ART and DESIGN for a BETTER PLANET Erasmus Project

Project Title

ART and DESIGN for a BETTER PLANET

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: Environment and climate change; Social dialogue; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

Art and Design for a Better Planet also called the ReDesignEarth Project, is a cooperation and networking between six school organizations that describes our commitment to using creativity, innovation and artistic expression in a way that contributes to:

• Opposition to racism and fanaticism, shielding democratic nature of society, understanding social, ethnic, linguistic religious and cultural diversity, preventing students from adopting discriminatory attitudes, intolerant, bullying, social exclusion and generally contribute to the cultivation of a culture of peace, non-violence and social justice.

• Creating a healthy and sustainable community by raising awareness to take positive environmental action to protect nature and the planet Earth. Students are encouraged to better understand the world in which they live, realizing the complexity and the systemic nature of both sustainable development and environmental issues. We are determined to help protecting the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations.

Arts are what make us most human, most complete as people and evidence of its effectiveness in reducing student dropout, raising student attendance, developing better team players, fostering a love for learning, improving greater student dignity, enhancing student creativity, and producing a more prepared citizen for the workplace for tomorrow is a part of all partners school cultural heritage. The ReDesignEarth! project brings together six of the most sensitized and active schools in both areas of human rights and environment. All the participating organizations were chosen after a thorough discussion through e Twinning platform and showed that they had considerable previous experience and competences in working on similar and international projects. Their contact persons are shown to be excellent communicators, enterprising and innovative, with strong interpersonal skills, high degree of flexibility, have a high degree of social and cultural awareness, able to multi-task and have a “can-do” attitude.

The ReDesignEarth project aims in engaging students in activities that directly related with European values, so as to acquire the necessary social and inter-cultural competencies, skills and abilities associated with citizenship, through the promotion of democratic values and fundamental rights, social inclusion and anti-discrimination, as well as active participation in society. Through the activities of the program we want to create socially balanced people, who dedicate themselves to persons or a purpose, people who take responsibilities, feel comfortable and show a positive attitude towards themselves and others. Their emotional world is an essential director and shaper of their personality after exercise great power and influence on their activities, strengthening the qualities that make them better completed persons.

Our goal is to support our schools to tackle early school leaving (ESL) by offering alternative quality education, enabling success for all students, from the lowest to the highest end of the academic spectrum, including children with a migrant background who might face specific (e.g. linguistic) challenges. The ReDesignEarth project will reach students not normally reached, in ways and methods not normally used. (This leads to better student attendance and lower dropout rates). Student attainment is expected to improve as a happier school climate (through increased motivation and reduced anxiety) has been reported in the academic literature to lead to better results.

The ReDesignEarth! project brings together six of the most sensitized and active schools in both areas of human rights and environment. All the participating organisations were chosen after a thorough discussion through eTwinning platform and showed that they had considerable previous experience and competences in working on similar and international project.

All countries participated in the development of common results as well as undertake the responsibility to design and develop results of their own. We developed innovative outputs, and/or engaged students and teachers into intensive dissemination and exploitation activities of existing and newly produced products or innovative ideas:
• developed personal and common artwork, including 3D design models, mixed media, paintings and paper arts, pottery, photography works, graffiti works etc.
• design events (i.e. charity events) for groups or community that brings people into connection with each other. This is often was to be designed around a particular cause of social justice and equality.
• exchanged of teacher activities (what works in terms of innovative methods and pedagogies), that strengthen the cooperation and networking between our organisations.
• effective use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Produced materials are made available for the public, in digital form, freely accessible through the Internet, (e- Gallery, web page, and social Media use).

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 177092,14 Eur

Project Coordinator

LANITEIO GYMNASIUM & Country: CY

Project Partners

• Experimental junior high school of patras
• SCOALA GIMNAZIALA NR. 2
• INSTITUT D’AURO
• SCUOLA SECONDARIA DI I GRADO G.BOVIO
• 4° Istituto Comprensivo Domenico Costa