The Olympic Spirit – Playing for Respect Erasmus Project

Project Title

The Olympic Spirit – Playing for Respect

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: Health and wellbeing; Creativity and culture; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

“The Olympic Spirit – Playing for Respect” was a 4-nations project that focused on the development of social skills for students of different age groups. It was about the development of cooperative game forms, which together resulted in an Olympiad, the “Olympic Games for Respect”, with which younger students can train teamwork, tolerance and fair cooperation.
One school each from Poland, Italy, Sweden and Germany took part. At all project meetings, the participants worked in internationally mixed groups. After each meeting, reports were written for the joint homepage.
As part of the first project meeting in Poland, the focus was on developing the content of the general principles for the project topic “the Olympic Games”. In preparation, each nation prepared a presentation at home with background information on a specific area of knowledge from the Olympic Games: The history of the paralympics (Sweden); Scandals in the olympic history (Poland); The history of the Olympic Games (Italy); Bad sportsmanship (Germany). The traveling representatives of each nation presented their lecture, so that afterwards all learners were “experts” on all topics of the Olympic Games. In order to secure the results, the students played an online a quiz (kahoot) in small groups that had been prepared by the speakers.
The next step began with an expert lecture by the Swedish game developer Alexander Eriksson on the subject of “Games and Game Development”. The learners tried out different game concepts on a wide range of existing games (including board and movement games) in small groups and recognized effective game criteria and principles. They used these for a first collection of ideas for their own games. This also included the independent planning of the number, type and design of the games.
Homework for the second project meeting: Development of the first concrete game concepts (at least 3 per nation).
In Sweden, the topic for the learners was the creation of specific game concepts. Each school first presented the game ideas they had collected as homework in a kind of “pitch” in front of the entire group. Subsequently, it was evaluated which game proposals fit conceptually into the project and can be implemented in practice. The number of individual games was also discussed. They agreed on about 21 games that they wanted to work on further. In addition to conveying values, some of the games also focused on knowledge about the partner countries. (In the course of the overall project, the number of actually suitable games was reduced.) There were already prototypes for around 10 games that were then actively tested. The players gave the developers feedback on a criteria-based feedback sheet next to the game. In addition to good aspects, the first difficulties of the individual concepts were also discussed. These were collected and processed in a teaching unit “Ideas for problem solving + implementation”. The developers wanted their own Olympics, so it was decided to create all games in 2 levels of difficulty so that the original Olympics for Year 6 students were complemented by one for older students.
A supporting program gave the students a broader understanding of sport and its social relevance.
Homework for the third project meeting: complete elaboration and creation of the prototypes in 2 levels of difficulty.
In Italy it was all about trying out and finally evaluating the individual games. All prototypes were tried out over a longer period of time and their practicability and target efficiency reflected on our previously developed criteria. Then the participants decided which 2 “sets of games” should ultimately be used to hold the Olympic Games in Germany. For the developer Olympiad 6 games were chosen (4 board games, 1 card game and a computer game) and for the Olympiad for the younger pupils 5 games (1 sports game, 1 computer game, 2 board games and a ball game.) Furthermore prizes, certificates and schedule of the “Olympic Games for Respect” were determined.
Homework for the last project meeting: producing the games in 4 copies so that each nation can take a complete set home with them, processing individual aspects of the “Olympic Games for Respect”, drawing up a certificate and PR work
The final meeting in Germany was canceled due to Corona, to the regret of all nations. Thus, the project goal, the creation of the Olympic Games for Respect, could be successfully completed, but the joint implementation and final reflection in practice unfortunately not. This should be done individually in the home countries as soon as the situation allows it again.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 85080 Eur

Project Coordinator

Bettine-von-Arnim-Gesamtschule & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Ist. di Istruz. Secondaria Superiore Bazoli
• Uppsala Estetiska Gymnasium
• Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace z Oddzialami Dwujezycznymi im. Tadeusza Kosciuszki w Gostyninie