Fit for Future/Fridays for Future Erasmus Project

Project Title

Fit for Future/Fridays for 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: International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; Civic engagement / responsible citizenship; Environment and climate change

Project Summary

Fridays for Future – local solutions to global challenges!

Lørenskog and Garching are twin towns since the 1970s. In 2019 contact was established between Werner-Heisenberg Gymnasium and Løkenåsen skole after a visit in Garching by the town council in Lørenskog. The two schools now wish to work together on a strategic partnership involving student exchange. The name of the project derives from the interest of our pupils in Fridays for Future, an international political youth movement for a sustainable environment. Including the young people with a topic of their interest will take the partnership of the two municipalites to a new level. The project will strengthen the international relations, raise the students’ awareness and contribute to finding sustainable local and common solutions.

The chosen topics are relevant and related to the UN sustainable development targets. Througout the project the students will learn about the human impact on the environment and how their own actions and choices can be influential. They will learn about both local environments and compare the challenges in Norway to the challenges in Germany. The funding of the project will enable students to exchange perspectives and learn from each other and from experts to grow up to be responsible European Citizens.
By cooperating the two schools will enable the schools and the students to find solutions. The project will support the students to develop competences, critical thinking and civic engagement as well as deeper, lifelong learning. All of which are important components in educating European Citizens. Critical thinking and deeper learning are also two of the highlighted competences in the new national curricula in Norway from 2020. Cooperation, dialogue and individual reflection endorse both of these competences.

Through sharing ideas in their second language and comparing the different perspectives, the students improve their intercultural competences and insights as well as their language skills. To communicate in between the exhanges, and to present the results of the project in the two school communities, the students will use digital tools; i e. e-Twinning, a shared website, a shared Instagram account, skype, podcasts etc.

In the student exchange during the project the students get to know and understand the different attitudes of the other students, visited schools and wider community. Research on relevant topics will be part of the project. Different media will be relevant sources (television, newspapers and digital sources). The students will need to evaluate the relevance and truthfullness of their sources and also to distinguish between news and fake news.

One of the objectives of the project is that the students are inspired to develop solutions to environmental challenges, present their ideas to the community and start organizing projects in their schools. In the municipality of Lørenskog all schools are to be ecofriendly by the year 2020. The project will give the students a direct possiblity to develop solutions to local challenges. These solutions can be put into action and also evaluated during the partnership. These solutions can be equally relevant to Werner-Heisenberg Gymnasium and maybe inspire eco-friendly solutions in Garching.

The different solutions and projects developed by the German and Norwegian students during the four exchanges will be documented by presentation to the local political decisionmakers as well as other students and hostfamilies on the last Friday of each visiting week, thus enabling dissemination of useful and important ideas and values. The students will communicate and work on common tasks in between the student exchanges. They will be well prepared for working on the project through lectures and cooperative activities in the two schools, research and dialogue with the local community and decisionmakers. All parts of the project will be documented. The four exchanges will give the students valuable cultural experiences as well as language practice. English will be the working language, but Norwegian students studying German may also be able to develop these language skills as well.

Learning about, discussing and reflecting on environmental challenges and how the students can contribute will affect their actions and habits.
The students are encouraged to take an active role as participants in the political system and thus raise civic engagement and responsible citizenship.
Intercultural exchange will ensure differents perspectives and positive influence in both schools and municipalities. The main goal of the project is to inspire the students to engage and to take action to find local solutions to global challenges.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 65120 Eur

Project Coordinator

Løkenåsen skole & Country: NO

Project Partners

• Werner-Heisenberg-Gymnasium Garching