We Believe in a Better Europe Erasmus Project

Project Title

We Believe in a Better Europe

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 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Energy and resources

Project Summary

“We Believe in a Better Europe” is a project presented in partnership with 3 European countries and whose main objective is to raise awareness at different levels (students, staff, public), on everyday topics: access and management of water ressources, waste management and energy, in a small or isolated community (island, village, school …).
The project targets the notion of sustainable development, protection of resources, and awareness of the consequences of our actions on the environment especially in an isolated environment.
Planned for 3 years (2015-2018), the project brought together TAAONE High School (French Polynesia) coordinator and project leader, EPAL Kalamarias High School (Greece), ZSP3 Gniezno High School (Poland) and Colegiul Agricol High School Nr.1 Valea Lui Mihai (Romania), Croatia withdrew at the beginning of the project.

There were 9 activity phases total, 3 per year. These phases were explained by the project coordinator (French Polynesia) on GoogleDrive and padlet, in English, allowing the partners to be prepared and when the different activities of the project took place.
Each partner country organized itself according to its technical and material resources and reported on the progress of their work with the coordinator (French Polynesia) respecting more or less the deadlines.

In French Polynesia, the students of the 1st and final STI2D EE classes at TAAONE High School, aged between 17 and 18, participated in the project. Each year, a different class did the project, reaching 86 students.
The team that supervised the students changed over the 3 years (the project coordinator changed the last year of the project).

Approaching the different activities of the project was not always the same from one country to another. Which gave a wealth of ideas in the development of a common solution, and thus obtain: the logo of the project, a video-clip presenting the project, the joint European declaration on water resources, the euroquizz on waste and traveling exhibition on waste and water.

Sharing and exchanging information excited students and teachers alike. Polynesian students have even created links with other European students.
They really realized that they were Europeans in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Out of the 15 students who took part in the 3 European learning mobilities, 11 had never left French Polynesia, and 8 of them were less afraid to go to distant Europe to follow their studies.

In general, students of STI2D (Science and Technology of Industry and Sustainable Development major Energy and Environment) are more involved in the actions already implemented in high school, namely a better way to sort waste and avoid wasting water and electricity. Many students realized that some wastes could be a source of energy, such as gas or electricity, and that the ashes of waste burning could be used as fertilizer. Recovering the heat from burning waste to produce electricity while reducing the volume of waste, seemed like a real asset to the environment especially on their island.

The activities carried out throughout the three years (the intellectual productions included), were for them, a different way, more playful, to apprehend the contents of certain lessons taught in class.
The communication in English has highlighted the importance of the practice of foreign languages for both pupils and teachers. Morevover, the strong cultural distance between the countries (linguistic, ethnic and historical difference), allowed the students as well as the teachers, to acquire a greater open-mindedness, thus facilitating a better insertion and understanding of the notion of European citizenship. Researches on the internet, the use of multiple softwares for drawings, images and sounds, allowed some students who knew them to show their expertise and share it with their classmates.

The traveling exhibition of the project presented in primary schools, has shown that in TAAONE high school, European projects could emerge.
In transnational meetings and learning mobilities, meetings between teachers and students of all nationalities have been rich in discovery, sharing of know-how, emotions, ideas and gifts. The completed project was ultimately a success.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 141900 Eur

Project Coordinator

Lycée polyvalent de Taaone & Country: FR

Project Partners

• Colegiul Agricol nr.1 Valea lui Mihai
• Gimnazija Gospic
• Zespol Szkol Ponadgimnazjalnych nr 3
• EPAL KALAMARIAS