Destination: Happiness! Erasmus Project

Project Title

Destination: Happiness!

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 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Health and wellbeing; Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; Environment and climate change

Project Summary

“Destination: Happiness” is a 2-year project which aims at developing a strategic partnership between 6 European secondary schools from Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Italy, Lithuania and Greece. It is designed in a way teachers of all school subjects, psychologists, pedagogues, parents, specialists and high school students (15-19 years old) can contribute to the project implementation on broadening the knowledge of happiness and introducing ways of achieving and maintaining a state of happiness in order to improve the quality of life.
The project will consist of 4 modules, each related to the idea of happiness in its unique way and carried out based on the Project Cycle Stages: investigating, planning, taking action, and evaluating. Each module will add to participants’ knowledge of happiness, including its benefits, sources, obstacles and threats. Apart from various methods of research and presentation of conclusions, participants will be encouraged to engage in non-formal activities as well as reflect and come up with solutions or indulge in artistic self-expression. Along with different forms of project work, it will develop their critical thinking, research, communication, collaboration and self-management skills. The variety of products to be completed will demand motivation, positive attitude and responsibility. All those skills are necessary for academic performance and professional career.
In the first module, the participants will explore the concept of happiness in different fields of knowledge and will work out a recipe for happiness. Along with their individual perception of happiness, backed by results of a diagnostic survey they will undergo, participants will formulate their algorithm for happiness. The response to the investigation part will be also workshops on happiness-related issues like life balance, body image, mind-shift.
In the second module, the participants will find out how stress might shatter happiness and learn how to cope with it to not let it hinder their self-development. It will be achieved through research on stress, its sources and possible repercussions, including interviews with specialists recorded as podcasts and blog entries, where students will share their experiences and consequences they suffered. Students will also write the set of guidelines advising on stress management while all participants will take part in workshops.
In the third module, the focus will be on the unavoidable risks of our interference with the natural environment that puts some strain on our experiencing of happiness. Humans are part of the ecosystem and our intervention has an irreversible effect on nature itself and our physicality and mentality as well. The results of the investigation, including meetings with university staff and researchers, will be gathered and diversely presented with panels recorded as podcasts, whereas as an action students will take up an artistic challenge in order to praise the advantages of people’s living in harmony with nature. A ‘Model United Nations’-styled conference will be organised so that students can reflect on the question of the natural environment even more while some will give a speech as ‘goodwill ambassadors’.
In the fourth module, students will become advocates of change, activists, promoters of personal development and global change of mindset. Inspired by the previous modules, they will act as writers and speakers when delivering their speeches at a school TEDx-like conference. We will all leave a message for future generations in the time capsules.
During the project it is intended to create a project website, organise workshops, panels on relevant topics, conduct surveys for continuous evaluation, set up an eTwinning website; students and teachers are going to use cloud computing and ICT tools to prepare presentations, posters, podcasts, blog and social media posts etc. All the results will be shared on the open license (CC-BY-SA).

At the end of the project students are expected to:
1. confidently and critically use the variety of ICT tools to create podcasts, posts, posters, presentations, infographics, surveys, tutorials etc
2. communicate their ideas and opinions in English in a variety of forms (written, oral, formal and non-formal), develop awareness of intercultural understanding and demonstrate positive attitude and appreciation of cultural diversity
3. identify needs, initiate, plan, manage, execute and evaluate actions with an awareness of possible implications that come with them, assuming different roles and developing motivation and determination in achieving goals
4. explore different teaching and learning techniques and develop new teaching strategies that will be implemented in the partner schools
5. cooperate transnationally with partners and nationally with local partners and institutions, especially university staff, researchers, psychologists, coaches.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 128933 Eur

Project Coordinator

Prywatne Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace im. I.J. Paderewskiego & Country: PL

Project Partners

• Stredni prumyslova skola a Obchodni akademie Uhersky Brod
• 6 GEL KAVALAS
• COLEGIUL NATIONAL GRIGORE MOISIL
• Jonavos Jeronimo Ralio gimnazija