1. Context/background of the projectYoung people are generally interested in protection of environment. They are willing to engage as well in environment as in social belongings. Nevertheless they neither have in mind that our way of life isn't sustainable nor that wealthy and consumption have negative consequences for others. Interdepedences between the local acting and the worldwide consequences are obviously.Especially the current stream of refugees is among other things an example of these impacts of our lifestyle. How to deal with this problem is one of the most important questions on national and international level.Sustainability does not only concentrate on environmental subjects, but also on attitudes. We are convinced, that our project supports the development of a vision, action and research for sustainability in Europe. In addition we have to get in mind, that standard of living as well as acknowledging that there are a range of possible approaches to sustainability and global citizenship are constantly changing.This indicates a need for critical thinking, flexibility and life long learning. These aspects are key skills, which are not only needed in environmental subjects, but also in attitudes. Therefore we also focus on the current refugee situation, because it seems to be one of the key challenges in the future. 2. Objectives The learning of English and the ability to communicate in English will increase thanks to the close collaboration with Email, Skype and eTwinning by staff and pupils in the partner schools. The students acquire knowledge of political, ecological and global economic contexts; they become aware of their own lifestyle and try to get to the bottom of that; they understand the contexts between their own lifestyle and the quality of life in other countries; the current refugee problem is an example of these impacts of our lifestyle. 3. Number and profile of the participants Five Schools or Institutes for general education (secondary level) situated in different parts of cities or villages take part. The body of pupils is heterogenous, for example in Germany we have a big part of immigrants. Every school forms study groups with 15 -20 pupils, who meet periodically. At every school excists a group of teachers with different subjects involved in the project. 4. Description of activities- ecological footprint: How compatible is my lifestyle concerning ecological questions?- research: Dealing with water / plastic in our region- self experiment: How long can I live without meat, mobile phone etc.?- self experiment: Is it possible to live without plastic?- research: shops and organisations offering products without plastic and other examples of sustainable living in our region- permaculture, a solution against desertificated landscapes where a lot of refugees come from? - glossary of the important terms of sustainability in English, German, Greek, Italian, Polish and Turkish:- interviews with people harmed by pollution in the Campania region- researches: Independences between our lifestyle and refugee movement like: --consequences of our high petrol consumption--climate change by CO2 --clothing and low wages--visits of refugees accomodations, arrangements of meetings with refugees, organzisation of excursions with them, interviews with them about their recent and current situation--investigation with refugees: does music make our life sustainable? Does music help in difficult situation?5. Methodology Above all we use an inductive approach: - analysis of the status quo- researches- interviews- discussions- practical work: PermacultureEditing of the results by new technologies and medias encourages the respectives competences. 6. Results and impactsAcknowledging that global equity and justice are necessary in a sustainable society and quality of life is a broader concept as well as the understanding that quality of life is not just dependent on standard of living.Our project will reveal useful patterns of innovation at the society and global level for present and future generations. It aims to identify opportunities to enable sustainable living options that support a more sustainable future for Europeans. The concept will bring together the environmental, economic and social justice conditions necessary for meeting the needs of present and future generations including the immigrants.7. Potential longer term benefitsThe students improve the English language as mentioned in point 2 "Objectives" and get knowledge in ICT.They get better skills how to avoid the destruction of the environment and more knowledge about sustainable lifestyle.The pupils develop tolerance towards other cultures and especially towards refugees. They get to know that sustainable lifestyle in a deeper understanding means relationship, engagement, creativity instead of consum.
1. Context/background of the project: Young people are generally interested in protection of environment. They are willing to engage as well in environment as in social belongings. Nevertheless they neither have in mind that our way of life isn't sustainable nor that wealthy and consumption have negative consequences for others. Interdepedences between the local acting and the worldwide consequences are obviously. Especially the current stream of refugees is among other things an example of these impacts of our lifestyle. How to deal with this problem is one of the most important questions on national and international level.Sustainability does not only concentrate on environmental subjects, but also on attitudes. We are convinced, that our project has supported the development of a vision, action and research for sustainability in Europe. In addition we have to get in mind, that standard of living as well as acknowledging that there a is a range of possible approaches to sustainability and global citizenship which are constantly changing.This indicates a need for critical thinking, flexibility and life long learning. These aspects were key skills, which are not only needed in environmental subjects, but also in attitudes. Therefore we have also focused on the current refugee situation, because it seems to be one of the key challenges in the future. 2. Objectives: The learning of English and the ability to communicate in English has improved thanks to the close collaboration through Email, social media and eTwinning by staff and pupils from the partner schools. The students have acquired knowledge of political, ecological and global economic contexts; they have become more aware of their own lifestyle and tried to get to the bottom of that; Since they have been in contact with different countries, they have realised the differences between their own lifestyle and those of individuals from other countries. The current refugee problem is a true example of the impact on our lifestyle. 3. Number and profile of the participants: Five schools of general education (secondary level) situated in different parts of cities or villages have taken part. The profile of pupils is heterogenous, for example in Germany there is a big percentage of immigrant students. Each school has formed study groups of 15 - 20 pupils who have met periodically. At every school there is a group of teachers specialised in different subjects involved in the project. 4. Description of activities: Ecological footprint: How compatible is my lifestyle concerning ecological questions?- research: Dealing with water / plastic in our region- self experiment: Is it possible to live without plastic?- research: shops and organisations offering products without plastic and other examples of sustainable living in our region- permaculture, a solution against desertificated landscapes where a lot of refugees come from? - glossary of terms related to the topics of the project in English, German, Greek, Italian, Polish and Turkish:- interviews with people harmed by pollution in the Campania region- researches: Interference between our lifestyle and refugee movement like: --consequences of our high petrol consumption--climate change by CO2 --clothing and low wages--visits of refugees accomodations, arrangements of meetings with refugees, interviews about their past and current situation and expectations. 5. Methodology: Above all, we have used an inductive approach: - analysis of the status quo- research- interviews- discussions- practical work: permaculture, editing of the results by new technologies and media encourages the respective competences. 6. Results and impacts: Acknowledging that global equality and justice are necessary in a sustainable society and quality of life is a broader concept as well as the understanding that quality of life is not just dependent on standard of living.Our project has revealed useful patterns of innovation at local and global level for present and future generations. It has aimed to identify opportunities to enable sustainable living options that support a more sustainable future for Europeans. The concept has brought together the environmental, economic and social justice conditions necessary to meet the needs of present and future generations including immigrants. 7. Potential longer term benefits: The students are expected to improve their English language as mentioned in point 2 "Objectives" and their ICT skills.They are expected to be more aware of environmental protection and be more knowledgable about sustainable lifestyle. Additionally, the pupils have developed tolerance towards other cultures, especially towards refugees. They have learnt that sustainable lifestyle means relationship, creativity, minimising unnecessary consumption and it is a life-long commitment.