Let’s get G.R.E.E.N (Global, recycle, enviroment, employment, nature) Erasmus Project

Project Title

Let’s get G.R.E.E.N (Global, recycle, enviroment, employment, nature)

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: Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development); Environment and climate change; Disabilities – special needs

Project Summary

Educational program in European schools with special needs is not as developed as it should be. Students with disabilities are often pushed to the sidelines, and yet they are sentient beings who want to live in an equal opportunity society. Our students have less opportunities to be included in international projects and projects, which would give them skills for life. United Nations conventions on the rights of persons with disabilities states that persons with disabilities should be treated with dignity, they should not be discriminated and should be given appropriate education. Based on stated above, schools with special needs and special programs have decided to team up in an international project. We wish to include our students in activities, which will help them develop independence, responsibility, social skills and acquire language skills. We named our project G.R.E.E.N. because we want to keep in mind the following objectives: Global – Recyclable – Environment – Employment – Nature. We chose to make the environment the main focus of our project because, as scientists have been warning us, we are in a state of planetary emergency. Uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources, waste accumulation and excessive consumption lead to great climate changes that are already happening. We want to raise awareness in the student that it is important to take care of the planet in which we live. We want to encourage them to become aware of the impact an individual’s actions has on the health of the environment and the wellbeing of society, and teach them how to design sustainable products that create less waste. Many of these students come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, making it difficult for them to take advantage of cross-cultural exchanges and projects that would equip them with lifelong skills. With the activities we wish to approach the goals of the program “Education and training 2020” that provides a long term goal of increasing innovation and enabling employability to vulnerable groups. We wish to encourage our students to pass from passive viewers or observers to active individuals who are involved in caring for a better tomorrow. The partnership will include six countries: France, Germany, Latvia, Macedonia, Romania and Slovenia. Students involved are aged 6 to 26 and have disabilities in different areas. All the countries included have similar needs, problems and limitations in our work. We also have the same long term goal for our students – living as independently as possible. Although new technologies and online tools have increased the prevalence of remote learning, we believe that face-to-face contact and experiential learning activities still have an essential place in education. Based on the exchange our students will learn about different cultures, acquire foreign language knowledge and meet pears from other countries. Combination of different teaching methods and curriculums, that each school uses in raising awareness of the importance of the environment, will provide new knowledge and methods. We have organized round tables and workshops which will expose students to various topics and enable them to participate in hands-on activities. These could be used and transformed to different areas of education. Knowledge and experience on the importance of clean environment gained during the project, will be multidisciplinary included in further educational process by the teachers. Not only will project benefit its participants, but we expect it to have a lasting positive impact on the wider community. We wish to reduce the amount of waste and by that the consumption of consumers. Students will see that they can do a lot of things by themselves. Activities that will be performed in the gatherings have been carefully planned. We payed attention to individual needs of the students. We pursued a goal to include all students as much as possible in the project. Students will be encouraged to treat the environment responsibly by various activities, such as debates, different workshops, making of teaching aids. Teachers are going to help the students in communication and at their language skills with various visual materials. Teachers will gain new knowledge, methods and strategies, which will help them in their education process. In the end of the project we will publish a manual with examples of best practice and methods that will be presented to local educational institutions. Students will also gain new knowledge, skills, independence and responsibility that will have a great impact on their further independent life, which is the goal we all wish to achieve. We want to show students that each individual can develop their abilities and thus contribute to society. We believe that together we can make life long changes for wider society.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 195315 Eur

Project Coordinator

Osnovna sola Brinje Grosuplje & Country: SI

Project Partners

• DSU za rehabilitacija i obrazovanie Sv. Naum Ohridski
• Cesu Berzaines pamatskola – attistibas centrs
• Robert-Schuman-Europaschule
• COLLEGE ENNEMOND RICHARD
• Centrul Scolar de Educatie Incluziva Nr.1 Sibiu