Proposed project „Cyril and Methodius - 1000 years of what unites us and divides us“ is planned as innovative, in the form of participant´s experience. It is focused on supplementation of awareness and knowledge on common historical, cultural, and religious values of Europe, precisely it’s central part and Balkans. Saints Cyril and Methodius are examples of such historical personalities which played irreplaceable roles in spreading Christianity from Greek Thessaloniki as a culturally religious value important for the religious groups of local societies but also their counterparts without religious affiliation. It was in fact the Christian religion itself which contributed to uniting and linking Europe together as soon as 9th century AD. As such, it is a social phenomenon that should not be forgotten. The importance of both missionaries lies also within the invention of common writing system as another cultural value shared by many eastern European nations. Aside from these two main topics, project aims to spread awareness of life and culture in other EU member states. Students will experience the difference from what they know from their homes as well as the mutual difference is not an obstacle for good interpersonal relationships. This goal should strengthen students’ social education and further develop their identity of European citizens. Added value of the project is mutual informal presentation of participants’ relation to the membership in the EU and their attitudes to contemporary developments in topics as is the religious tolerance and migration. For teachers, participation will be valuable due to new experience from foreign educational systems and creation of new professional and social relations, bridging borders between member states. Form of the project is a school exchange between high schools in Czech Republic, Croatia and very experience partners in Bulgaria and Greece. Project aims to use lectures and seminars focused on activities of students in lecturing other participants on St. Cyril and Methodius and their importance for particular national history. Other useful method is the experience by visiting historical landmarks linked to the life of both missionaries, and also museums documenting esthetic aspects of life in participating countries. The innovation concerning the organizing school is the way the school exchange is used for. Until now, it was only used for education of foreign languages (Spanish, German) making exchanges with relevant foreign schools. Proposed project aims to develop the communicative skills behind education of cultural, historical and religious facts. Project plans to be used by 99 participants – high school students, including their teachers. Budget plan aims to use EUR 97065. Sustainability will be ensured by the presentation of project results on the school website and during school open days.
Completed project “Cyril and Methodius – 1000 years of what connects and divides us” aimed at extending the knowledge by innovative educational methods and by student experience. Members of the project group come from four countries tied with Cyril and Methodius and their activities (Czech Republic, Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia), sharing mutual historical, cultural and religious values of Europe, particulary it’s central part and the Balkans. Saints Cyril and Methodius are the example of historical persons playing an irreplaceable role in the spread of Christian faith from the Greek Thessaloniki and other cultural values important both for religious and nonreligious citizens. As a main factor tying up Europe as soon as 9th century AD, influence of religion can not be overlooked even today. Importance of both missionaries lies even in the invention of common script as a cultural value, shared up to this day by great share of eastern European countries. Thus, the main goal of this project was to show the students of project member countries with the mission and persons of Cyril and Methodius, present the students with cultural landmarks, traditions, history and last but not least, today’s educational systems of project member countries. All these goals lead to increasing cognitive and social abilities of students, improving interpersonal relationships and developing the feeling of common European identity. The coordinator of this project was Czech high school Gymnázium, Olomouc, Čajkovského 9. Other member schools were: Gimnazija Antuna Gustava Matosa in Samoboru, Croatia, 144 Secondary School Narodni Buditeli in Sofia, Bulgaria, 2o Epaggelmatiko Lykeio Evosmou in Thessaloniki, Greece. Both Czech and Croatian schools are general education grammar schools. Bulgarian school is an elite school of fine arts (dance, music, singing, etc.) and the Greek school is an institute of technical education (ICT). Project consisted of activities: - international project meeting M1 - M3 – three meetings, beginning in Olomouc, then in the halftime of the project in Sofia and final in Thessaloniki aimed at better and transparent organization, division of tasks, control of their completing and mutual evaluation. Detailed description can be found in chapter 5.1. - Continuous activities A1-A9: A1 – national Powerpoint presentations of Cyril and Methodius’ influence in particular countries; A2 – watching a documentary film Cyril and Methodius; A3 – guided tour in temple of St. Gorazd in Olomouc + discussion with the priest; A4 – geocaching around sacral landmarks in Olomouc; A5 – Powerpoint presentation on cultural life in my town and country A6 – poster concluding the life and importance of Cyril and Methodius; A7 – visiting an important religious landmark – Archdiocesan museum in Olomouc; A8 – workshop – cultural differences and common features of partner countries; A9 – final resume of the project. - student exchange - mobilities C1 - C4 C1 Thessaloniki (Greece), C2 Olomouc (Czech republic), C3 Samobor (Croatia) C4 Sofia (Bulgaria). Mobilities were the core format of meetings aiming at activities, influence and legacy of Cyril and Methodius in particular partner countries. Detailed description can be found in chapter 5.4. The project had a good influence on both participating individuals and schools in these areas: - beginning the international cooperation, which is planned to be further developed in other projects and student meetings; - developing linguistic and social skills of students; - understanding the structure, principles and rules of EU and Schengen area (travelling across various types of national borders); - students understood the culture and way of life in particular partner countries; - both students and teachers were equipped with the experience of more or less similar schooling systems; - developing presentation skills (posters, presentations, self-presentation); - developing and maintaining new friendships; As a conclusion, we would like to state the opinion of our students, commenting the name of our project: “Cyril and Methodius – 1000 years of what connects and divides us” – “There is nothing dividing us, except geographic distance. Different language is not a problem anymore, we all speak English.” Besides school website and Facebook page, the project was presented to wide public during the school open day, Erasmus Days in Olomouc and in regional media.