Bells Open The Heart of Europe Erasmus Project

Project Title

Bells Open The Heart of Europe

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 youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Youth (Participation, Youth Work, Youth Policy) ; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation

Project Summary

The applicant for the project was the municipality of Kateřinice, which has been cooperating with 4 other project partners for several years.

The main horizontal theme of the project was to contribute to the development of European skills and qualifications of youth, youth workers, the development of basic and transversal skills using innovative methods, and improving quality through cross-border cooperation.

As part of key activities, the project focused on fulfilling the development of essential competencies in the target groups of the project using innovative and interactive methods, while their informal education took place.

The innovativeness of the project lies in the very idea of the project, which emerged from the idea of the employees of the parish church in Kateřinice (mainly the civic association Zvonky Dobré zprávy) together with long-term cooperating parishes and municipalities (municipality of Kateřinice, municipality of Košáriská and parish church in Ostrava) to transfer their know-how (passing on the methodology and teaching this unique musical method – playing the bells to the widest possible target group), addressing and involving the largest possible group of children and youth, training teachers and youth workers and establishing further cooperation at the national and international level. An important factor was also the common spiritual essence of the involved organizations and associations and their background, which forms a necessary part for the implementation of the project itself.

The implementation of the project contributed to the filling of young people’s free time and thus conditions were created to prevent them from possible social-pathological affection. The cooperation of young people and youth workers from different countries has brought the individual EU Member States and their cultural differences closer to young people, and not in a negative light – on the contrary – it showed how diverse Europe and its people are, and yet the same. Opportunities were provided for the development of the personalities and organizational skills of project implementers. An integral and important part was also the development of language skills in young people, as well as in youth workers.

Thanks to the implementation of this project, the following goals were achieved:
– deepening cooperation between project partners and cooperating organizations and associations with a focus on mutual exchanges of procedures and methods at the national and international level
– the development, extension, and introduction of new innovative forms of non-formal education for young people and educators/youth workers at the national and international level
– municipalities (Kateřinice, Košariská) actively participated in individual project activities and supported the development and integration of this non-formal learning in their region and beyond, thus connecting cooperation between regional administrations and associations, educational organizations
– individual project activities (workshops and music camps) gradually contributed to improving the skills, experience, and competencies of the participants involved.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 97585,79 Eur

Project Coordinator

Obec Katerinice & Country: CZ

Project Partners

• Kosariska
• Ziva Ratolest
• Farni sbor Ceskobratrske cirkve evangelicke v Ostrave
• Zvonky Dobré zprávy z.s.