Cyril and Methodius – 1000 years of what unites us and divides us Erasmus Project

Project Title

Cyril and Methodius – 1000 years of what unites us and divides us

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: Ethics, religion and philosophy (incl. Inter-religious dialogue)

Project Summary

Completed project “Cyril and Methodius – 1000 years of what connects and divides us” aimed at extending the knowledge by innovative educational methods and by student experience. Members of the project group come from four countries tied with Cyril and Methodius and their activities (Czech Republic, Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia), sharing mutual historical, cultural and religious values of Europe, particulary it’s central part and the Balkans. Saints Cyril and Methodius are the example of historical persons playing an irreplaceable role in the spread of Christian faith from the Greek Thessaloniki and other cultural values important both for religious and nonreligious citizens. As a main factor tying up Europe as soon as 9th century AD, influence of religion can not be overlooked even today. Importance of both missionaries lies even in the invention of common script as a cultural value, shared up to this day by great share of eastern European countries. Thus, the main goal of this project was to show the students of project member countries with the mission and persons of Cyril and Methodius, present the students with cultural landmarks, traditions, history and last but not least, today’s educational systems of project member countries. All these goals lead to increasing cognitive and social abilities of students, improving interpersonal relationships and developing the feeling of common European identity.
The coordinator of this project was Czech high school Gymnázium, Olomouc, Čajkovského 9. Other member schools were: Gimnazija Antuna Gustava Matosa in Samoboru, Croatia, 144 Secondary School Narodni Buditeli in Sofia, Bulgaria, 2o Epaggelmatiko Lykeio Evosmou in Thessaloniki, Greece. Both Czech and Croatian schools are general education grammar schools. Bulgarian school is an elite school of fine arts (dance, music, singing, etc.) and the Greek school is an institute of technical education (ICT). Project consisted of activities: – international project meeting M1 – M3 – three meetings, beginning in Olomouc, then in the halftime of the project in Sofia and final in Thessaloniki aimed at better and transparent organization, division of tasks, control of their completing and mutual evaluation. Detailed description can be found in chapter 5.1.
– Continuous activities A1-A9:
A1 – national Powerpoint presentations of Cyril and Methodius’ influence in particular countries; A2 – watching a documentary film Cyril and Methodius;
A3 – guided tour in temple of St. Gorazd in Olomouc + discussion with the priest;
A4 – geocaching around sacral landmarks in Olomouc;
A5 – Powerpoint presentation on cultural life in my town and country
A6 – poster concluding the life and importance of Cyril and Methodius;
A7 – visiting an important religious landmark – Archdiocesan museum in Olomouc;
A8 – workshop – cultural differences and common features of partner countries;
A9 – final resume of the project. – student exchange – mobilities C1 – C4
C1 Thessaloniki (Greece),
C2 Olomouc (Czech republic),
C3 Samobor (Croatia)
C4 Sofia (Bulgaria).
Mobilities were the core format of meetings aiming at activities, influence and legacy of Cyril and Methodius in particular partner countries. Detailed description can be found in chapter 5.4.
The project had a good influence on both participating individuals and schools in these areas: – beginning the international cooperation, which is planned to be further developed in other
projects and student meetings; – developing linguistic and social skills of students; – understanding the structure, principles and rules of EU and Schengen area (travelling across various types of national borders); – students understood the culture and way of life in particular partner countries; – both students and teachers were equipped with the experience of more or less similar schooling systems; – developing presentation skills (posters, presentations, self-presentation);
– developing and maintaining new friendships;
As a conclusion, we would like to state the opinion of our students, commenting the name of our project: “Cyril and Methodius – 1000 years of what connects and divides us” – “There is nothing dividing us, except geographic distance. Different language is not a problem anymore, we all speak English.” Besides school website and Facebook page, the project was presented to wide public during the school open day, Erasmus Days in Olomouc and in regional media.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 97065 Eur

Project Coordinator

Gymnazium, Olomouc, Cajkovskeho 9 & Country: CZ

Project Partners

• Gimnazija Antuna Gustava Matosa
• 2o Epaggelmatiko Lykeio Evosmou
• 144 Secondary School Narodni Buditeli