Our project title, “Your Europe at home – Shaping Yourope”, already epitomizes the two cores of our concept. Our principal objectives venture 1.) to make students familiar with the effects of the workings of the European Union within their own immediate surroundings (“Your Europe at home”) and 2.) to enable them to participate as active citizens to make Europe their own and shape European policies and society (“Shaping Youroupe”). To achieve these aims we are convinced that the cooperation and vivid exchange of multiple ideas and perspectives between four very different schools in Hamburg (Germany), Santo André (Portugal), Logroño (Spain), and Riga (Latvia) will be crucial. Offering all participants a glimpse of Europe’s rich diversity, these culturally and economically very different regions will allow for varied angles on Europe and its regional effects, a multi-perspective approach essential to any problem solving within the framework of our Union. In the beginning, students will reflect on their own concepts about the European Union and will compare them with others within their school’s and their partner schools’ communities. In a second stage, students compare their preconcepts about the EU with the actual effects on their everyday lives, e.g. when they go shopping, use their cell phones, plan their careers etc. Through their own research in their communities through the working groups at their schools, the LTTAs, and the contact with experts, politicians, NGOs and transnational companies they will find out about the manifold influences the EU has on the different regions, such as local business’ interconnection through trade or even joint production with other European partners. Similar structures of trans-European collaboration they will also make out in education, youth networks, cultural, and political organizations. All of these insights students will gain through first-hand experience in the dialogue with these diverse societal groups. At the end, they will locate themselves within these interdependencies, and gain a greater understanding of the relevance and necessity of Europe in their present and future lives. As a logical consequence, this understanding makes it imperative for students to empower themselves to act within the common social and political structures and to shape the policies by which they are affected. Hence, they will learn more about EU decision-making in general, and particularly about their multiple participation rights in the political structure of the EU, and will get in touch with transnational citizens` initiatives that work on particular topics they want to influence and on increased intercultural connection in general. Moreover they will acquire and improve their intercultural competences through particular trainings, which will allow them to actively connect with other Europeans in diverse social environments. The highlight of this second topic of active participation within the European framework will be the application of their acquired insights through a discussion and ultimately an initiation of change within a certain field relevant to all participating students. For this the diverse channels of participation will be checked and followed, so that all competences acquired throughout the project program will be put to practice. All these topics dealt with throughout the project period will be documented through a digital Education Unit (dEU) that serves as a great means to sustain our project’s aims by peer-teaching other students in a similar student environment about effects of and participation within the European Union. This format will guarantee a lasting impact of the project on all participating schools and their environment by ensuring crucial citizenship skills for youths. These will enable them to become active in a Union that is ever-changing and, consequently, absolutely requires the strong commitment and enthusiasm of its youth for participating and shaping our Union.
The project „Your Europe At Home - shaping Yourope“ was developed by four European schools and joined by students (14-17 years old) from Logrono (Spain), Santo Andre (Portugal), Riga (Latvia) and Hamburg (Germany, project coordinator). The title already emphasizes the two main aspects of our project. On the one hand, it stresses the participants’ attitudes, experiences and knowledge concerning the EU and living together in Europe. On the other hand, the title includes the necessity for the students of being an active participant in the European civic society. Gaining knowledge, being aware of their role in the European society and actively shaping Europe are major goals for our project group. This is even more important during a time where liberal and tolerant achievements are faced by multiple challenges. Beside those Europe-related goals, another main interest was the acquisition of key competences that are important and useful in a globalized and constantly changing society hence, the development of social, digital, linguistic, intercultural and methodological competences was encouraged. Those were fostered by an integrative, student-centered and action-oriented approach, more specifically by a method called “learning by teaching“. For instance, the students developed English questionnaires in international teams (sometimes by coordinating the process via eTwinning), conducted the survey and analyzed the results via word, excel or power point for further working processes. The material used in in the final product dEU is based on the students’ experiences, ideas and reflections throughout the whole project. Consequently, the dEU is a digital learning unit created by students for students, which enables other students to experience the same as the participants in the project. The main topics of the international project meetings (LTTA) were organized along guiding questions: What does the European Union mean to me and my community?, How does the EU work? (EU institutions), In what way does the EU affect me and my community?, How can I actively shape EU policies and society?, How can I continue my commitment in order to share my knowledge about the EU? The first LTTA focused not only on the consciousness on common European values, but also on the awareness of the given diversity. To accomplish this, the students learned the importance and relevance of intercultural competences. Furthermore, they were part of an intercultural training program. During the second LTTA the students acquired knowledge about the EU and the different European institutions. On the basis of their own research on European institutions and agreements they created posters in international groups. The method of visual thinking was applied. Furthermore, they debated on the issue of European migration in a role play. The third LTTA focused on the influences of the EU on our private, local and national level illustrated by Riga (Latvia) as an example. Consequently, the students developed a learning unit that dealt with the influences of the EU on trade, monetary policy, travel and education. During the fourth and fifth LTTA the students reflected and learned different ways of how to participate in the European society as well as actively shaping their interests and the European values. They were supported by external speakers (e.g. Europe direct; Espaço Europa) accompanied by a discussion about a broad variety of possibilities to do so. As a result of their learning the students created multimedia campaigns (topic: “Voter’s participation during the European elections”) and developed ideas for the EuroScouts and their home schools to spread their new gained knowledge. Besides the acquisition of digital and methodological competences, the students stressed through their feedback that they even learned on a micro level that following aspects are unalterable in the European society: being open to everyone and being emphatically are crucial attitudes for a successful cooperation and living together; hence, the students can be considered as multiplicators, that will share those attitudes throughout their social environment. The students’ experiences lead to the development of the digital accessible learning unit dEU (digitalEducationUnit). Through dEU the experiences as well as the knowledge are provided for other schools with the goal to promote and educate socially active and responsible students.