European Economy and Job Prospects – In the Past, Present and Future Erasmus Project

Project Title

European Economy and Job Prospects – In the Past, Present and Future

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: Enterprise, industry and SMEs (incl. entrepreneurship); Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage

Project Summary

The project emphasises the long and prolific history of European economic, social and cultural exchange and its consequences for the past, the present as well as its implications for the future. In each of the participating countries one can recognise influences of other European cultures linked to economic connections between the different countries. Mostly these connections have caused or still facilitate the individual countries to flourish and develop. Today’s globalised world requires all European states to cooperate for a common future. Moreover, certain aspects of cultural heritage and cultural traditions are still preserved in European countries today and still provide job opportunities in different economic sectors, e.g. promoting tourism and thus facilitating the job market.
Thus, our learning, teaching and training activities concentrate on former, current and future European economic cooperation and its implications for a common cultural heritage.
Concerning the past, the Ruhr Area in Germany is an adequate example to emphasise how international economic cooperation has benefitted different European countries. Today, as a world cultural heritage site, it promotes tourism and thus provides jobs.
Thessaloniki provides suitable examples of the interconnection between preserving traditional customs and facilitating the job market. Students will attend field trips to visit real life examples of successful local entrepreneurship relying on cultural traditions but providing jobs at the same time and thus will gain insights into new opportunities of employment. They will understand the benefits of cultural heritage and jobs being intertwined and this will enable them to make valid assessments concerning a common future European economic cooperation.
Regarding the future of our planet we should look for options on how to act sustainably on the one hand and cooperate effectively to ensure economic prospects and European cooperation on the other hand. Taking part in workshops on ‘greening jobs and skills’ will not only raise the students’ environmental awareness but they will also realize the importance of strengthening the sector of environmental sustainability as a future job motor.
To summarize, students should be enabled to evaluate the success of future sectors of employment, e.g. jobs which promote sustainability and therefore raise environmental awareness, by considering past and present developments and relating them to future trends. Especially they should consider job prospects related to the EU and possibilities for entrepreneurship within the EU.
As the project partners come from the North (Norway), Mid (Germany) and South (Greece, Portugal) of Europe, insights from various points of view throughout Europe concerning jobs, economy and cultural heritage can be gained. It will be very interesting and valuable for the project to share views in mixed groups and to see differences and similarities to come to a common idea of a future European job market concerning different economic sectors including cultural heritage.
By examining how various economic sectors have attracted or still attract migrant workers and their contribution to their region’s cultural development the students will become aware of cultural diversity, of their common cultural heritage and the implications that this heritage suggests for the future. This will facilitate inter-cultural conversation and reinforce a sense of belonging to a common European area.
In order to make sure that the intended objectives are achieved various results of the project will be disseminated by participants and the schools’ community and uploaded on the eTwinning platform. In the digital brochure, compiled at the meeting in Germany, students will use historical examples of economic cooperation to make valid predictions for the future. The podcasts after the meeting will focus on the development of the students’ local example of former economic cooperation and whether they can be considered as valid examples of present cultural heritage sites. In Greece, the students will design a leaflet containing information on how the current Greek economy is affected by the connection between tourism and cultural heritage. After the meeting students examine whether the same criteria can be applied to their home regions and publish an article in one of their region’s newspapers focussed on the significance of tourism and cultural heritage as a booster for a region’s economy. At the meeting in Portugal the students will develop a game in Kahoot which can be used to show the current problems and possible solutions in the field of environmental sustainability and how these solutions can create new jobs in the future. The results of the whole project will be compiled in a final brochure which will inform about former economic sectors providing employment possibilities as well as current and future economic sectors offering job opportunities.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 112771 Eur

Project Coordinator

Gymnasium Aspel der Stadt Rees & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Mosjøen videregående skole
• Agrupamento de Escolas Eça de Queirós
• 2 GENIKO LIKIO HORTIATI