Where the Past Meets the Future You Matter Erasmus Project

Project Title

Where the Past Meets the Future You Matter

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 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Civic engagement / responsible citizenship; Environment and climate change

Project Summary

We created a unique union of very different European countries, reaching from the very North to the very South of the EU, the participant countries being Finland, Latvia, Slovakia and Italy. All together we would like to contrast and compare our experience, cultures, ideas and most importantly our attitudes towards the environment, research the past roots of our national behaviour and discover its impact on our European future. Nowadays, it is almost impossible that someone would not know about the dangers of our consumer style of life for the nature. But, on the other hand, do we all behave responsibly?
In our project “Where the Past Meets the Future You Matter” following objectives are set:
– To sensibilise teenagers as individuals to environmental issues through direct contact to natural beauties
– To evaluate the historical influence of the individual approach to environmental issues
– To know national traditions, contrast the differences and similarities of the past and the present
– To accept diverse opinions on moral dilemmas of future based on individual communication (via debating = resolutions of young people)
– To teach students and teachers how to co-operate in projects and encourage all participants to carry out projects (via the results)
– To awake individual responsibility towards our environment
– To enforce EU citizenship
In the project activities we hope to involve most of the students from our participant countries as well as their parents and members of the local communities and five most active and devoted students with two teachers from each country will also attend international meetings abroad, it means that 60 secondary students altogether will be offered the possibility to meet their peers from another countries, work and communicate with them in person. During the meetings the pupils are supposed to represent their country, introduce it, explore the city and the nature around, work on given tasks in international groups, discuss their ideas and conclude their debates about environmental issues in resolutions. They will also give practical examples of activities which everyone is able to do and which can make the difference, as for example cleaning the surrounding or plant trees, moreover, they will be prepared to give presentations about eco-friendly household to their schoolmates and other interested citizens.
Secondly, we can learn a lot from our colleagues from other countries about teaching, different methods, curriculum and school systems as well. There is always something we can improve and the ideas from other parts of EU are precious for every participant school. We would like to implement everything we will experience and consider appropriate in particular conditions.
After the end of our project, in April every year we would like to continue in more activities, which we will start during the project, f.e. we will clean or renovate some public places- playgrounds or parks in the neighbourhoods, or plant some trees to celebrate the Day of the Earth, to prepare activities for citizens of the city through which they would be more focused on the environment. We would like to prepare workshops based on sewing fabric bags and distributing them to local communities.
Another tangible results of the project:
1/ Public exhibition of photos taken in all National Parks/ energy resources- Our nature is worth our efforts
National Parks video- can be offered the Biology and Geography teachers for their lessons- All countries
2/ Brochure with photos, articles and resolutions created during all meetings
3/ E-twinning blog and students´ vlog
4/ Web page with all materials created during the project
5/ Leaflet with all Zero waste shops in the country distributed to tourist centers and city councils
6/ Set of Zero waste products with our logo promoting the principles of our project- WE CARE (bottles, bags, T-shirts)
7/ Workshops and presentations for parents
We, all participant schools firmly hope, that the project activities will contribute to concrete shift towards sustainable and ecological behaviour. This projects should bring new methods and innovative ways how to make students and their families responsible for their individual choice.. Our experience of dealing with this problem is very different in the participant countries, that is why, we would like to learn from each other as well to know the roots of our present actions in favour or against the nature we unavoidably need for our lives. The opportunity to observe and experience the outdoor beauties of the country, opens new possibilities of modern teenagers who are often living in virtual world of digital technologies.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 95128 Eur

Project Coordinator

Gymnázium & Country: SK

Project Partners

• Liceo Tasso
• Rigas vakara gimnazija
• Kuusankosken lukio