Erasmus+ Project - Sustainability in Focus - 2018-2020 The project “Ecological and integrative sustainability in focus: Empowering students to become the stewards of the future“ is about creating a sustainable future. A sustainable life will only be attainable in the future if people, and especially young people, become more aware of the challenge ahead. The focus of the project will be on the living environment of the pupils and also take into account the specific situation of each school and its surroundings. This will result in culturally diverse starting points, from which to address the challenge of sustainability which can then be compared and worked on together. Of the five schools involved, three combine vocational and general education and two are grammar schools. They are in Spain (Sevilla and Terrassa), Italy (Mirano), France (Amiens) and Germany (Marburg). The pupils directly involved in the project are between 15 and 18 years old. As regards content, the young people will concern themselves with an ecological way of life. Possible areas on the theme of sustainabilty are, e.g., sustainable consumerism, saving energy, environmentally sound foodstuffs, sustainable forestry, waste avoidance, etc. In these areas the schools should be open and involve other institutions. Additionally, ideas should be developed how sustainability can be achieved in social interaction between local and immigrant people in the schools. The aim will be long-term integration of refugees and their active participation in the project. Protection of the environment will thereby become an element of cultural integration of refugees. Different approaches in the schools will be documented and compared. The methodical approach will be to form working groups of about 20 pupils in the schools of south, west and mid - Europe, which will do local studies on sustainability but also, through continual digital exchange during the project, enable the participants to work together above and beyond the bounds of school and nationality. The basic knowledge about sustainability should be taught in the lessons using an interdisciplinary approach; it is important to include the theme of “social sustainability“, which is usually not at the centre of general interest. This concerns the strengthening of social values and the consequent improvement of cooperation in the school which has a long-term effect on society as a whole. The pupils can and should develop their own creative ideas in both areas of the project and work out new concepts together. These should then be documented in small podcasts and videos. The compiled results will be presented and discussed in several project meetings at different schools and revised in international small groups. These meetings will also include local excursions relevant to the chief sustainability theme, with the aim of offering young people a practical context and commitment on a broader scale and, on the other hand, the opportunity of being well connected and attracting media attention. The productions in English (e.g. podcasts and videos) should be planned in such a way that they can be used and incorporated into various lessons of all the schools involved. Moreover, a further distribution through appropriate educational platforms, e.g. eTwinning, is planned to enable other schools to make use of the project results. The principle of sustainability will not only play a role within the project itself but also on a wider scale in daily social interaction, becoming an overall target in school development. To ensure the long-term effects of the project, it is important that the study groups continue beyond the project phase. This should be achieved by regularly organising special activities in the schools. Some suggestions could be, e.g., a healthy breakfast together with new pupils organised by the study groups as well as performances and campaigns on special days like Project Days or Open Days. Competence, contacts and ideas should be used not just by the project participants but by all members of the school community (pupils, parents, teachers). Thus the entire school community will be involved in the ongoing implementation of the principle of sustainability.
Erasmus+ Project - Sustainability in Focus - 2018-2021 The project “Ecological and integrative sustainability in focus: Empowering students to become the stewards of the future“ focussed on creating a sustainable future. Since a sustainable life will only be attainable in the future if people, and especially young people, become more aware of the challenge ahead. Hence the focus of the project was on the living environment of the pupils and also took into account the specific situation of each school and its surroundings. The culturally diverse starting points were seen as valuable and formed the basis from which the challenges of sustainability were addressed, compared and worked on together. Of the five schools involved, three combine vocational and general education and two are grammar schools. They are in Spain (Sevilla and Terrassa), Italy (Mirano), France (Amiens) and Germany (Marburg). The pupils directly involved in the project were between 14 and 17 years old. As regards content, the young people will concerned themselves with an ecological way of life. Specific areas on the theme of sustainabilty were sustainable consumerism, saving energy, environmentally sound foodstuffs, waste avoidance. In these areas the schools deveoped ideas, made improvements and involved other institutions. Additionally, ideas about how sustainability can be achieved in social interaction in the schools were developed and activities to raise awareness and to become active members of society were organized and carried out. The theme of “social sustainability“ was important as it strengthened social values and has a long-term effect on the school environment as a whole. Working groups of about 20 pupils were fomed in the schools of south, west and mid - Europe. They worked on local topics of sustainability using an interdisciplinary approach and prepared themselves for the international meetings with the partner schools. The pupils developed their own creative ideas about sustainability and documented these in the form of posters and videos. The compiled results were presented and discussed in several project meetings at different schools and revised in international small groups. These meetings also included local excursions relevant to the chief sustainability theme, with the aim of offering young people a practical context and commitment on a broader scale and, on the other hand, the opportunity of being well connected and aware of their surrounding. The productions (posters and videos) can be used and incorporated into various lessons of the schools involved and were shared on the sxchool's websites. The principle of sustainability did not only play a role within the project itself but also continues to do so on a wider scale in daily social interaction, as an overall target in school development. To ensure the long-term effects of the project, it is important that the activities continue beyond the project phase. This will be achieved by regularly organising special activities in the schools such as upcycling-workshops, thrift-shops, fairtrade baking competions, workshops on solar energy, as well as performances and campaigns on special days like project days or open days.