The Erasmus+ project YOUROPE: You in Europe comes as an answer to the need of training young European students to gain a proactive attitude when facing the challenges/opportunities that life offers them in the Present and Future. There are people who act naturally in this way, with a social inclusive spirit and entrepreneurial attitude, which drive them throughout their lives. However, in most cases, the learning and training we receive highly condition our way of facing the situations ahead of us. Therefore, all partners believe that, by providing young people with a good training in European citizenship, history, politics, as well as tolerance, sense of inclusion, respect for others, ICT learning and language awareness, students will undergo a vital attitude change: not conforming to reality as it is, but transforming/molding it to bring happiness to others and themselves. Moved by this belief, we have designed a project whose main objective is to train young European students to develop a proactive and conscious attitude towards their country, continent and the world, considering the personal, educational, social and working areas. The project will be developed in the next two years, offering young students from the 5 partner schools a unique educational and life experience. Target students are 10 to 15 years old and, as the project develops, they will learn to identify their weaknesses and strong points, by collaborating with other young Europeans. All belong to a generation that needs creative ideas as answers to the international challenges, also learning how to use communication strategies, develop collaborative work and present their ideas. They will, definitely, receive the suitable language and ICT training and will put it into practice, proving they are capable of transforming the reality they have chosen to alter. Ultimately, these young students will have a better preparation to become mentors of change and innovation. Learning about Europe’s Past to understand the Present better and prepare for the Future should be a priority in all European countries and this project can be an adequate answer to this need. The activities will be focused on the fulfillment of these objectives and the methodology used to put them into practice will be mainly active, cooperative and experimental: search for information/investigation, group work with the assumption of particular responsibilities in a curriculum-based environment, making up of different and innovative solutions, using ICT tools in context, practising the English language to really communicate with others and widening one’s cultural/social horizons. All activities will be disseminated in the website, Facebook group page and eTwinning platform. Step by step, participants will improve their abilities and attitudes towards school and the job market, their skills, self-esteem and confidence. If these objectives are reached, we will be doing the right work, entirely corresponding to some of the headline targets of the European strategy 2020, namely: employment; research and development; education; social inclusion and poverty reduction http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/europe-2020-in-a-nutshell/index_en.htm). Projects like this can make a difference in the improvement of employability, entrepreneurship and ICT preparation for life, as well as prevention of school dropout. Students will feel better trained to lead their school work and, later, their social and working tasks. If the project is efficient, it will have a long term benefit on students, but also on teachers. They are expected to improve their language and teaching competences, thus influencing their personal satisfaction and the valuing of their daily work (as active trainers who help students with the necessary skills). Parents will be moved by their commitment to the educational process of their children and by an improvement in their attitude to support them in all future challenging initiatives. Finally, Europe won’t be an abstraction any longer, but the face of hundreds of people more and more familiar as long as the project progresses, and afterwards. Different living ways and unfamiliar languages will also become clearer and will, hopefully, be a starting point for various professional and personal projects. The notions of European belonging, political/economic forces and social inclusion won’t be something unclear any longer, something just slightly heard of in “school benches”, but a new way of understanding life and of thinking, common to all participants. Some Erasmus+ projects place European citizenship/agenda as a collateral topic, but we want to put it in the centre of attention, committing our students to their role as active Europeans. To sum up, this project is all about YOU in Europe and not somebody else. Thus, we believe it has a strong European added value and will have many life-long resonances in all those involved.
“Yourope: You in Europe” is a KA2 Erasmus+ project about European history, citizenship, and dilemmas, including contemporary topics such as the refugee question, the sense of European belonging (or the lack of it) and the need for solidarity. Meant for students aged ten to fifteen, “Yourope” officially ended by the end of August 2019, although ideas keep flowing and will, for sure, lead to new initiatives between the involved schools/countries. Students need to be proactive citizens and to learn about the European Past to understand its Present and Future. To enlarge students’ knowledge, conscience and sensibility on such issues was the main aim of this project. This is also a story of hard work, resilience and growing enthusiasm, as the school library got more and more important throughout the process. Some Erasmus+ projects place European citizenship/agenda as a collateral topic, but we wanted, from the very beginning, to put it in the centre of attention, committing our students to their role as Europeans. Our motto has always been: “this project is all about YOU in Europe and not somebody else”, as written in capital letters in the webpage of the project: http://www.erasmusplusyourope.com/. Thus, we believe it had/has a strong European added value, which can be an inspiration for other schools or institutions. To reach the philosophy previously explained we planned the project as follows: a) first year’s theme - “Glocal Europe (balance between what’s gloBal and Local)”: activities focused on the Past of Europe, to better understand the Present; b) second year’s theme - “What about tomorrow?”: activities focused on the Present and Future of Europe and what each of us can do to build a better Europe. In the project there were about 1000 participants directly or indirectly involved in the activities, from the five participating countries: Portugal, Hungary, Finland, Romania and Turkey. Many more learned about this project due to the numerous dissemination activities, which surpassed all expectations. All activities were disseminated in the website, Facebook group page and eTwinning platform. All the planned activities, as explained in the website, were fulfilled with great quality and with a different approach in each involved school. That contributed to the richness and sustainability of the project, as well as its impact. The role of the school library as the heart of the school was reinforced, but there was also an inner transformation of the youngsters. Erasmus students really improved their sense of active citizenship and proactive attitude in the view of the challenges and opportunities that daily life offers, not only in their homeland but also in Europe as a whole. Gradually, they were not afraid of giving their opinion (however different it might be) when trying to solve a problem. They understood that seeking innovative solutions means taking risks and that these, no matter how successful or unsuccessful they may be, build us as human beings. Finally, they became more attentive and improved social inclusion, language speaking competences and group work abilities. Europe ceased to be an abstraction and became the face of hundreds of people more and more familiar as long as the project progressed, and afterwards. Different living ways and unfamiliar languages became clearer and clearer and will, for sure, be a starting point for various professional and personal projects. The notions of European belonging, political/economic forces, human rights and democracy are not something indistinct any longer, something just slightly heard of in “school benches”, but a new way of thinking and of understanding life, common to all participants. It had a long-term benefit for teachers too. They improved their language and teaching competences, thus influencing their personal satisfaction and the valuing of their daily work (as active trainers who help students with the necessary skills). Parents were moved by a commitment to the educational process of their children and by an improvement in their attitude to support them in all future challenging initiatives. Good memories of “Yourope” will remain, and new international projects are already taking form/being planned, leading to new initiatives and common dynamics. Due to its tremendous potential, the school library will always be included as a crucial piece of the puzzle.