The project ‘ More Way for More E-Union’ arises from the need for a practical teaching activity to complement the theoretical study of public spending and its effect on the economic growth of the Way of St James not only by the members of the teaching community of each member of the project but also by the whole community of The French Way. The fact that UNESCO has declared 2018 the year of Cultural Heritage has led us to consider the need to make the educational community aware of the historical, cultural, natural and ethnographic value of certain places which lie along The Way to St James. Two French high schools, one on each of the two main routes connecting Europe and Spain, and two Spanish high schools situated at the beginning (Navarre) and at the end (Galicia) of The French Way to St James, are participating in the project. The members of the project represent different sectors of the secondary education system of both countries, which will give more segments of the population access to the transfer of results. The project is designed for students in the 15-17 year age group, studying 1st year Baccalaureate, for teachers of this level and for the different institutional, professional and social agents. The main objectives of the project are the following: 1. To compile in a single text the measures taken to recover The Way since the year 2000, and analyse its social and economic impact. 2. To exchange social and educational experience between the educational communities of the different territories involved in the project. 3. To teach students good practice, respect and consideration aimed at the common good. 4. To strengthen the idea of the European Community as a sovereignty which is shared by all the peoples that make up its patrimony. 5. To strengthen the idea of the importance of a proper distribution of the public budget. 6. To strengthen the idea of the importance of scenic, environmental, and cultural recovery, as well as of historic heritage, in the welfare of families and its impact on the GDP. 7. To value the natural, cultural, ethnographic and historical heritage and its significance in the improvement of the environment. Through multidisciplinary, collaborative tasks, programmed by both teachers and students, the schools will carry out the activities contemplated in the project and divided into four sections: classroom activities (gathering, analysis and assessment of data), field work (interviews with different social agents and gathering of data), pooling of data (learning activities in each of the member schools) and outings (walking stages of The Way) Throughout the process, communication between members will be carried out using digital platforms and applications such as Google Drive, Whatsapp and e-mail. Since our project covers a huge geographical area, we will need the collaboration of all the schools situated along The Way, on which we will rely for data and additional information necessary for the implementation of the project and its results. Platforms such as Etwinning or School Education Gateway will be of great use in cooperative activities and data exchange. The results we aim to obtain through this project are the following: A project logo, didactic units to add to the schools’ curricula, a digital document recording all the public and private measures taken along The Way since the year 2000, information panels showing the work of each project member, videos showing students interviewing different people (pilgrims, locals, business people, authorities and social agents), videos of the activities carried out by the students in each of the learning activities, a webpage of the project, Instagram and Facebook accounts which facilitate the exchange of activities in real time. From an educational point of view, the project will have an impact on the whole school community, especially in regarding The Way as a social, integrating common treasure. All the material generated by the project will be available to the general public.
The project was prompted by the need for a practical pedagogical activity that helped the study of public spending and its effect on economic growth within the school classrooms. The proclamation by UNESCO in 2018 as the year of Cultural Heritage gave us the opportunity to put forward an Erasmus + project with the idea of making the school community aware of the historical, cultural, natural and ethnographic value of the Camino de Santiago, a World Heritage Site. It was also our intention to check its economic impact on the places through which it passes and project the results to the public, reinforcing the idea of the Common Good in the European community. The academic structure of the partners, made up of different sectors in secondary education, allowed us to enhance the transversal value and the dissemination of results. Each partner carried out the work according to their organizational structure, presenting results to the partnership in the mobility sessions, enhancing the multidisciplinary character of the project. The objectives achieved by the partnership were those initially established: 1) We managed to consolidate in a single text the measures taken to recover the Way. 2) We carried out exchanges of educational and social experiences between school communities. 3) We trained students in good practices and respect for the Common Good. 4) We strengthened the idea of the European community as shared sovereignty among peoples. 5) We enhanced the relevance of a proper distribution of the public budget. 6) We reinforced the positive impact on social welfare brought about by the recovery of landscape, environment, culture and historical heritage. The activities carried out to achieve these objectives were based on a methodology that we had already been applying in the classroom. These are some examples with the participation of the entire educational community in the partnership. Thanks to our achievements in the Erasmus+ project, we managed to grant official coverage to our theoretical works. We also managed to access paperwork that allowed our students to deal with genuine data from public institutions. It also enabled students to compare real and theoretical figures. They revised the whole budget process: from the preparation of the public budget, following all the steps required for budget approval up to the moment of execution. They could see in situ the programmed investment and therefore the implementation of the budget item. The data collection rested on the students of the IES Xelmirez, who subsequently presented the analysis and results to the partners. The partners of Adour and Toulouse, designed the routes of the Way in France providing explanations about its historical value and its impact on the localities through which it passes. From the results obtained we concluded that the Camino does not have an economic consideration in France. The CIP of Lumbier, with vocational training courses specialized in sports activities, developed the aspects described below: a) The economic study in the surroundings of Calle Mayor in Pamplona, where the importance of the Way is verified to generate business. b) The analysis of accessibility along the Way, which is included in the results of the project. c) Follow-up of a sport and leisure activity, in which students tour-guided the participants in their visit of Pamplona. There was yet a second practice, which was the route between Alto de Aibar and the town of Izco, section of the Camino de Santiago, and the descent in canoe down the Irati river. We analysed the lithological units that cross the Way. We held an exhibition to show the lithological samples: LIMESTONES,QUARTZITES, GRANITES, their weathering and transformation: RIVERSIDE FORESTS-GRASSLANDS-WETLANDS We made a photo gallery of the main types of landscapes crossed in the sections of the Way, and we studied the rich animal and plant biodiversity of ecosystems. BUSHES, FORESTS and RIVER and associated fauna. We also carried out an environmental survey and the impact of the footprint left by human activity: “FEISMO” (landscape ugliness) - FIRE - LANDFILLS - POLLUTION The Communication Plan kept us in permanent contact and supported the evaluation of the project throughout the process. It was well spread out in the media, through social networks, supported by an implementation plan throughout the partnership. The impact was verified in the School Curricular Project (PCC) with a methodology based on collaborative work and the internationalization of activities, evaluated on knowledge, values and attitudes as relevant results of non-tangible impact. The tangible benefits were the working documents and the practical cases handled which will be applied in the future across the entire partnership. Changes: the 12-month extension because of Covid-19 and the implementation of C6 mobility in a mixed way. Conclusion: The general objective of the project was broadly achieved and thanks to internationalization all members of the partnership were allowed to innovate.