Freedom needs HerStory Erasmus Project

Project Title

Freedom needs HerStory

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: Civic engagement / responsible citizenship; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Ethics, religion and philosophy (incl. Inter-religious dialogue)

Project Summary

Around 130 pupils aged 16-19 from Estonia, Germany, Ireland and Spain will look at national and regional traditions of commemorating events especially wars and its heroes/victims/ perpetrators. At a time when peace in Europe is taken for granted and those who remember the horrors of war become silent it seems appropriate to remind young people that the nations of this continent have a long and destructive history of fighting each other.
We will look at significant and controversial dates (24th February, 9th November, 11th November, 20th November), symbols (e.g. red poppy), iconic pictures and photos as well as memorials. Pupils document local memorials and local or national rituals of remembrance and inform the students of other nations of their findings. They may also look for memorials which have been removed as they no longer seemed acceptable to new generations. They will research changes in linguistics or even in law which are instrumental in nudging the national identity into new directions. Based on their research students could become involved in protecting/promoting a memorial. They are signed up to participate in the commemoration of the “Reichspogromnacht” in Paderborn on 9th November 2021.
Discussions between students from different cultures will make the participating students aware of variations as well as similarities in the way nations remember and forget. Ideally the students develop a common European identity as Europeans and become responsible for prolonging and defending the unprecedented period of peace between our nations that they seem to take for granted.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 100866 Eur

Project Coordinator

Friedrich-Spee-Gesamtschule Paderborn & Country: DE

Project Partners

• IES SABINA MORA
• Võru Gümnaasium
• St. Kilian’s German School