Diversity and culture make the UNION Erasmus Project

Project Title

Diversity and culture make the UNION

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: Disabilities – special needs; Access for disadvantaged; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage

Project Summary

The main aims and objectives of this partnership are: to assist in the cultural/historical richness of Europe; to promote equity, inclusion and school education of our students with a disadvantaged background, disabilities, educational problems and fewer opportunities compared to their peers by enhancing their cultural awareness, language, communication and ICT skills; to increase the volume of partnerships between schools from different Member States and to facilitate learning activities among the school partners addressed to students, which contribute to social inclusion of our disadvantaged students and promote their involvement and access to a wider knowledge, as regarded to the disadvantaged students, who are most affected from the negative impact of racism, discrimination and xenophobia and sometimes they tend to leave school prematurely. Taking into consideration our aims/objectives, we will work on a variety of activities that will be adjusted for elaboration from our disadvantaged and our younger students, in order to introduce our cultural values, not only to each partner school involved but to the wider European community, too. While studying and reintroducing our own culture, we will have the opportunity to find out the differences and similarities among the different European Countries. We want to make all applicants, relevant people, parents and students, conscious of these beauties and to increase their culture awareness by including and involving them in our activities by playing a very active role throughout the implementation of all activities.
During the two years’ period of cooperation in this project, all partner teachers and students will elaborate specific common project activities; exchange work and contact one another through e-mail communication, facebook and eTwinning videoconferences; scheduled project meetings and Learning/Teaching activities.
Our activities and our project results will focus on the cultural theme of our project and are also linked with the promotion of the social inclusion of our disadvantaged students through the knowledge of the rich cultural heritages of participating European countries. The methodology applied to the whole project will be active and participatory with equal distribution of responsibilities and actions among the participants. Adequate communication, cooperation and
collaboration will facilitate our organizations and all the organizational decisions will be shared under the guidance of the coordinating school.
As final results, which will be produced from relevant activities, we will have books about traditions/celebrations; books with traditional recipes of all partner countries and mother tongue language books. We will construct a project’s calendar, CDs of local traditional songs and music, presentations about our schools, hometowns, DVDs with presentations of cultures of hosting countries during meetings and DVDs with language lesson and with local traditional dancing and
cooking sessions, during learning/teaching activities. We will also establish yearly exhibitions at each school, with final products of activities.
The main envisaged impact on the participants will be cultural consciousness and awareness. Our students will become more outgoing, increase their communication/language skills, and their horizons will be broadened, by giving them the opportunity to be introduced to different cultures and communities. The teachers may develop a renewed enthusiasm for teaching, exchange of experiences, direct knowledge of the other institutions and about their educational systems, knowledge of the language of other countries in the group, knowledge of the different methods of teaching within the different schools in the group etc.
While working on this project, our students, teachers and educational authorities will learn more about Europe and appreciate the differences and similarities of the cultural background, schooling and local diversities, exchange significant experiences and accept cultural and linguistic differences, raising a positive attitude to the united Europe. Generally, every person involved with this project will have some longer-term benefits because he/she will be able to come closer and understand more of the world beyond his/her local community and will finally manage to develop a very positive attitude towards a more intensive cooperation and
awareness that we all live and cooperate in the same continent, willing to be part of a school/community that offers all students experiences and opportunities to learn and grow together on the basis of a non-discrimination system, without giving the opportunity of racism and xenophobia to become restraining factors in their progress and in their future lives. Finally, due to their participation on this project and its positive impact, our schools will look for students who will be reaping the rewards of good school experiences that become the basis of a successful education.

Project Website

https://dacmu.weebly.com/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 172770 Eur

Project Coordinator

Osnovna skola Darda & Country: HR

Project Partners

• Direzione Didattica 2° Circolo Canicattì
• Ojars Vacietis Gaujiena Elementary School
• CEIP ANDRES BERNALDEZ
• IA’ Dimotiko Sxoleio Lemesou (KB)
• Agrupamento de Escolas Professor Abel Salazar