Peace building in Europe from the Vikings to the Good Friday Agreement Erasmus Project

Project Title

Peace building in Europe from the Vikings to the Good Friday Agreement

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 Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Creativity and culture; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

The inclusion of a new subject named “Peace building in Europe from the Celts to the Good Friday Agreement” into the Transition Year curricula of 2 high schools: 1 in Ireland, De la Salle school, Dundalk and 1 in Galicia-North of Spain, El Progreso school, Catoira. Aimed to tackle, address and promote the values, benefits and Educational methods and Instutions of the Post-Brexit EU. The subject will be studied by 15 pupils and implemented by two teachers in each school so a total of 30 pupils a year in both countries, 90 at the end of the program in 2020 and 4 teachers fully committed to the project for the 3 years duration of it. As a regular subject we will have 3 examinations a year and a continuous exchange of both Irish and Galician teaching and learning methods. The program will be implemented from 2017 to 2020. Both schools have agreed in writing to maintain the subject and transnational collaboration after 2020. Both schools lack international programs or Erasmus so this is an attempt to introduce EU resources and values into these communities starting with this first project. Also, both towns have started an EU Town-Twinning approach at administrative level with Mayors’ meetings and EU representatives in August 2015 in Dundalk Museum due to its common Celt and Viking influences and a second one meeting in August 2016 to re-agree commitment for a second application after our first approved but not funded first application 31/03/2016 . The subject of the curricular activities will cultivate pupils with EU ethos and respect for cultural diversity through the study of their local cultures and bilingual background (Galician-Spanish languages in Catoira and Gaelic-English languages in Dundalk). They will study local cultural elements in the four related languages and teachers will exchange good practices learning from each other’s approach to the selected subject matter. We have designed a really strong strategy of communication and coordination through monthly Skype connections, 3 Transnational Project Management Meetings and 6 weeks of Transnational Teaching, Training and Learning activities aimed to demonstrate to target groups undergoing curricula studies with practical examples of each other’s cultural elements. During trips we will also practice immersion language learning. Finally, we aim to provide students with international language, learning and working skills and EU ethos to facilitate their incorporation to the EU working market in their near future in accordance with EU related Directives and at the same time the involved teachers and schools will change their teaching practices incorporating the best of each other and learning to study, teach and research at an international level.
We would like to highlight that we have designed a dissemination policy based on ICT elements (web pages) and TV coverage of Transnational activities and the yearly production of a 15 minutes long TV educational program summarizing our studies and aimed to 6 to 12 year old viewers to be aired in both countries on TG4 and Galician Public TV, TVG, entities with which we have got a collaboration agreement.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 79325 Eur

Project Coordinator

De La Salle College & Country: IE

Project Partners

• CPI PROGRESO