Be ACTIVE, Be Happy! Erasmus Project

Project Title

Be ACTIVE, Be Happy!

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Health and wellbeing

Project Summary

In this project we are going to give our students strategies for balancing their lives and keeping mentally healthy in the digital era. We want to emphasise the positive aspects of digitalisation by encouraging students to collaborate, communicate, think critically and creatively, but also address the risks involved. Our approach is holistic; each country will focus on one aspect of how to promote well-being while incorporating digitalisation into their lives. Our project aims to prevent mental illness due to overuse of digital devices and screen time.
Our objective is to find an answer to the question: How can we balance our lives in a digital world?
Our project is named Be ACTIVE, Be Happy as our premise states that an active life is a happy life. We will focus on six fields of activities that promote well-being. A for Action in the community, C for Culture, T for Teamwork, I for Inspiration, V for Vitality and E for Exercise.
All of the participants have a special expertise to bring to the project.
The coordinating country, Germany will focus on active participation by volunteering and serving the local community because they have a long tradition of public service in the community.
Lithuania will promote cultural activities (music, dance and theatre) because their school has many musical, cultural and dance projects.
Sweden will promote teamwork and group identity as they have a close relationship to local sports clubs and team events.
Spain will focus on inspiration through healthy food choices because they have been working with the Alicia Foundation for many years and have completed a recent project, “Out of Eden”, with the University of Harvard, USA.
Croatia will focus on the benefits of Outdoor Classroom activities as their location and school offers unique outdoor possibilities.
Turkey will concentrate on the benefits of exercise as they have a very active volleyball team and have participated in marathons and have extensive experience in organising sports events/special exercise programs.
All schools will work on BrainGym and concentration activities offline which promote self-control and brain development according to new studies in Executive Functions. These exercises will be a regular part of each mobility and be incorporated into each school profile as an extra added value.
Another European extra added value will focus on the EU context in each of these field. Partners will showcase the following letter associated to their school’s expertise:
A for Active non-profit organisations that promote local/national public service and community development projects
C for Cultural influences (historical/modern) in each country; singer, composers, dancers, actors, artists, etc.
T for Teamwork as in famous teams ( not only in sports but volunteers activists, religious and other groups)
I for Inspiration as in inspiring people and ways of life: inventors, thinkers, poets, chefs, farmers and engineers who have inspired the country to greatness
V for Vitality as in making the connection to how nature brings vitality to their lives
E for Exercise as in famous European workout routines, coaches, athletes or sports personalities who started exercise movements, like gymnastics “Father Jahn” in Germany.
We will use diverse methods that include groups in on-and offline activities, embracing the role of concept of “blended learning” (role play, case studies, surveys, workshops, brainstorms, discussions, pro and contra debates, group work and expert guests).
Concrete results in each school:
-implementing a Code of Conduct for Healthy Digital Use at school and at home.
-setting up a Digital Detox Time or Room at each school.
-creating a MakerSpace or FabLab in order for students to collaborate on how to improve mental health at school (both online and off)
-improve our school canteens and salad bars to reflect healthy food trends that aid mental health/better digestion
-set up a bookshelf in the school library or a public space which supplies tips on self-help
-create a booklet or App for healthy time management techniques, healthy food choices and daily positive messages
-create a website with active blogs with tips on how to stay positive and mentally healthy
-film a video on the importance of staying mentally healthy by talking about the opportunities and risks related to digital use
-implement an Executive Functions “Tool Box” for each school in English and their native languages
The impact will be to evolve EU school cultures and its stakeholders’ lives by putting a mental health focus on various behaviours in the digital era directly related to health, cognitive training, exercise, time management and relaxation to promote productivity and well-being.
Long-term benefits are to teach students how to self-sufficiently cultivate a sense of balance and well-being in their lives by applying the strategies and techniques presented, developed and promoted in the duration of our project; Be ACTIVE, be happy!

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 200466 Eur

Project Coordinator

Geschwister-Scholl-Schule Gütersloh & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Osnovna skola Vidovec
• BEYLIKDUZU IMKB ORTAOKULU
• Marijampole ,,Ryto” Basic School
• Oms i de Prat
• Linåkerskolan