Variety is The Spice of Life Erasmus Project

Project Title

Variety is The Spice of Life

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Gender equality / equal opportunities; Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

Educational institutions are places where children and young people spend a very long time and are most influenced by peer groups. Schools are also the most effective environments in which children and young people can change and improve their perspectives thanks to well-equipped leaders. Children and young people often come face to face with the language, religious, race, gender, physical, mental and economic differences and discrimination in schools. There is a continuous colour spectrum in the rainbow, but it creates the illusion of a discrete colour series due to people’s colour perception. When these differences come as the seven main colours of the rainbow, they are actually phenomena that make consistent transitions and contain an uninterrupted colour spectrum. Children with empathy skills will also develop spontaneously selfrecognition, intellectual point of view, communication skills, ethical point of view, international common values, inner happiness and inner satisfaction. In this project, we aim to eliminate the concept of discrimination with empathy skills by using technology / web 2.0 tools so that the children are going to be in peace and harmony according to the European Union spirit. Prejudices are uploaded from the social circle to individuals. The social dynamics of the child family, relatives, friends and the norms of the country reinforce the prejudices. They are mostly created against the unknown.

We would like to achieve the following through the project:
• strengthening children protection, education and development rights,
• increasing the quality of education,
• fighting the difficulties faced by fewer opportunities students,
• making good practices through activities, spreading these examples like waves in the sea,
• providing a more positive points of views in children social lives,
• making pupils gaining the ability of technology literacy, improving online presentation skills using web 2.0 tools,
• comprehending ethical values in social media and internet usage,
• adapt to online tools and virtual classroom platforms.

In the long term, pupils will gain the ability of technology literacy, pupils and teachers will improve their presentation skills using web 2.0 tools, increase their competence in practice and group work, comprehend ethical values in social media and internet usage, and adapt to online tools and virtual classroom platforms. Participants are going to be competent at the achievements mentioned throughout their lives.

Regarding teachers, a total of 6 Arts teachers, 6 Physical Education teachers and 6 English Language teachers will participate both in the P activities and in the mobilities (counting both the ones who move and the ones who are hosts). In total 130 pupils and 70 teachers are going to participate the mobilities. Project activities require active participation of pupils and teachers. In mobilities there are two educational games played with the pupils; one is “The guest-host game” deal with racial discrimination and the other is “We are all equal” deal with gender discrimination. There are also an Erasmus+ project logo competition, a painting exhibition dealing with physical and mental discrimination and an interview to two children who left school at an early age for making money/working. The life story of the working children will be written, compiled and shared (taking all the precautions for their privacy by using supposed names). Pupils are going to sing a traditional song by using sign language and they are going to be recorded for attracting attention to language discrimination and physical disability.

At the end of the project the prejudices of children and young people developing empathy will be broken and thus:
* collecting adaptations will increase,
* communication skills will improve,
* different and productive perspectives will be developed,
* communicating with people in different characteristics will enrich their life,
* positive perspectives will be developed towards disadvantaged individuals,
* intercultural exchanges will increase,
* individuals will be able to perform themselves,
* an objective perspective will be developed,
* they will be more productive and successful,
* they will contribute to the happiness and peace among societies in an advanced level.

The teachers participating in the project will also contribute to the development of empathy skills and to become well equipped leaders away from prejudice and discrimination.They will be presented with a common life environment for pupils. Teachers and pupils will be provided with opportunities to participate in events and activities to develop empathy skills in a coordinated way. Teachers will be able to work with different individuals. Classroom management will be facilitated in classes of empathy-building teachers and pupils.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 196320 Eur

Project Coordinator

SEK-Atlántico S.L. & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Oyakkent Ortaokulu
• Escola Secundária Alfredo dos Reis Silveira
• Rigas Juglas vidusskola
• IC Monte Rosello Alto
• Kauno r. Kulautuvos pagrindine mokykla