Solidarity without frontiers Erasmus Project

Project Title

Solidarity without frontiers

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 school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Access for disadvantaged; Gender equality / equal opportunities; Disabilities – special needs

Project Summary

„Solidarity without frontiers“ was our two-year Erasmus+ project aimed at encouraging active volunteering and providing assistance where necessary. Ours was a partnership of six institutions from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Germany. Within each partner institution, approximately 50 students participard in the project activities and between 3 to 8 teachers in each partner country. We are pleased to say that throughout all our partner institutions, scores of students or pupils willingly volunteered, helping those who needed it as and where necessary. Fortunately, all partner institutions had a variety of previous experience with charity work, volunteering, fund raising events, however our project greatly enhansed all their previous activities to date.Our project aim was to undertake various charity activities to be carried out by teams of students and teachers from each participating school / college. Indeed, within some activities we even involved students’ families to further encourage inclusion. Naturally, our focus differed considerably depending on each participating partners’ specific charity organizations chosen. Another of our aims was effectively incorparating social networks, together with learning new ICT tools whilst progressively working on our project results. As expected, our project raised our students’ awareness to the fact that society is an inclusive activity, whereby tolerance is not merely a word or definition which they have to learn, but an action that they need to engage in and display. We are pleased to say that by the end of our project, we do believe that we reached this target. Consequently, we feel that all of our participating students, and the involeved teachers, gained unforgettable and invaluable life-long experiences, together with some new skills.

Within the project Erasmus+ six organizations cooperated actively: secondary schools: Gymnázium Olgy Havlové, Ostrava, Czech Republic, HANSE-Berufskolleg, Lemgo, Germany,.Institut Castell del Quer, Prats de Llucanes, Spain, Liceo Scientifico Corradino D’Ascanio, Montesilvano, Italy and primary school- Základná škola Sibírska, Prešov, Slovakia.
We managed to complete all of our planned activities, and we even took up new unplanned ones, with further enriching impact on students. We visited old people´s homes and spoke with older generations and listened to their life stories. We taught elderly people new games or gave them English lessons, or we taught them some useful basic computer skills.Working with children with special needs was an absolutely, and overwhelming new experience for our students. They actually came to undersand how difficult and stressful the life for such families is, realising that despite all the problems, they do not and cannot give up. Now our students view them with a new found admiration and respect. Care was given at various animal shelters too. We walked dogs, tried to find new homes for them or we joined some campaigns to support animal shelters within an entire country. Adult students gladly donated blood. Almost all our partner schools helped to organize collections for Food bank. We are proud to say that our students worked in their free time, in the evening and at weekends and they encountered and saw life from many new and different perspectives. Whatsmore, they learnt about the essential work and activities of charity organizations and other non-profit associations.As encouraged, our students were constantly active on social network sites and used them effectively to share their peer-to-peer experiences and they also improved their computer and language skills.All of our planned activities and results were reached: videoclips made during mobilities and workshops, a videodocumentary about life of the handicapped or owners of an animal shelter, a booklet documenting a collection of memories about the 1960‘ s which is our common product, many fundraising events, and assistance at animal shelters.We firmly believe that our project has had a very positive impact on all of our participatin project students, their families and those involved teachers, not to forget the benefits to our participating schools, and the many non-profit organizations and other institutuions we cooperated with.Our students have reflected on the invaluable experiences felt, and a large percent of them intend to continue volunteering.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 262640 Eur

Project Coordinator

Gymnazium Olgy Havlove, Ostrava-Poruba, prispevkova organizace & Country: CZ

Project Partners

• Institut Castell del Quer
• Zakladna skola Sibirska 42, Presov
• MEHMET NIYAZI ALTUG ANADOLU LISESI
• HANSE-Berufskolleg
• Liceo Scientifico Corradino D’Ascanio