I.S.M.∞.Z.; The sea as source of social, economic and cultural heritage in Holland and the Basque Country Erasmus Project

Project Title

I.S.M.∞.Z.; The sea as source of social, economic and cultural heritage in Holland and the Basque Country

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: Regional dimension and cooperation; Creativity and culture; Civic engagement / responsible citizenship

Project Summary

The I.S.M.∞.Z project, which stands for: Itsaso, Sea, Mar, infinity, Zee, is a continuation from the Bat Bi Three Erasmus+ project. Both our schools, Visser’t Hoofd Lyceum and Antoniano Ikastetxea have a strong desire to continue our cooperation. Historically both our peoples have experienced a cultural and economic period of growth by dealing commercially with other nations. In order to achieve this, it was necessary to have an open mind and the willingness to communicate. In this economic development, the fact that both countries are bordering the sea was crucial because the sea offered means of transport for exporting and importing goods that boosted the economy and it became in itself a means to do business given that both were countries of fishermen. The sea was also a possibility to explore new worlds. Thus, the sea is the key element that unites the different topics developed in the project. We want to educate our students about these particular aspects of our common history and have them experience them in real life.

First, we aim to explore common heritage from a humanistic and economic point of view in which we will focus on the topics of diaspora and economic heritage:
Diaspora: Both Basque and Dutch people have crossed the sea and settled in other places all over the world, based on trade or necessity. What does this mean for their respective societies nowadays? Are we aware of their immigrant ancestors and thus, more open-minded towards immigration nowadays?
Common heritage: Dutch and Basque sailors and fishermen once owned the herring, whaling and cod trade, what did this mean for the development of their people? How are its traces reflected in society nowadays?
The second aspect of the project is focused on the environment. Our goal is to analyze the quality of seawater near Leiden and Zarautz. Have our nations’ economic activities and living standards had a negative impact on the quality of the seas? How can we contribute to preserving this natural heritage which has given so much to our nations?

We believe that our objectives will advance the development of language and research skills and competences of our students and teachers.
Researching and exploring a different European culture through its own historical and economic development will enrich the experience of mutual exchanges. It will increase the understanding of the value of the students’ own heritage and that of their foreign partners.

Both our school will select 36 (2×18) students based on motivation, and academic value to participate. Age range between 15 and 16, vwo/havo level in Leiden and 4th ESO in Zarautz.

Our activities will consist of exchanges and digital cooperation. We want the students to meet and start preparing their research online before each exchange. We are also looking into a way to share the final exhibitions of each project year through a digital platform. Exchanges will consist of several activities and field trips. The main goal of the activities is twofold: researching seawater quality and collecting data and conducting research in economic and cultural heritage connected to the sea. Year one: herring fishing and cod fishing next to diaspora; migration to America’s. Year two: whaling next to diaspora; migrations to Asia. The academic activities will be organized with the help of research institutes and universities.
The methodology used in the research activities will be based on the existing programs in our schools. In Leiden, we work with the framework provided by the Cambridge Global Perspectives curriculum, in Zarautz the PBL methodology and collaborative work as part of their own syllabus. These academic activities will be supported by social activities, aimed to improve working together, language skills and getting to know each other’s culture and last but not least… to have fun.

The process and the outputs of all the activities in the project will be assessed by self-evaluation, peer evaluation, and teacher evaluation. The topics concerning economic and cultural heritage will be assessed by a public exhibition in both our schools (and or towns). We would like to invite the audience to this exhibition to fill in an inquiry about the exhibition by means of assessment. The second topic of research into seawater quality in both our communities will be made available on our respective websites. We will use the data from the first year of the project in the second year.

Leiden will share its results within its school foundation and with our present exchange partner schools in Europe. The Basque school will inform Kristau Eskola, an organization of 131 Basque schools to which it belongs, so that dissemination can be done. In both cases, we hope this will inspire other schools. In addition, both our schools are planning to have our students teach lessons at several primary schools about our project.

We would like our I.S.M.∞.Z project to be a real Istmos; a bridge between our schools

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 65120 Eur

Project Coordinator

Visser ‘t Hooft Lyceum & Country: NL

Project Partners

• JOSE DOMINGO EPELDE FUNDAZIOA