Our program focus on immigration, stereotypes and racism in a Europe which constantly changes due to the developments in Middle East and Africa which affect the immigration map of the whole area. The most fundamental objectives of the program are: For students to approach the meaning of racism, xenophobia and multiculturalism. To understand that all humans are equal and therefore every human should have access to the goods a society offers. To have a better knowledge of the forms of support by the organized activity of citizens in a local and international level , within a framework of cooperation with institutions (UNICEF, UNHCR, International Amnesty, global organization for children's rights). To realize the necessity of a personal activation and adopting a responsible attitude, mainly concerning teenagers. To understand the problems which affect the modern world. To develop students’ critical thinking and know how to be active European Citizens. To strengthen digital and linguistic skills of teachers and students. To avoid early school leaving. Communication and collaboration between students of different countries will help the improvement of using English language but also the substantial acquaintance with culture, lifestyle and the way of thinking of other European countries. Students will discover and use digital tools of communication and tools that transmit the results of their work. A fundamental priority of the project is the advancement of the reinforcement, the participation and the activation of young people in politics. Students will make contact with official commissions of local community that use immigrant politics, understand the legislative framework nationally and in Europe and will be informed about the equivalent framework of our associates. They will understand better European identity and relationships of interdependence that draw together European countries. They will realize that they can and should watch closer the elaborations that happen with the European instruments and institutions (by using digital tools). The objectives of the program are related to the change of attitude concerning issues of immigration, stereotypes and racism of students, teachers, as well as the whole educational community of schools participating in the program, and by extension, the local and wider society. Participants will be teachers and students from six European countries (Greece, Italy, Spain, Latvia, Portugal and Turkey). The selection of partners was based in the immigration history of each country (receiving immigrants) and whether local population outflow to other countries. Students will be between fifteen and eighteen years old, including those whose families have been led to immigration for financial reasons, as well as students who lack the ability to become acquainted with other cultures or another way of thinking, due to financial problems, within the framework of economic crisis. Activities that will take place either locally or between all partners.will be: • Interviews from people who have experienced incidents on immigration and racism. • Questionnaires which we will be used as a means of extracting information for statistical analysis but also as an evaluation means. • Create video moovie for removing stereotypes associated with racism and immigration. • Comics with digital media as well as in printed form. • Painting exhibition with collective or individual projects that will arise during the mobility activities. • Photography Exhibition • Experiential - interactive games which the students will proofread, • Creating a website open to all interested parts which will include: information material for immigration, racism, stereotypes - the activities of each school - photos and visual material on the subject - calendar of activities - results. All this will be posted on the national language of each country and in English. Website and etwinning platform will be meeting places for teachers and students and facilitate the bidirectional relationship with the other teams of objective • Create a logo for the project by students. • Educational material, which will be distributed to participants during the program and during mobilities. • Project will end by a multicultural festival, where every partner will promote their country, through history, music, dancing, culinary tastes, photography etc. Local Mass Media will also be used as a mean of publicity and promotion of our activities to the local communities and as a mean of dissemination and accessibility of the results, so that their wider use is ensured. Program results will remain available to all participants on the website. Final products will be established as an educational resource, which could possibly be developed in general, regarding the education of human rights as well as in courses of the school curriculum. Results will also be publicized on the Creative Europe platform.
The program 'Immigration, Stereotypes and Racism' came to the center of attention of the political timeliness in Greece, Europe and the whole world just a few months after the submission of our application.The shift of attitude towards these issues and the preparation of our societies for the reception of immigrants, gained major significance, fighting against racist behavior and abrogating stereotypes which are found in xenophobia and intolerance.Students 15 - 18 years old and teachers from six European countries cooperated in this journey, whose main aim was 'human'. Greece, Portugal, Spain, Latvia,Turkey and Italy share many common features regarding immigration, as all of them have experienced immigration of their native population towards other countries and have constituted and still constitute countries of reception of immigrants and refugees. Besides the obvious human dimension of the issue, the fundamental keystones, around which all activities evolved, were the reinforcement of the disadvantaged students (therefore immigration was the background of our thought), the reinforcement of digital skills and forging an active citizen. Led by the triptych knowledge, sensitization and action-effect, we materialized our goals, which aimed both at countable and non-countable results. Through empathy our students sympathized with the tragedy of other people, who are forced to expatriate in any period. Students clarified different notions and realized the necessity for respect towards human rights as well as for undertaking initiatives, in order for them to contribute to resolving issues which concern their microcosm as well as the whole society. Within the context of formal and informal learning, contemporary and non-contemporary education, through collaborative learning, students evolved their creative and critical capabilities and simultaneously reinforced their linguistic abilities. Our aim was first and foremost, the groups of students of the Erasmus team of all schools, along with the teachers of pedagogical teams. In a systemic way, the whole school communities of students and teachers, along with the wider local communities, parents and local authorities became receptors of our results. Finally, informing and updating various authorities and services who were linked to our topic, was a constant and uninterrupted process, along with the local authorities of every rank, the supervising authorities of education and the Mass Media of Information (local and national) . Our common activities were organized either in person during our mobilities or through virtual meetings. Students were initially acquainted and interacted before every mobility through etwinning platform. In particular, they enriched our website with material from each one of the program's stages, aiming at the interaction of the participants, the diffusion of our results and the long-term impact and they created and promoted our logo through electronic voting. They interviewed immigrant students and employees, they photographed, painted and organized a photography and painting exhibition, they participated in various experiential games and wrote a script, they directed and took part in theatrical games, they produced videos and organized a multicultural festival, they studied and presented extracts from a theatrical play, they studied and presented the history and legislative framework of immigration in each country, they created comic books and completed various questionnaires of need detection and assessment. Furthermore, our national teams individually carried out various activities for the preparation and organization of various mobilities, and within the framework of the diffusion of our results to various destinations. An artistic competition, speeches, interactive events, and the program's reaching out to the wider society, all took place many times and in numerous ways. All these activities aimed even further, through art and culture, for us to be able to create the necessity to each one of our receptors, to guard the rights of every human, and of course the rights of immigrants/refugees, who are entitled to a peaceful place of residence, under dignified circumstances. Besides, it is good to remember that anyone of us could have been in their place. Our further aim was, being knowledgeable of the legislative framework and using conventional and digital means for distant intervention, to illustrate ways in which political circumstances can be democratically formed in conjunction. Finally, our goal was to bring to the surface the fact that European civilization is a living, dynamic creation of the civilizations which constitute Europe. Therefore, Europe has the ability to humanely welcome new populations, who migrate due to necessity and to ensure a peaceful environment for everyone, Europeans, 'native people' and newcomers, where the human and civilization are the fundamental priorities, as a timeless answer to the riddle of Sphinx.