Young Europeans on stage – Proud to be European! Erasmus Project

Project Title

Young Europeans on stage – Proud to be European!

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 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Pedagogy and didactics

Project Summary

Although the EU has developed into the world´s largest economic power and one of the safest regions worldwide during the sixty years of her existence, she is nonetheless confronted with challenges from the outside and from within. Perhaps the most important of these is the danger of Europe losing the acceptance and the trust of her citizens who feel less and less as Europeans. A European identity, however, is based on the awareness of a person´s own national identity. How can the EU react to these challenges?
The main issue of the planned project was to raise the students´ awareness of their own national identities as well as the achievements and the challenges of the Europe of today. Discovering their own and other European nations´ cultural heritage by dealing with (dramatic) texts from different time periods and nations led to an appreciation of our common European heritage. The focus was on four different aspects:

1. National Identity – What does it mean to be German/Dutch/Italian/French?
2. Looking over Borders – Other nations´ cultural heritages and our reception
3. Proud to be European! – Finding a (joint?) definition of the term “European Identity“
4. Eurotopia – Developing ideas for Europe´s future

Students worked on these aspects in drama workshops and created, wrote and performed their own texts, photos and films on the basis of texts from their own cultural background and from the ones of the other participating students. Different dramatic forms have been explored, experimented with and employed to voice the students´ ideas. There were a lot of advantages in this experimental approach such as fostering the freedom of ideas and creativity and attracting students, parents and local community as audience, thus increasing the impact of this project on the schools and their communities.
Over all, this project involved three different levels. The topics (contents) were the four aspects presented above. The teaching methods and the didactics dealed with the questions: What can we learn from each other? Which mode of presentation is best for a given audience? What is the main message of our presentation? Do contents and form correspond with each other? In addition, there was still the point of communicating successfully with each other and dealing with misunderstandings when they happen.
The aim was to have the students stage four different productions after a week-long workshop in each of the participating schools.
For the first stage production each school focussed on already well-established performance practice from their own school, thus benefiting from what the other schools showed as good practice. This first meeting took place in the Netherlands.
In the second stage production all of the participating students worked together to set up a performance about the second issue, “Looking over Borders“. In preparation the students discussed and decided upon the texts from their home countries what they wanted to take as working material.
The third stage production in the third school dealed with the third aspect (“European Identity“) on the basis of texts the students had written by themselves. Working more independently and with their own ideas, the students practiced and cooperated for a joint performance.
The fourth presentation was a Europe-festival with different drama and political contributions about the future of Europe for all.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 87975 Eur

Project Coordinator

Gymnasium am Bötschenberg & Country: DE

Project Partners

• LP SERMENAZ
• COLLEGIO S. CARLO S.R.L. Impresa Sociale
• Christelijk College Groevenbeek