The ability to live together in a democracy does not come naturally. The knowledge, skills and values that are the preconditions of living in a democracy should be learnt and nurtured throughout life. While key concepts of democracy and human rights should be understood by children, values such as dignity, tolerance and respect for others, and skills such as cooperation, critical thinking and standing up for one’s rights cannot be taught in traditional ways. They should be learnt through experience and practice, by living and acting in a democratic environment and from the earliest possible age. In an age of turmoil and changing internal and external borders, music connects people and brings them closer together, teaching them collaboration and respect. MUSIC CONNECTS EUROPE aspires to prepare young people to face new challenges, to learn empathy and tolerance towards fellow European citizens in an experiential way, combining mental and practical skills that will be useful throughout their life. The main objective of the project is to spread the European and world music culture in general among our students, their families, the environment of the Center and other people that directly (through concerts, exhibitions ...) or indirect (social networks, articles in press ...) have knowledge of it. With our project we intend to promote the acquisition of skills both in education and in social relations, all in their second language, English. Teachers who participate in the project will benefit from having the possibility of having conversations in English, sharing different methodologies, as well as participating in different mobilities, thus promoting their training as educators. It will always seek to highlight the values that unite us, that identify us, within social, historical or linguistic differences, as a European unit and to promote civic values, respect, openness, active citizenship... Other objectives include: developing digital skills, acquiring and practicing new methodologies to modernize them, promoting work in the field of international cooperation, developing social skills: ability to speak in public, work in groups, etc.. Our students belong to all social levels and we intend to help those families and try to compensate for the shortcomings by not allowing any child to suffer any type of discrimination due to their economic situation. We will do activities before, during and after the mobilities. Before each mobility we´ll carry out activities in the different schools and also in multinational groups, using ICT tools, such as Padlet, Blogger, Skype in the Classroom, Flipsnack, Pinterest and others... During the mobilities, we´ll put in common the previous activities and the students and teachers will do activities organized by the host country and the coordinators. After each mobility, the activities will be both, to evaluate and plan. We´have agreed in sequenci the before-activities in this order: Previous to the first mobility, Italy, activities will aim at making the project known in schools and their environments and for the students to know each other. It will be proposed a contest for the development of the logo of the project. We will also prepare a project about classical music originating from our countries. Another activity will consist of the interpretation of a classical piece of music from each country. Before going to Hungary we´ll search for aspects of "urban popular music" in each country and interpret a piece of this music during this mobility. Next, in the months before the third exchange in Greece, we will focus on the traditional (folk) music of each country, searching for information and performing a song. A a typical instrument from each country will be built before visiting Spain, the forth and last mobility. A special activity will be the final one, in Cádiz: writing and performing a song in multinational team work, with students from 6 different countries. The participants in the exchanges will be students that at the time of the exchange will be about 14-15 years old although the programmed activities will be carried out by all the students in the school. Our project is conceived with the vocation of being shared by all teachers, students or anyone, thus giving more diffusion to something that is fundamental for all partners: to demonstrate that music is a sensational vehicle to transmit most needed values in our students and in society in general. To ensure this, we´ll use the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform (EPRP). As young leaders of tomorrow, it is pivotal that youth are informed and engaged with the global vision for the future. For this reason, it is vital to raise awareness about the common artistic and cultural roots that unite us and the important historical facts that have shaped the differences that diversify us as citizens of this world. “Music connects Europe” aims to build a platform for discussion, and create the conditions for active engagement.
Erasmus + 2017-2019 project: “Music Connects Europe”. Spain (coordinator) and 5 partners: Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Poland and Latvia. Our project was conceived with the vocation of being shared by all teachers, students or anyone, thus giving more diffusion to something that was fundamental for all partners: to demonstrate that music is a sensational vehicle to transmit the most necessary values in our students and in society in general. As young leaders of tomorrow, it is essential that young people are informed and committed to the global vision of the future. For this reason, it is fundamental to raise awareness about the common artistic and cultural roots that unite us and the important historical facts that have shaped the differences that diversify us as citizens of this world. "Music connects Europe" aimed, and still does, to build a discussion platform and create the conditions for active engagement. This was the calendar of the mobilities: October 2017: meeting of coordinators and music teachers in Poland (Przygodzice). March 2018: mobility with students in Italy (Palermo). June 2018: mobility with students in Bulgaria (Vratsa). October 2018: meeting of coordinators and music teachers in Latvia (Saldus). March 2019: mobility with students in Greece (Athens). May 2019: mobility in Spain (Cadiz). During all the mobilities, we shared the activities programmed in the project and the students and teachers carried out those activities organized by the host country and the coordinator. After each mobility, the activities were programmed to evaluate and plan. The participants in the mobilities were 2 teachers and 3 students from each country, who at the time of the exchange were 14-15 years old, although the programmed activities were carried out by all the students of the partner schools. The activities were developed in this order: Before the first Transnational Project Meeting in Poland, the activities were aimed at making the project known in schools and its surroundings and each country produced a video presenting their school and city so that the rest of the students get to know each other. A contest for the development of the project logo was held. Before visiting Italy, students prepared a work on classical music in each of our countries. Another activity consisted in the interpretation of a piece of classical music from each country. Before travelling to Bulgaria, students researched aspects of "urban popular music" in each country and performed a piece of this music during this mobility, together with some of their teachers. Then, in the months before the third exchange in Greece, we focused on the traditional (folk) music in each country, searching for information and performing a song. A typical instrument of each country was made before visiting Spain, the fourth and last mobility with students. Coinciding with the Europe Day, May 9th (not casual, it was programmed two years before), we celebrated it in the schoolyard with all the students and teachers of the school, and all the students and teachers from the partner countries attended it. The flags of the six countries honed that day in the courtyard, next to the European Union flag with the word Erasmus + written in the middle. Everyone heard a sentence about music as a vehicle for the unity of Europe read by the students from each country in their mother tongue and in English. A special activity was the final one, in Cádiz: the students put lyrics to a popular pop song, each country wrote a stanza in their language and the chorus was composed in English. The song was called Music Everywhere and was performed live in the auditorium of the school in Cádiz; The music was performed by 4 teachers of the school (acoustic guitar, electric bass guitar, keyboard and flamenco box). The performance was recorded and disseminated on the websites of the schools and on their social networks. It was a multinational teamwork, with students and teachers from 6 different countries, who spoke seven different languages but with a single one that united them: Music.