Co-living Co-working; A Young Person’s Guide to Advantages of EU Erasmus Project

Project Title

Co-living Co-working; A Young Person’s Guide to Advantages of EU

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 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

The participating countries recognise a rise in political and social changes in Europe which has opened opportunities for extremist views and brings a threat to our common values especially that of building healthy democracies. Threats including the rise of the far right, Brexit, racism and religious intolerance offer challenges to young people in Europe which this project aims to tackle. By offering students and stakeholders the tools to approach these issues we intend to build up the image of European citizen which highlights the benefit of international cooperation and grows the student views of the world and that co-living is possible in our futures.

The project aims to address social prejudice issues in the participating countries such as extremism whilst using cultural immersion to recognise how continued participate and an open minded approach to global cooperation can reduce cultural misunderstandings in the world.

Localised in 6 different geographical and cultural contexts, the 6 schools have realised over the last years the fundamental benefit of European cooperation of the students, teachers and the schools themselves. The experience of working together on a specific project not only in virtual space but also meeting each other and to be in different environments and cultures in Europe has proven an essential step in creating European awareness and fostering a sense of European identity and citizenship amongst students and teachers which could not have been achieved otherwise.
The fundamental objectives of this project are:

1.) To encourage social and educational value of European cultural heritage by tackling issue which threaten these fundamental values and promoting cultural identities
2) To learn and research in an innovative way, mostly outside the classroom and on locations that are relevant for the different topics during the Student Meetings. These locations are typical and relevant for the place/country each participating school is located.
3) To produce a Youtube channel of videos which inform of social issues, suggest ways to tackle them and encourage cultural heritage and social inclusion which will also be promoted on a website so increasing IT competencies of participants.

Over two years over 300 students and their teachers from different countries will be actively involved in the project, and cooperate with their partners, virtually and during student visits, conducting comparative research and practice related to 6 topics. Furthermore, many students inside and outside the schools will be part of the project and benefit from its results.
The topics have been chosen as they are linked to the EU commission’s priorities and issues facing inhabitants today, they allow a multi-disciplinary approach and are linked to the school’s curriculum. Each topic is strongly connected with one of the of the participating schools, its surroundings and its environment. The student visits in each country, will be concentrated around that topic. The 6 topics are:
1. ‘Superdiversity. How migration is changing our society then and now.’ (Belgium)
2. ‘Political extremism, radicalism and exclusion.’ (Norway)
3. ‘European dimension: different cultural heritage, same heart’ (Spain)
4. ‘Developing Global Competences.'(Netherlands)
5. ‘Learning and understanding the Swedish Way of Integration'(Sweden)
6. ‘Brexit and its Impacts – Do We still Need Europe?’ (UK)

We aim to produce a visually pleasing and stimulating website to disseminate our work and findings which highlights the strengths of being part of a united European Union. This will be enhanced by videos made by participants during transnational meetings and published on a newly created Youtube channel and in-bedded in the website which will encourage an open minded approach to globalization, cultural identity and combating extremism.

Directly the project will include 330 mobilities, indirectly we expect to involve over 5000 individuals in our school communities and wider communities including online communities and with local media would double that number to over 10,000 individuals in total becoming involved in the project work.

Project Website

https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/projects/eplus-project-details/#project/2018-1-UK01-KA229-047988

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 161437 Eur

Project Coordinator

The Marches School & Country: UK

Project Partners

• Södra Latins gymnasium
• IES Rusadir
• GO! Koninklijk Atheneum MXM
• Sophianum Sg,
• Kirkeparken videregående skole