"ὤ μοι ἐγώ, τέων αὖτε βροτῶν ἐς γαῖαν ἱκάνω; ἦ ῥ' οἵ γ' ὑβρισταί τε καὶ ἄγριοι οὐδὲ δίκαιοι, ἦε φιλόξεινοι καί σφιν νόος ἐστὶ θεουδής;” “Now, by my life, mankind again! But who? Savages, are they, strangers to courtesy? Or gentle folk, who know and fear the gods?” (The Odyssey, Homer 102) We are the witnesses of turbulent times in a globalized world which is beset by a severe financial crisis, unprecedented flows of refugees fleeing from war and persecution and the rise of extremist ideologies which bring back painful memories of the past. For this reason, it is becoming more imperative than ever that education should rise to the challenges of today and enable students to realize their full potential as both learners and responsible citizens in the context of a diverse, multicultural changing world. This project aims to develop transversal and intercultural competencies against the backdrop of a real-life scenario in a webcomic entitled Ody. It will follow the journey of an imaginary Syrian refugee called Ody who has to travel across five countries, Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, Italy and Spain before he is reunited with his family who has found shelter in Sweden, a sort of Promised Land for them. Ody, which is a non-existent name, was intentionally chosen so as to compare the character to a modern day Odysseus. Homer’s timeless epic, the Odyssey, is a study in the treatment of strangers and contains all those universal truths about human values that modern Europe is struggling to discover again. The main purpose of the project is to awaken all participants to shared European values such as democracy, solidarity, tolerance and respect for difference by making them understand their own culture better and at the same time provide a new teaching tool to European schools. Taking advantage of the possibilities of the multi-authoring tool of ComicLab and other applications of Web 2.0 tools, a six chapter interactive multimedia story describing the character’s travels will be created by the six partner schools while improving the participants’ skills in five different disciplines in the process. The chosen areas of learning bring added value to the project because the development of high skills in these subjects underpins the success of this undertaking, which is to raise people’s awareness of the problem of the refugee crisis and how it should be handled by European citizens trying to find their identity in a changing world. The improvement of the participants’ linguistic skills in English will bring them closer and increase their qualifications, the integration of ICT in all activities will grow the technological expertise that is essential in the international job market and will allow for better interaction amongst the participants, exposure to geographical information will enhance intercultural understanding and awareness of the interconnectedness of the world, citizenship education will sum up and reinforce the understanding of the countries explored and their citizens’ place in them and, finally, a closer look at the rich cultural heritage and history of the six partner countries will give us all a meaningful sense of identity and belonging in a society which has learnt from its past. All partner countries have a large number of refugees either staying temporarily at reception centers before continuing their journey to their preferred destination or starting a new life in their adopted new home. Our educational authorities are attempting to integrate their children into school and this is our contribution. The methodology of the project will lay special emphasis on the “learning by doing” approach aided by technology giving priority to the promotion of student autonomy, the development of motivation, creativity and imagination as the means of discovering knowledge. The use of digital technologies will become the unifying factor that will give everyone the opportunity to learn to interact more effectively, collaborate closely and understand our similarities and differences better by having to work in the multicultural environment of this project. The successful implementation of this project is expected to have a far-reaching impact on all members of the educational community as most schools are receptive to introducing innovation in their national curricula in an effort to adapt to the challenging changes in society. The results of the project can be translated into a full school year course with detailed lesson plans, activities and tests to measure the tangible effects of learning. Its flexibility also allows for further experimentation and potential introduction of more branches of knowledge but, more importantly, it will arouse interest in other educational institutions or forward- thinking education policymakers. With the exploitation of European web platforms, the project is expected to reach an international audience with a sensitive ear to the cataclysmic changes taking place in Europe.
The Erasmus Plus Strategic Partnership Key Action 2 project “The Odyssey revisited: Teaching European values in a divided continent” was carried out from 01.09.2017 until 31.08.2019. Within the context of the ever mounting flows of refugees and the challenges facing the citizens of Europe over this humanitarian crisis, the aim of this project was to awaken the educational community to shared European values such as democracy, solidarity and tolerance and at the same time provide a new teaching tool to European schools. The life lessons and universal truths in Homer’s the Odyssey became the medium through which both students and teachers rediscovered human values and found answers to the moral dilemmas of our times. The priorities set at the beginning of the project- the achievement of high quality skills and transversal competences, social inclusion and innovative practices in a digital era- were materialized in the final product of our project, the comic “ Ody”. The basis of the creation of this interactive web comic is a fictitious character, a refugee who, like the hero in Homer’s epic, is fated to wander across Europe in search of a new home. Fleeing from Syria, he sets off on the long journey to Sweden, his Promised Land. His trail takes him to Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain and Sweden, his final destination. (the six partners) Through his journey, we became conscious of our own culture, saw foreign cultures as enriching and not fearful and carried out research in a wide range of subjects. The six-chapter comic was completed in June 2019 and was presented at the final transnational meeting in Turkey. It is available in both printed and digital form and in two versions: one in English and another in the native language of each partner, namely Spanish, Greek, Italian and Turkish. All chapters were enriched with the addition of hyperlinks, sound and video files focusing on five distinct areas of learning- English, Geography, ICT, Citizenship and Cultural History. In addition, a mini dictionary containing expressions from the Odyssey that were used in each chapter and a suggested lesson plan based on the comic software are available. The methodology followed in writing the comic was inquiry-based and collaborative and encouraged the students to function autonomously in their research for the information required for the real life scenario of the comic. The benefits of writing this comic are numerous: ● It was a cross curricular activity bringing together different branches of knowledge ● It improved all participants’ skills in the English language leading to better communication ● It fostered key components of digital competence such as the ability to search and filter information, interact, collaborate, identify and solve problems ● The exposure to geographical information enhanced the ability to identify places and intercultural understanding ● Information about the cultural heritage and history of the six partner countries contributed to a better appreciation of cultural diversity ● It enabled us to become aware of and identify the shared values that unite European nations and apply them in the plot of the comic based on the timeless values presented in the Odyssey ● Citizenship issues in the plot instilled a sense of responsibility in today’s complex world and emphasized the importance of inclusive education regardless of ability and social or racial background ● The varied treatment of the topic as expressed in the plot of each chapter helped understand historical change and national identity and encouraged reflection on ethnic stereotypes The project also had a great impact on many different levels: ● Both teachers and students as well as their families developed a more positive attitude to innovative, less traditional methods of learning based on collaboration. ● All teachers are now more receptive to trying new approaches in their teaching- especially digital tools- and have re-evaluated their role as educators by comparing the different practices in each partner country ● Interaction with different cultures helped reconsider ethnic stereotypes and common misconceptions and promoted intercultural understanding ● Lasting transnational friendships were created ● Our social and moral awareness towards the refugee crisis increased through empathy with the character of Ody ● The commitment to the creation of the comic increased our degree of involvement The project received adequate exposure through Etwinning, the project website and social media. Articles in the local press and the school websites also attracted attention from the local communities. The feedback after each mobility as well as the online comments are an indicator of the success of the project. In the long run, the comic can be used a teaching resource in schools across Europe so further publicity events and the project website will ensure maximum exploitation of our work long after the end of this project.