Minority encounters – Moravian Croats and Croatian Czechs Erasmus Project

Project Title

Minority encounters – Moravian Croats and Croatian Czechs

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: EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage; Romas and/or other minorities

Project Summary

The project’s creators took advantage of the fact that their school is located in an area inhabited in part by immigrants from Croatia. They fled the Turkish invasions of the 16th century from their native homeland. The Croatian displaced people, who came to the territory populated by the Moravian population, gradually merged with the Moravian majority. Others, however, settled predominantly in those areas of Moravia inhabited by a strong German minority. Perhaps that is why they retained their national identity for centuries until the end of the Second World War. By becoming part of the German Empire during the war, they were forced to adapt to this unintended circumstance. After the war, when their territory returned to the Czechoslovak state, their homes were lost and dispersed throughout the country. Their destinies are almost forgotten, even though the descendants of the Moravian Croats meet and revive their national identity. One of the objectives of the project was to realize these circumstances and to give its participants the opportunity to bring their recent history in their neighborhood closer to their own exploration. One method of this knowledge was comparison. We used our partnership with the Czech elementary school in Croatian Končanica, which provides education for a relatively strong Czech minority living in Croatia. Interestingly, the fact is that the Czechs came to Croatia after the Turks left the area for which other Croats left for Moravia. The comparison of the fate of both authentic minorities, Czech in Croatia and Croatian in Moravia, was the main thematic focus of the project.
The representatives of the two schools, of about 25 participants each, independently worked on project tasks such as printed brochures or interactive maps, short inspirational videos, mapping the course of the project work, and also participated in the organization and presentation of the project exhibition, which took place in Břeclav during the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the school. The project exhibition was also shown to the Czech diasporas of Končanica and Daruvar. Pupils and teachers learnt about folklore national customs that are maintained by Moravian Croats on the one hand and Croatian Czechs on the other. The project offered the opportunity to study, explore and compare the fate of Croatian Czechs and Moravian Croats. We wanted to show the students that Europe’s history is not just a history of European nations, but that these European nations are connected far more than it would seem to look at a map of national boundaries. This two-year project was therefore a specific contribution to strengthening awareness of European cultural heritage and transnational co-ownership.

Project Website

http://gbv.cz/web/index.php/navstevnik/projekty/setkavani-mensin-moravsti-chorvate-a-chorvatsti-cesi

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 47054 Eur

Project Coordinator

Gymnázium a Jazyková škola s právem státní jazykové zkoušky Břeclav, příspěvková organizace & Country: CZ

Project Partners

• CESKA OSNOVNA SKOLA JOSIPA RUZICKE KONCANICA