Learning from the Past to Face the Future: Cultural Heritage in Contrast with Modern Society Erasmus Project

Project Title

Learning from the Past to Face the Future: Cultural Heritage in Contrast with Modern Society

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 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage; Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

Our partnership was commenced in the year 2018 which had been acclaimed the European Year of Cultural Heritage. Consequently, we became inspired and decided to follow this theme in our Erasmus+ project Learning from the Past to Face the Future and celebrated diverse cultural heritage across Europe – nationally, regionally and locally. The slogan for that year was: Our heritage: where the past meets the future, which we chose as a leitmotiv for our project. After last 2 years of cooperation partners of the project honestly state, that we achieved it. We showed our students that cultural heritage has a universal value for: individuals, communities and societies. Through the partnership we gave an answer to the lack motivation to gain knowledge in history, art, society, languages and culture in our pupils, who tended to question traditional authorities and ceased to follow the role models. That answer for our students was the participation in the European project thanks to which far-fetched, neglected values and traditions became relevant and meaningful for young people.
Partners were selected to have a balanced contribution from northern, southern, eastern and western parts of Europe, with their rich cultural heritage and traditions, educational policies and teaching styles and different approaches to the problem of social inclusion. Such a selection ensured the exchange of different approaches to shared problems. Efforts of the teams working on the project were equally divided between all the partner organisations with the supervision of the coordinator.
Main objectives, short- and long-term results which we reached in the course of our project for the direct participants, exposed ones, supervising teachers, schools and local communities were:
1Greater awareness about European cultural heritage
-Bridging the gap between the history, culture and tradition of our countries, linking them with the present world natural for the students and proposing the ways to sustain this connection in the future. Students experienced their countries history, culture and tradition from a common perspective created through the actions undertaken in the project.
2Inclusion of the socially disadvantaged groups
-Familiarizing the students with theme of social inclusion and equity being the common problem in each partner country.
-Promoting inclusion by involving in the project students from disadvantaged backgrounds and fewer opportunities in comparison to their peers. The project involved pupils from different countries with financial difficulties, foreigners, children who grow up with one parent or unemployed parents, facing remote location, and students with learning or behaviour difficulties.
3Improvement of the linguistic competences
-Developing foreign language competence in the participants. English was chosen as the language for communication by all involved groups. All activities contributed to improvement of language skills. The growth in linguistic skills, fluency and accuracy, was visible in the participants.
4Development of ICT competences
-Owing to activities and products created via digital equipment and techniques
5Increase in new methods of teaching
-Exchange of methods by teachers from different countries of Europe
6Extended curricula at schools
-Introducing new approaches and solutions into daily work of partner schools
7Acquiring cultural and social competences characteristic to lifelong learning
-Boost of self-awareness and self-reliance-owing to experiencing culture while foreign mobilities, in host families
8Creating an international network of European cooperation between involved schools and communities
9Promoting the project findings via the synergy between Erasmus+ and eTwinning
10Sharing projects results online and disseminating the products of the project, results of a 2 year cooperation to the wide audience.
Above listed results were achieved by plenty of activities fulfilled in the course of the project. The products they constitute are tangible; these are students works connected with the theme of cultural heritage i.e.: logo, survey, posters, bookmarks, leaflets, quizzes, ppt presentations, calendar, scrapbook, timelines, films, festive cards, glossaries, lesson plans, documentation etc. There is also a virtual counterpart and digital extension of the results of activities and cooperation on social networks devoted to the project – eTwinning, webpage, school website corners, Erasmus+ Project Results Platform. The quality outputs have been evaluated and measured through the impact on the target groups by conclusions driven from: the direct analysis of surveys, interviews and the reception of the project by the people exposed. Each mobility planned in the Timetable was held in a different partner country and was devoted to themes linked to cultural heritage and social inclusion. Timetable with the key actions, mobilities, events for follow-up and dissemination, and regularly done evaluation, ensured that the objectives have been fulfilled.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 116338,78 Eur

Project Coordinator

Zespol Szkolno-Przedszkolny w Mykanowie Szkola Podstawowa im. Stefana Okrzei & Country: PL

Project Partners

• Rigas Zolitudes gimnazija
• Fundación Escuelas Profesionales de la Sagrada Familia
• Lentiz | Dalton MAVO & Het Groene Lyceum
• Atlasskolan, Linköpings kommun
• 5th Primary School of Korydallos