In all Europe , commemorations will mark the First World War Centenary. As we are willing to take part in this Memory work , we are submitting a project on this topic. Over a period of 3 years but more likely 4 years , the eight participating schools representing a large area of this Europe at war will present the Great War, the reasons and the consequences of this conflict to their school communities . The beauty of this project lies on the quality and diversity of the partners, “ friends and enemies” as well as “North, South East and West fronts” at that time. The project is based on the numerous mobilities which will allow each school together with their European school partners to take part in the commemorations in its own city. This time together will enable the partners to share their work on the same topics. But most importantly ,those five days will be necessary for the building of a commemorative monument by the European students . “The large fresco” will be built with the material and resources of each school and will be made from different squares .T he frame, the size and the tints will be the same for each partner but the pattern is free and can be made of ceramic, wood, glass, stone depending on the school’s distinctive features ,technical skills and location. Each square will be reproduced in eight copies so that each school has a fresco very similar to the other frescoes in order to display it in their school or on special local , regional or national events . This three- year partnership ( from September 2014 to August 2017 ) is part of the many ceremonies planned in each participating country and therefore takes on a particularly interesting dimension ; it goes far beyond the mere school exchange program and hopefully will get our students and the whole school community to attend commemorative ceremonies at local, regional and even national level. This project deeply rooted in a historical context , enhanced by the number and diversity of the partners will give the teachers from very different school systems the opportunity to share their teaching experiences and academic expertise. As far as the students are concerned, the goals of such a project are numerous and particularly rich . The students will have the opportunity to improve their language skills ( French and English being the partnership languages ) and expand their historical knowledge. They will have the chance to talk about the current living conditions in their countries and the habits and customs a century ago. Last but not least, this project bringing together people who were “ allies and enemies 100 years ago” will help our students to understand what to be European means and to build, define and develop the European citizenship . This reflection will lead to the writing of a short Charter of the European Citizen ( in French and English) ,of poems and songs in memory of the war and those who died . The students will present their works at meetings and special events. One last highlight of this partnership will be a meeting of all the partners in Paris from where they will all go to Verdun together. This meeting will take place by the first half of the partnership. The project based the whole time on ICT to make communication easier will start and end with a meeting of the coordinators in order to make the organization and the coordination between the eight countries over 3 years as efficient and accurate as possible on one hand , and on the other to finalize the partnership so that it will build a long term relationship between the different countries and spread beyond the school community ( teachers, students and parents) , the ultimate goal being the celebration of November 11 ,2018.
Iniated in March 2014, the project started with a transnational meeting in Romania in October and a first trip to France in November 2014 for the first commemoration of the end of the war. Unfortunately, the budgets arrived very late in the institutions, (end of October) which changed the initial schedule of the project. The first trip was to Italy and then in France. During the first trip, some minor problems appeared concerning the accommodation of the delegations in host families but also on the exceeding of the daily budget (hotel costs, meals, transportations ...). The principal of the college, coordinator moved urgently to Sicily to organize a framing meeting. The rules for hosting mobility have been redefined and have allowed all the others events to run smoothly. We realized that the form was incomplete because the 2 days of transport had not been budgeted and therefore not that they had not been included nor financed in the global envelope. A digital workspace has been set up on the wikispace platform to promote exchanges, but its ergonomics are not easy enough to allow it to play its full role. Skype and the phone were often used for exchanges between the partners and the coordinator. Only two partners discovered the European projects (Germany and England) for the others and it was a big advantage, the experience gained to favor the project. The biggest problem for the project was the sidelining of the Turkish partner, teacher of English. Indeed, after the attempted coup, we did not hear from this teacher and the partner was not present during the last 2 tripe. She resumed contact in May 2017 to finalize the project. This absence of Turkey also had the effect of canceling the last planned event in Samsun, as many partner countries refused to go to Turkey with the political risks and uncertainties that prevailed in the Turkish partner school. In a working meeting we decided to make the last mobility in a voluntary country, Poland. The project has been labeled by the "centenary mission", the logo has been affixed to all official documents. For each partner the work was organized in 3 parts: • Collective work over 3 years: - An exhibition on « the school, the city and the region before during and after the war ». This work resulted in work in each partner school and a digital book. - A “large timeline” composed of 8 different panels made by each school. • Mandatory work for each trip according to the theme chosen by the host country (Art, cooking, propaganda, technological advances, celebrities, uniforms in war) • A work of each partner according to the programs, ideas of the context of the countries. All the trips were successful, on the organization and all the exchanges. The choice of accommodating students and even teachers in host families has resulted in savings on accommodation and meals. This has also improved cultural and linguistic exchanges between the students of the project. During the event in France, the week was very rich in partnerships especially with the city of Antibes which put at our disposal many teachers, artists and workshops of the city. The town archives but also the associations of war resistance and veterans participated in the meetings and workshops. The commemoration of November 11th 2015 was a great success with the presence of the 8 foreign delegations to the parade as well as the participation of the choir in front of the authorities. This week was the starting point for the excellent relations with the City Council. Over the 3 years of many activities, outings were carried out within the framework of the Erasmus project, without it being planned initially. With the help of the department, a short film was designed by the students and the Art teacher. This film was screened at Anthéa Hall, lent for the occasion by the town hall. Many guests, including the Academy Inspector were able to admire this 7-minute animated film, filmed mounted at Fersen College. The quality of the film was even rewarded with a prize at the Hyères Short Film Festival and selected at an international festival. Finally, this project was an opportunity to communicate to the outside, to put set up tools improving communication. The material resources obtained as part of the project and its implementation have facilitated the reception of ten people during the various events and project valorisation (outdoor displays, events, inauguration of the “large timeline”, labeling, award, European day, clothing and promotional items ...)