Our bodies, our emotions – providing parents with creative and innovative methodologies for age-appropriate and fact-based sex education for children Erasmus Project

Project Title

Our bodies, our emotions – providing parents with creative and innovative methodologies for age-appropriate and fact-based sex education for children

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 : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Gender equality / equal opportunities; Health and wellbeing; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning

Project Summary

Sexuality education is a lifelong process, as sexuality is an important aspect of all people’s lives. However, a person’s attitudes and values connected to sexuality are formed during childhood and adolescence and therefore age-appropriate sexuality education must start in early years. Sexuality education means learning about the cognitive, emotional, social, interactive and physical aspects of sexuality. The importance of an appropriate and fact-based sexuality education is in our information-age not less, but even more important than ever. Modern media is accessible to ever younger children and with them also the content which might not always be age-appropriate. The view of sexuality provided by such sources is often unbalanced and even degrading to different parts of society (for example woman, people with different sexual orientation etc.). Additionally, the need for sexuality education is rising also because we have to consider the migration of new population groups, with different cultural traditions, to Europe as well as the spread of HIV/Aids, concerns of sexual abuse of children and also the changing attitudes and behaviors of today’s youth concerning sexuality.

Although schools are the main providers of such education in Europe, we have to take into account considerable differences between countries, and even among cities and rural areas in one country – thus, the quality of sexuality education European children receive differs hugely. Therefore, it is very important to help parents provide high-quality sexuality education also at home. This means providing them with reliable, fact-based information about developmental stages, appropriate topics and approaches as well as proven tips to discuss these subjects (also if they are “shy” in this respect). Comprehensible and high-quality information and materials in this field is missing in most EU countries and our project aims at answering to this need. Through the collaboration of highly experienced partners we will develop a website about sexuality education for parents, containing also an app which will inform children about important topics concerning their bodies, emotions and respect in a funny, playful and age-appropriate way.

The portal will offer the following tools and materials:
1. A Handbook for parents “Fostering sexuality education at home”
2. Application for children “My body, my emotions”
3. Further information for parents (info points, support groups etc.)
4. Further links and literature tips

By fulfilling its objectives our project will contribute to fostering diversity, respect and equality. It will provide parents and children with information based on the principles of gender equality, respect for one’s own and the feelings and bodies of others, understanding of people with different sexual orientation etc. It will provide parents and children with valuable information which will prevent ill-health and uninformed decisions, which may have long lasting consequences on their physical, psychological and economic wellbeing.

The app and materials, which will be developed by our project partners, are highly innovative in approach and the content is in line with EU and WHO recommendations for this subject. We will provide open education resources, freely available on the internet in a six European languages, including smaller languages, in which such information is especially rare.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 395797 Eur

Project Coordinator

Kultur- und Bildungsprojekte e.V. & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Milos Educational Womens Collaboration for Activities in Tourism
• KgKJH LSA e.V.
• Inter-kulturo mednarodni kulturno izobraževalni center d.o.o.
• STUDIO GAUS GMBH
• Fachstelle Selbstbewusst – Sexuelle Bildung und Prävention von sexuellem Missbrauch
• Liceul Teoretic “Nikolaus Lenau”
• pro familia NRW e.V.