The background of the project was the need of the partner schools to jointly start a project in which the participants will actively deal with the values and norms of Europe, commonalities and differences in a respectful way through the music. Over a long period of time, both schools developed a desire to meet in a more or less musical way and to create connections and build trust. The affective approaches that music can create were important to us in making this decision. The application of Chemnitz to the Capital of Culture 2025 and the celebration of 100 years of independence in Latvia finally brought the concept idea to deal with the musical heritage of the region, thus preserving the inestimable value of Europe's musical heritage and, consequently, making the importance of Europe and the common understanding and respect for each other tangible. The goal is to make the cultural and social values of European cultural heritage tangible and tangible for our participants. They should develop (further) social, personal and subject-specific competencies and be educated to become responsible citizens of Europe. Rejection, discrimination and exclusion both within different social strata of a country, as well as the stranger are to be dismantled and an identification with common European values should be achieved. In two project groups of about 30 participants each, who work in the periods before and between the short exchanges with the music of the city / region and possibly the country, music is researched, cataloged and prepared for active music making. Local traditions of music practice are to be worked out. Depending on the group size and focus of the course participants, digitization should also take place. From our experience many people can be reached via music, who can make such positive experiences with common European values and norms and thus form a starting point for a further engagement with Europe. During the individual meetings about 15 participants of one partner should visit the other partner. During these meetings, the prepared pieces of music will be worked out together and finally performed in concerts. It is important that all project participants take part in the short exchange once and that the various musical ensemble (choir, instrumental ensembles, band, vocal ensemble) are involved in the exchange to a broad musical spectrum, which can act correspondingly far multiplying on our goals. The participants meet alternately with the project partners, with the meetings being attached to school year highs in order to attract as much attention as possible. This also has the advantage that in the project phases between the meetings, different musical emphases can be set that minimize a "wear and tear" of the project idea. The participants should actively co-decide and participate. For this reason, there will be methodological and content-related priorities during the project. The practical discussion will be dependent on the respective ensemble, the preparation and editing of the music will be adjusted accordingly. For this purpose, trained music educators are available who can provide appropriate support and assistance. The participants are between 14 and 18 years old and attend various educational courses. Due to the musical practice orientation, students of both school types can participate in the project. This is important to us in order to do justice to the educational value of European cultural heritage and to create a positive awareness against discriminatory tendencies and biased discussions among all project participants. Participants come from all social and educational backgrounds and form a cross section of the student body. Of course, all participants must be musically active and interested. An economic accessibility is also guaranteed. The expected results are on the one hand project results themselves, on the other hand the competence developments of the participants as well as the social environment formulated in the objective. Project results: The aim should be to research, collect, catalog and, if necessary, digitize and edit regional music. At the end there is a collection of regional cultural goods, printed in the form of songbooks and digital (respecting the copyright) published to continue the use. In addition, there will be concerts and soirees that take place in public and have a wide audience. The connection to the traditional concerts guarantees a wide audience.
The aim of the project was to deal respectfully with similarities and differences through music and to deal with the respective cultural heritage, actively with the values and norms of Europe and our partners. The affective approaches that music can create were important to us in this decision and were always the focus during the project. To deal with the musical heritage of the region, thus preserving the invaluable value of Europe's musical heritage and, consequently, to make the importance of Europe and the common understanding and respect for each other tangible. The objectives of making the social and social values of European cultural heritage tangible and comprehensible to our participants, developing (further) social, personal and specialist competences and thus educating them to be responsible citizens of Europe were the focus of the project, in order to reduce rejection, discrimination and exclusion both within different social strata of a student body and the foreign and to achieve identification with common European values. This has been achieved. Two project groups of 30 participants with both partners dealt with the music of the city and the region or the Latvian partners of the country, researched old music, presented it, explored and tried out local traditions in the practice of music and prepared for active music making. Digital presentations were prepared for the AUL. The SuS were enthusiastic about the project and in the schools in the practical preparation and implementation of the AUL, so that the practical part of the music had a very large – still vaguely formulated in the preject application, and space during the AUL. These shared experiences have been valuable for confronting European values and norms. During these meetings, 15 SuS of the partners drove each. The prepared pieces of music were worked out together and finally performed in concerts. On the part of the organizers, various musical ensembles (choir, instrumental ensembles, band, vocal ensemble) were always involved in the exchange, in order to provide a broad musical spectrum, which could act correspondingly far multiplicatively. The participants took turns meeting with the project partners, with the meetings attached to school yearrhythmic highlights in order to get as much attention as possible. This also had the advantage that in the project phases between meetings, various musical priorities were found that minimized the "wear" of the project idea. The participants actively participated in a decision on AUL content and priorities during the project time. For example, the desire to play other pieces together in addition to traditional songs was taken up. Especially in English, as the German and Latvian titles were a challenge for the partners. Trained music educators were available during the project phases and AUL, who were able to provide appropriate support and assistance. The participants were between 13 and 16 years old and attend various type of schools. Due to the practical orientation of the musicians, students of all the different type of schools were able to participate in the project. This was a great enrichment for the project and for the school community, as it was possible to create a positive awareness against discriminatory tendencies and prejudiced discussions among all project participants, which benefit the entire school communities. The participants came from different social, economic and personal backgrounds and formed a cross-section of the student body. Economic freedom was also guaranteed throughout. On the one hand, the results of the project were themselves, with the greatest shortcomings in sustainability and the publication of the results not satisfactory. The results are available in presentation form, but are not catalogued and digitized. Joint pieces were recorded. A CD is to be created, but the lockdown prevented the finishing yet. On the other hand, the competence developments of the participants as formulated in the objective, as well as the social Environment did come true. In addition, there were four concerts or divine services, which took place in public and reached a wide audience. Due to the connection to the traditional concerts, there was a wide audience. To sum up, both schools have grown significantly in this European project. The students benefited sustainably from personal and qualified competence gains, the school community from opening up to the partner and European ideas. In the long term, this has had a positive impact on parents, students, teachers and other visitors in terms of goals.