We live in a time of great upheaval and immense challenges, in which we can generally identify two approaches: the return to nationalisms and solo efforts, or to work together with partners to solve the future’s global issues instead. As schools from Germany, Spain and Iceland, we want to counter the first approach with this project and make it clear to the students that national problems do not stop at national borders but can only be solved in a European context. The Stolberg Comprehensive School deliberately dedicated itself to the motto "Strong in Education, Self-Responsible in Life" and "Embrace Diversity". As a thematic vehicle we have agreed on the current issue "Energy and Sustainability". According to our opinion, ensuring energy supply in the context of energy conversion and environmental protection can only be achieved within the European network. Getting to know the different kinds of energy generation across Europe, discovering technical innovations and taking on opportunities to take on responsibility with regard to sustainability are the challenges the project faces. Specifically, this means that students aged 12 to 15 of the partner schools get to know the situation in the individual countries in a first step in addition to the theoretical preparation in working groups in a total of six teaching and training activities. This includes not only experiments in school, but also excursions and workshops in the corresponding partner institutions. In a second phase, the focus is on climate protection in schools. Which renewable forms of energy can we use as a school? How can we use electricity and heat sparingly and responsibly? How can we help to protect nature, our living environment and the climate? What can we learn from other countries? We will examine the school buildings and develop an energy school program with its own label. Then, the students will be able to reflect everyday energy related actions. They recognize approaches for climate-friendly behavior and can learn for everyday life. The Forschungszentrum Jülich as a cooperation partner of the Gesamtschule Stolberg will support us in this process. This should be included as an integral part of the school profile in the school programs and continue permanently after completing the project. Our wish is to use students and teachers as important multipliers in order to make the results of the project publicized more widely.
We are living in a time of great upheavals and immense challenges, in which we can generally identify two approaches to solving them: a return to nationalism and going it alone, or the insight to solve global future issues together with partners. We as schools from Germany, Spain and Iceland want to counter the first approach with this project and make it clear to the pupils as an overriding goal that national problems do not stop at national borders, but can only be solved in a European context. Stolberg Comprehensive School has deliberately dedicated itself to the motto "Strong in education, self-responsible in life" and also "Together in diversity". As a thematic vehicle, we have chosen "Energy and Sustainability" as our current theme. We are convinced that securing the energy supply in the course of energy change and protecting the environment can only be solved in a European network. To get to know the different forms of energy production across Europe, to discover technical innovations and possibilities to take responsibility in terms of sustainability is the challenge the project is facing. In concrete terms, this means that pupils aged between 12 and 15 from the schools participating in the project have, in addition to theoretical work in working groups, become familiar with the conditions in the individual countries in the first three teaching and training activities. This included experiments in the schools as well as excursions and workshops in the respective partner institutions. In a second phase, the focus was on climate protection and ways of saving energy in the schools. Which renewable forms of energy could we use as a school? How could we use electricity and heat economically and responsibly? How could we contribute to protecting nature, our living environment and the climate? What could we learn from other countries? In Iceland we learned about the possibilities and chances of a sustainable and climate-neutral energy supply for a school building and laid the foundations for an energy school programme with our own label. This should enable the pupils to reflect on everyday activities related to energy. They were to identify approaches for climate-friendly behaviour and were able to derive their own behavioural changes from this. Further development in Spain and Germany with the support of the Jülich Research Centre as a cooperation partner of Stolberg Comprehensive School could not be pursued further due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, this approach is to be incorporated into school programmes as an integral part of the school profile and continued in the long term. It is encouraging that the schools involved in the project want to continue working together and that good contact has been maintained between them.