a united Europe became apparent. But also the intensive debates and research on the individual role model enriched each school.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 129725 Eur

Project Coordinator

Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium Waldkirch & Country: DE

Project Partners

• I.I.S.S. “Carlo Maria Carafa” Mazzarino
• CPI SANTA LUCÍA
• Gazi Anadolu Lisesi
• Agrupamento de Escolas de Albufeira Poente
• NCG t/a Lewisham Southwark College