21st-century young experiences and living environments are multidimensionally influenced by constantly changing living conditions. On the one hand, key concepts such as globalization, detraditionalization and individualization continue to be of utmost significance while on the other hand, deterritorizalization, delineation and digitalization as well as the increasing (digital) communication intensity may lead to a certain fragility of social and intercultural relations. Therefore, our project is aimed at mobilizing juveniles on the aforementioned levels so as to enable them to adjust to new structures, living environments and their dynamics, respectively. Cooperatively planned and working on local, regional and (inter-)national levels, the project supports and places at its heart inclusion and integration. The students, between 14 and 17 years of age, all of them so-called "digital natives", at the present stage are predominantly passive consumers of digital offerings such as smart phones or social media. In addition, the HBG is located in Celle, a town surrounded by a rather large rural catchment area. In areas such as ours, students tend to be confronted not quite as much with digital topics as in more urban environments, which can also be traced to Celle's economic structure. In addition, the region has experienced a large influx of migrants in the context of the current refugee crisis, which is why digitalization occupies such an important role in the project. Without modern communication, coordination, accommodation and, eventually, integration of these migrants would have been neither feasible in practice nor possible in theory. Aims: The analysis of young people's different and diverse living environments in Estonia, Spain, the Netherlands and Germany is at the center of our project. In a first step, participants recognize and analyze the challenges to being young as a 21st-century European in a world simultaneously linked and delineated, yet finding itself in a process of renationalization, as is, unfortunately, becoming evident in various countries throughout Europe. In a second step, students and teachers alike learn to work with and use the manifold chances emanating from these areas of conflict, particularly so in the context of migration, mobility and integration. The current refugee situation, serving as a prism, will be assigned special significance with regard to achieving intercultural contact and exchange with youths beyond European borders, sustainably benefitting each participant outside of classical political boundaries while fostering social, personal, intercultural, interdisciplinary and linguistic competencies and skills. Participant numbers and profiles: Generally, up to six students and two teachers per school participate. Those students having successfully completed our application process are qualified to partake in the project. In terms of teachers, participants are made up of internationally experienced teachers, all of which have already completed COMENIUS/ERASMUS projects or worked on other bi- and multilateral exchanges. Moreover, we will be supported by teachers having a migration background themselves, as well as colleagues who have indispensable language and subject-related skills required for successful completion of the project. Methodology Our approach is first and foremost based on self-directed, cooperative learning and teaching methods, simultaneously keeping a strong focus on problem-oriented didactics. In conceiving of a teacher's role as a coach and advisor rather than a classical instructor, the learning process will be accompanied rather than directly taught in the traditional sense. In the context of the approximation of instruction-based and constructivist didactics, self-directed learning greatly contributes to allowing the highest-possible degree of learner autonomy while retaining the teacher as a safety net. Furthermore, production and activity-oriented approaches are at the nucleus of our philosophy. In this manner, communication occurs on diverse as well as multiperspectival levels, with digital communication playing an important part in coordinating project activities and ensuring their sustainability. Expected Results: On account of the varied activities and participants beyond the European context, results on personal and medial levels will be reflecting said diversity, creating a mutual young identity across national borders. In terms of individual fostering and support, each participant will be met on his/her particular level in such a way that the additional benefit is contained in the experiences made and the sustainability of these experiences achieved. Concrete products: website, booklet, movie, foto documentary, intercultural cook book, draft and implementation of a school curriculum ""Interdisciplinary Intercultural Literacy/Education" (intellectual output)
The background of the project manifested itself in the intertwined topics related to young European living environments in the field of tension between mobility, integration, digitalization as well future perspectives for young Europeans. The project resulted from a multilateral deepening of a privately organized exchange with a French partner school which was implemented in 2017. It has been our primary goal to explore young people's living conditions in Europe, analyzing opportunities and perspectives as well as challenges along the way, particularly in the context of recent political developments which have fundamentally altered the socio-political arrangement in Europe. We paid special attention to the aspects of migration, integration, mobility and digitalization. C1: 5 students participated per school. Since the students were accomodated in host families, there were 15-20 of our students involved in this activity. Principally, all those students who successfully applied for the project were eligible to participate. C2/C3: Up to 6 students participated per school. Since the students were accomodated in host families, all 20 of our students involved in this activity. Primarily those students from our partner schools not yet involved in other activities were eligible to participate. C4/C5: 7 students from our school took part. As was the case with all other mobilities/activities, we selected our students according to topical interest (here: migration and integration), age and scheduling/termination. C6/C7: 7 students from our school took part. As was the case with all other mobilities/activities, we selected our students according to topical interest (here: IT technology and digitalization), age and scheduling/termination C8/C9: 6 students from our school took part. As was the case with all other mobilities/activities, we selected our students according to topical interest (here:youth unemployment), age and scheduling/termination, and in this case additionally linguistic inclination. Concerning the accompanying teachers: The teachers are/were internationally experienced colleagues, some of them with COMENIUS/ERASMUS+ experience or who have organized bilateral exchanges in the past. Moreover, teachers were selected according to specific skills (e.g. Spanish teachers accompanying the trip to Zaragoza) or migratory experience. Description of acitivties: (for details, cf. interim report [C1, C6, C7] and section 3.1): C1: Migration and integration of young, unaccompanied refugees in Celle C2/C3: Integration in Germany on regional and national levels, digitalization of work C4/C5: Integration in the Netherlands C6/C7: Digitalization in Estonia C8/C9: Youth unemployment and future prospects for young people in Spain Results: Project website Germany (https://erasmusplus-hbg.webnode.com) Project website Netherland (https://erasmuseu.myportfolio.com) A blog by the Spanish partner school (http://gargalloerasmusplus.blogspot.com/) Published on the dissemination platform as well as on the German project website: C1: intercultural cookbook C2/C3: booklet summarizing our topical work as well as excursions and activities C4/C5: interviews with integration projects and presentations on the activities C6/C7: brochures on the manifold areas of digitalization of public life in Estonia C8/C9: A magazine summarizing the work results from Spain. Long-term benefits: Particularly in the context of recent challenges to intercultural skills in the realms of migration, integration and mobility, Europe's young population takes a central role as these youth will have to face and deal with the consequences of these macrosocial developments on political, social and economic levels, and therefore must be prepared accordingly. As a result of our project, participants have delevoped an exceptional degree of value-based competency, which enables them to deal with the manifold requirements emanating from the increasing mobility of the most diverse cultures and ethnicities. The innovation of our project was therefore to be detected in developing and fostering those personal as well as social skills which remain disregarded in educational discourse. Through constant communication with the exchange partners as well personal meetings during mobilities, intercultural skills were enhanced significantly. This was further supplemented by the integrative aspect of personal friendship, thereby resulting in a lasting and sustainable impact on project participants, as a number of real friendships, continuing to this day, have developed following the mobilities/activities.