Exploring Europe’s Past, Present and Future Erasmus Project

Project Title

Exploring Europe’s 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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Home and justice affairs (human rights & rule of law)

Project Summary

In the last years antidemocratic and anti-European sentiment has increased in different countries all over Europe. The number of eurosceptic and right-wing populist members of parliament have increased among others e.g. in Germany, Greece, Estonia, Turkey and Italy, as well as the European Parliament itself, being elected by European citizens, who question the very existence of the European Union. Furthermore there has been an intensive debate in recent years about challenges like migration, digitalization and economic difficulties and how to tackle these problems.
This project aims at overcoming anti-European tendencies and promoting pro-European sentiment in the near future by educating students as citizens of Europe about the importance of a unified Europe, especially in terms of peace, economy and freedom.
Vocational and secondary schools from Turkey, Greece, Germany, Italy and Estland are participating in this project and are contributing to its quality by bringing in different European perspectives.
Project work is overall exploring the past, present and future of the European Union, represented by the different countries.
Students are first investigating the historical background that led to the formation of the European Union. The next step is to examine present-day benefits of the European Union for the students themselves, for their region and their country, as well as, current challenges, like migration, economic difficulties and the consequences of anti-European movements that led e.g. to Brexit.
As a last step the students are considering future developments and possible solutions for present-day challenges, like digitalization and possible future members of the EU.
The different subtopics are dealt with during short-term students exchanges in order to enable students to vividly explore the different European perspectives. Furthermore, an e-Twinning with the same topic is implemented to increase the number of participants in the project at every school, as well as, emphasizing Europe as a topic in everyday lessons, like Political Education, Ethics, History, Business economics, etc..
During project work students are being encouraged to preferable create digital products like explanatory videos, online quizzes/games, audio files/podcasts, e-books, comics and cartoons, with the help of IT tools.
The project is expected to raise all participants’ appreciation of the achievements and benefits of a unified Europe over the past and the present, as well as, enhancing awareness of Europe’s power and the need of joined European forces to tackle present-day challenges all over Europe to enable a better future of all Europeans.
As a long term-benefit this project overall aims at supporting the original European idea and to strengthens Europe itself as a political institution within Europe and in a globalized world and to enable to adapt to the changing world of work in terms of digitalization.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 164068 Eur

Project Coordinator

Elisabeth-Selbert-Schule & Country: DE

Project Partners

• GEL N. MOUDANION
• MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATURK MESLEKI VE TEKNIK ANADOLU LISESI
• IISS “Ilaria Alpi – E. Montale”
• Tartu Kutsehariduskeskus