Education, where Democracy gets its VoicE Erasmus Project

Project Title

Education, where Democracy gets its VoicE

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: EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

Students should understand democracy. They acquire knowledge about the basic principles of a democratic society where the emphasis is on cooperation, respect, values, decision-making methods and conflict management. They also gain insight on how their own country has become a democratic country, how they have developed and what current challenges are. They must never forget the precious gift democracy is and are aware that different European countries have different backgrounds on their way to the current situation. Furthermore, they realize that democracy is a matter of dialogue: at school a basic democratic structure such as a students’ council can help them to experience basic ideas of democracy and see the profit of that.
With a historic and political view on the topic we gain insight from different points of view (e.g. visiting corresponding important historical sights), workshops in each of the countries for a better understanding of the historical backgrounds and the development of each democracy. Active citizenship across borders is a better guarantee for democracy in general.
We aim to move students groups aged 14 – 17 years, 5 to 6 students will visit one of the other countries – either Germany, Spain or Belgium. In their home country they will be ‘the hosts’ providing their guests with ‘a taste of traditions within family-life’. Teachers and students participate within this Erasmus+ project as the deputies of Democratic Citizenship within their schools. They are the voice that helps others become aware of the importance of a general ( European ) knowledge.
With the different inputs on democracy each country can benefit equally: they can get more understanding of their own background (because they will work on that topic for their own country) plus they will understand more about the political situation of the other two countries, and therefore (a part) of Europe
In this project, we would like to achieve the following aspects:
• create critical minds
• empower students to discover their own abilities by creating a student’s council or getting (more) involved in an already existing one
• help students to present themselves
• make an exhibition at each school with findings based on the topic
• make a “Column or Wall of Tolerance”
• make students aware of cultural, gender, religious, social and political differences

We think this summary can be used to spread our intentions and to inspire rich activities inside the frame of democracy. Even more, the lines in this chart are a suitable presentation card for our project and will help to enlarge the ideas in it through all kinds of means (social media, newspapers, radio stations,…). Keeping that in mind, we intend to have the best impact possible.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 40668 Eur

Project Coordinator

Realschule Plochingen & Country: DE

Project Partners

• INSTITUTO DE EDUCACIÓN SECUNDARIA JUAN CARLOS I
• GO! atheneum Erasmus De Pinte