Our task with a projected duration of 3 years will be undertaken in Germany, Italy and Spain in the departments of nutrition/provision. The German and Spanish participants attend a course of further education – following a training to become a cook and housekeeping assistant – whereas the Italian participants are engaged in a full-time school to become a cook. The project is carried out in English. The essential aim of the task is for the participants to deal with the cultural assets of the three regions (in the field of nutrition). In the process they make some experiences on the job in an international context and they improve their social and language skills at the same time. During the project the participants get to know some typical food products of the three regions and the traditional way of manufacturing them. They process them using traditional recipes and, using them as a basis, develop new orders of courses. We raise the participants´ awareness of the advantages that slow-food production has for people, the environment and make them reflect on their own food consumption. We aim at educating the participants to become open-minded people without prejudice, excellent interpersonal skills and self-competence who are willing to support the preservation of European cultural assets (hier: food). We want to give the participants the chance to think outside the box and to create an international network for themselves that can be useful for them privately as well as professionally. Another objective of our project is to support our schools (educational institutions) in their international ambitions. They get the chance to improve their networks and thereby get ideas for their internal development. While the project is running there will be meetings of 10 students (age: 16-25 years) and two teachers of each school in the respective regions organizing the following activities, that are being prepared in each of the partner schools autonomously before the meetings: 1) Getting to know typical slow-food from the three regions. 2) Planning and implementing “open days”. The participants prepare sustainable dishes from the three regions and inform about their traditional production. 3) Comparing conventional and “slow” food (uncooked and final product) looking at production, texture and taste as well as the impact on humans and the environment induced by of the production methods involved. 4) Culinary organization of an “international slow-food” awareness week in a canteen kitchen (including the marketing for this week). 5) Planning and implementing of a catering service (incl. price calculation as well as presentation of the goods). The participants include special groups (vegans, coeliac disease patients etc.). 6) Considering of traditional production methods for food on a global level. In this part we focus on the worldwide impacts of conventional food production. These activities are topped off with visits to establishments of conventional as well as more traditional food production. The project is implemented in several stages: After an intense exchange of the specific contents of all teaching and learning activities via e-mail/ video conference there will first be a meeting of the managing team to determine tasks for the first three activities and learning contents, that every school will develop on their own. These results will be documented in a blog, documents are exchanged via Dropbox/ eTwinning. The communication during the inactive phases is done via e-mail/ video conference. We work holistically using subject matters where the participants can show and develop creativity. We stress time management. The instructors are available as facilitators in case of problems and support in order to achieve the goal. After termination of the first three activities a second project meeting will take place where the remaining activities will be arranged and sequences of the past will be evaluated. Following the final teaching/learning activity a last project meeting will take place in order to think about the project as a whole, to set down the goals achieved and to discuss further cooperation. During the whole term of the project the instructors and students are in close contact; adjustments of the project to new situations are therefore possible. All participants internalize in the course of the project the idea of Europe, develop – especially because of company visits of food manufacturers – understanding for peculiarities of different regions in Europe and their cultural assets. In addition, the students improve their language and social skills. The students are enabled to generate a network which will be beneficial in their careers. The educational bodies hone their European connections and obtain stimuli for school development because of the foreign experience of their instructors.
We carried out our 3-year project with students (17 to ~ 25 years) at 3 vocational schools in the field of nutrition/supply in Germany, Italy and Spain. German and Spanish students qualified in a further training course to become business economists, building on their initial training in gastronomy/housekeeping; the Italian students were in full-time school-based initial training in a gastronomy profession. The project language was English. Altogether, about 200 students worked actively on the project. For the face-to-face events (LTTA1-4), 10 students from the partner schools travelled to the host school, where all students from the department were involved. At the virtual events, all students of the respective subject area took part. In addition, we were able to get about 1000 more people involved in the project topic at events/through the refectories. The aim of the project was to teach curriculum contents and to enable first professional experiences - both in an international context. international context. Based on cultural assets in the field of food (traditionally produced food), we raised awareness for the European cultural heritage in general and the need to preserve it. By making English the language of the project, we developed the students' foreign language skills (oral/written expression) as well as their personal and social competences. We formed the students into cosmopolitan Europeans who treat each other without prejudice and recognise stereotypes as such. Finally, the students and partner institutions laid the foundation for or expanded their international network. Finally, the students and partner institutions laid the foundation for or expanded their international network, which they can also use in the future privately/professionally. During the project, the students approached the topic of sustainability in different contexts.They got to know typical sustainable foods of the 3 regions, typical local processing methods and recipes and developed new menu sequences from the traditional products, always with a focus on sustainability and the resulting benefits for people, the environment and nature. This encouraged them to think about their own consumption behaviour. From the beginning, students and teacher teams regularly exchanged information in video conferences, e-mails or international chats. Before LTTA1 and 4, subject teachers from the three schools jointly fixed a total of 6 learning areas to be worked on at a project management meeting. We dealt with each topic independently in regular lessons and exchanged experiences virtually internally. Finally, we deepened each topic in LTTAs, put knowledge into practice and expanded it. 4 LTTA took place in presence: - Getting to know Slow Food and traditional foods of the partner regions - Planning/implementation of an open day on the topic of sustainability (incl. preparation of suitable menus and information for visitors) - Comparison of conventional food with comparable sustainable food (raw and end product) in terms of production, consistency and taste as well as their impact on people and nature - Culinary design of a campaign week on the topic of "international sustainability" in a canteen kitchen (incl. marketing) We worked on 2 topics exclusively virtually due to covid: - Planning/implementation of a catering (incl. price calculation/presentation of goods focussing on special groups of people (vegans, coeliacs, etc.) - Consideration of sustainable food (production) on a global level including the worldwide effects of conventional food production. In addition, the students got to know cultural goods of the non-food sector during company visits and later virtually. We observed a positive development in the students towards a more professional, social, language and intercultural competence. They are more tolerant of differences in mentality and reflect critically on their own consumer behaviour and that of their environment. They adapt to new working environments increasingly quickly. They are more interested in our cultural heritage and Europe (also as a labour market). We made event participants/ kanteen guests more aware of sustainable food. Sustainably producing companies got better known. Teachers/students want to participate in similar projects; students and institutions have created/expanded their international network, which they can also use professionally in the long term. Through the project, the coordinating school has qualified itself as a global school and established contacts outside Europe, which will be further expanded in the coming years. The topic of sustainability will continue to play a major role here. The Italian school has also committed itself to more sustainability in the long term through a cooperation agreement with Slow Food Italy; the school canteens of all partners are striving - where possible in terms of quantity/price - to continue to use sustainable products in the future.