This is a strategic partnership of six European High Schools working together to raise awareness of Human Rights issues in European countries. Ever since the end of World War 2, people have been concerned about human rights. During the war, many people had been badly treated because of their race or religion or because they were prisoners of warThe Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drawn up by world leaders in 1948 because they wanted to prevent such terrible things happening again. It states that everyone has a right to life and liberty, freedom of speech and movement, a fair wage, a fair trial, education and many other basic human rights.Unfortunately today our world faces similar problems with many humans living in fear of their lives and are denied their basic human rights. The brutality of terrorism is being experienced by more and more European countries, and the challenges that it poses have rarely been more intractable. As a result of this, Europe is divided by the refugee problem. In many countries politicians don’t know how to handle the huge amount of refugees and people feel threatened by it, causing them even to act violently towards refugees and politicians. This endangers the democratic system and might also endanger the European unity. Increasing the intercultural awareness and emphasizing the importance of human rights by having the students experience the lack of human rights for some is essential for a possible future resolution to this problem and for avoiding other human disasters. Ninety-six high school students (aged 11-16, though the target group is 13-14) and more than 30 teachers will be taking part in short term exchanges, while more than 500 students and more than 75 teachers will be participating in the rest of activities. Families will be involved by organizing an International Evening in every short term exchange.During the meetings students will be working in groups of mixed countries, ability and from different social backgrounds.The following are some of the more relevant activities:• A preliminary survey about Human Rights is to be carried out at the six schools to establish the students baseline knowledge of Human Rights• Activities will be planned to take place in school and enhancement activities will occur to include visits to places of importance linked to the theme of our project.• Methods used include school based workshops, visits from external speakers and cultural visits.• There will be a range of power points, videos, displays illustrating the work completed during the project.Expert organizations such as Amnesty International will be involved in each mobility to ensure the required expertise on topics covered by our project.This project will impact of students by making them aware of how some people’s human rights and freedoms are limited by the country in which they live.This development of intercultural awareness and work produced can be integrated into the schools curricula, to ensure its sustainability.Short term exchanges (every three months) are crucial for the success of the planned activities in the project. The more communication there is, the better the project outcomes will be. The coordinators of the six schools will have two transnational meetings (January 2016 and January 2017) to control the quality of the project and to evaluate it.The project will have a positive impact on the participants' attitudes. It will broaden their cultural awareness of others and provide important experiences, not least resulting from mobilities.Moreover, it will give the young people the opportunity to use and improve their foreign language, ICT, research and presentation skills.The project will improve communication between parents, students and teachers. Teachers will get opportunities to rethink the integration of current human rightsi issues n their classrooms and learn from good practice examples of the partner schools and exchange of resources.There are also many foreseen longer term benefits such as helping students to prepare for the European job market, encouraging friendships and personal contacts via modern communication platforms and social networking beyond the project boundaries. Not only students will benefit from this project but also teachers, who will acquire skills in the areas of international work experience and project management.
Contexte and background The project was a strategic partnership carried out by six European High Schools. It was designed to raise awareness of Human Rights issues, how they impact on their lives and how they can challenge inequality and bring about change. Human Rights issues were explored on a European and Global scale, within an educational context. We decided on the focus of the project through discussion of how our students live in a world where still today, Human Rights are denied, especially with the rise of extremism and the plight of refugees. Each country decided which was a focus area for them and they could link this to a Human Right. Objectives Through raising awareness of Human Rights, one of the main aims of the project was to raise awareness of and develop respect of different cultures, where there are differences in rights and laws so that our students could develop their own opinion on the issue. Through this learning journey, we wanted to encourage the students’ empowerment as citizens and act as agents of change. Profile of participating countries France : The Lycée de l’Europe is a public school for students between 15 and 20. We teach general and technologic subjects as well. Students come from very different social backgrounds. The name of our school (Lycée de l’Europe) can be considered like a symbol of the Erasmus + spirit. Close to the Belgian border, and located just in front of the English coasts, our school is on a strategic European crossroad. UK : The Whitby High School is built on a tradition of excellence. Founded over 50 years ago, our expertise has helped us to develop a curriculum that embodies our values: Prepare, Achieve, Care and Enjoy. Netherlands : 2College Durendael is a comprehensive school in Oisterwijk , the Netherlands. The total number of students is 1720. The school provides education at all levels, from vocational subjects to pre-university education. In our mission statement we write that we want to inspire, motivate and challenge our students. In order to do so we offer them a variety of activities, both inside and outside our school, both in the Netherlands and abroad. Spain : ES Santa Catalina de Alejandría is located in Jaén and educates around 1000 students belonging to Lower Secondary Education, Higher Education and Vocational Training.The school’s main assets are its bilingual education and ICT school status fostering both digital teaching and learning in a multilingual environment. Turkey : Nesibe Aydın Schools, located in the central Anatolian region in Turkey, Ankara, include Kindergarten, Primary, Secondary and High Schools. As a highly-respected teaching institution possessing the international education standards, our vision is to develop open-minded, modernist individuals who have internalized the life-through education philosophy. Our goal is to bring up individuals who depend on the principles of Ataturk, possess a sense of responsibility, and are problem-solvers. Italy : The Istituto Statale di Istruzione Secondaria Superiore “Scarpa” is a senior high school placed in Motta di Livenza, a small town in the eastern part of the province of Treviso, near the administrative borderline of three provinces and two regions. The school provides three technical specializing courses, Mechanics, Energy studies, Information and Computer Technology, as well as general education and foreign languages. Main activities Before each mobility, students had to complete a pre visit task, so they would know what would be the focus of the weeks activities and to get them to complete some preliminary research on the topic. During the activities, students were divided into mixed national groups, which supported the development of their language skills and also gave them opportunities to increase their cultural awareness, as they were able to work closely with students with different nationalities. Each short-term exchange was focused on a specific topic : right to have a nationality, right to grow up n a healthy environment, right to be educated, Women rights, right to life, freedom of speech. During the meetings, students shared their time between school workshops and visits linked to the meeting subtopic. Results and impact attained The completion of this project has had many positive impact on all those that have taken part.