GEOclimHOME-PRO (2018-2021) follows the successful Erasmus + project “Geoheritage and climate change opening the secrets of home” (2015-2018) and capitalizes on an amount of already tested and validated positive experiences, well-established networks and good practices. Main focus is maintained on climate change, with related problems in term of knowledge on driving processes, understanding of consequences on natural and human environments and possible adaptation measures to increase resilience of our society. Based on this heritage of results and contributions, we derived the importance of enhancing the multiple roles of professionals and experts interacting with students during the transnational exchanges. Within this framework, the context of our project spans from the contents of national school curricula to the international Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) to open new professional careers by means of cooperation between teachers, researchers, administrative persons and stakeholders. The main needs underlined by the school curricula are to activate thematic group studies: we propose to focus these needs on climate change effects for developing critical thinking on this topic. By means of phenomenal learning, we want to increase the awareness about climate change and to make students understand the active and passive man’s role towards the environment. The objectives of the educational activities are also to enhance within students the awareness of social responsibility, in order to stimulate active citizenship and discover new job opportunities. The most favourable context for performing the project activities is recognized within the UNESCO Geoparks territories, where natural and cultural heritage offers better targeted perspectives of sustainable development. All 8 members of the GEOclimHOME-PRO partnership are within the same framework of UNESCO Geoparks. The learning, teaching and training activities are the basis for the whole project. The students will make hypothesis and measurements, observe, analyse and consider theoretical contents, both in the field and during laboratorial activities, and try to summarize and make conclusions in internationally mixed groups. The students will live in the host families and learn the foreign culture and habits as well as foreign languages. The main target group is represented by upper secondary school students (16 to 18 years). They are able to understand the complexity of environmental problems. It is therefore fundamental to make them responsible about their behaviour and their future choices and to give them the opportunity to find solutions. Moreover, teachers and educators will be a target group for developing and sharing new methodologies and contents of their teaching. Finally, the project will involve University researchers and professional experts as well as Geoparks' staff, which will have the opportunity to share their experience with the project groups and thereby generate new materials and methods to be used in their educational and enlightening activities. General stakeholders and the governance network will be involved to take part to different moments during the project. For the participants the impacts will be: - Students will develop scientific skills and they will be exposed to new cultural and contextual situations and exchanges with many professionals. Acquired skills will help them in the selection of their further study or professional careers. - The scientists and professionals will develop closer ties with their local educational establishments and the community, and a clearer vision of the long-term sustainable objective for the territory. They will enhance their capacity to act as ambassadors for the Geopark territory and its sustainable future. - All the participants will get a new shared knowledge on local and global effects of climate change, as well as an improved English language and attitude to meet and discuss with foreign people. These will reinforce the appraisal of some of the core aims of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network (GGN): “to enhance awareness and understanding of key issues facing society, such as mitigating the effects of climate change” and also to support local communities, having sustainable development plans. Other benefits will be: - At a regional level to raise awareness concerning the project, its innovative elements and its results through universities, private companies, the education departments and the regional government. - At a national level to present a project as an example of collaborative best practice and innovative educational approach stimulating debate and new projects. - At a European level to use the Geoparks Network and the networking with the European Parliament to disseminate the importance of this project. - At a global level to diffuse the results through the GGN and scientific articles by the associated university partners.
GEOclimHOME-PRO followed the successful Erasmus + project "Geoheritage and Climate Change opening the Secrets of the Home". The main focus was maintained on climate change, with related problems in terms of knowledge on driving processes, understanding the consequences on natural and human environments and possible adaptation measures to increase resilience of our society. Based on this heritage of results and contributions, we derived the importance of enhancing the multiple roles of professionals and experts interacting with students during the transnational exchanges. Within this framework, the context of our project spanned from the contents of national school curricula to the international Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) to open new professional careers by means of cooperation between teachers, researchers, administrative persons and stakeholders. Three countries were involved in the project; Vaalan kunnan sivistyspalvelut (the school authorities of Vaala municipality as a coordinator), Vaala Upper Secondary School and Humanpolis Ltd (Rokua UNESCO Global Geopark) from Finland, Universita degli studi di Torino, I.I.S. Lorenzo Cobianchi and Associazione Geoturistica Sesia Val Grande Geopark from Italy and Lycee De La Versoie and Syndicat Intercommunal d'amenagement du Chablais (Chablais UNESCO Global Geopark) from France. The school curricula in upper secondary education in the participating countries emphasizes thematic group studies, critical thinking and phenomenal learning. By means of phenomenal learning, we aimed at increasing the students' awareness about climate change to make them understand their active and passive role towards the environment. The objectives of the educational activities were also to enhance the students' awareness of social responsibility, in order to stimulate active citizenship and discover new job opportunities. The project activities were performed within the UNESCO Geoparks territories. The learning, teaching and training activities were the basis for the whole project. The students made hypothesis and measurements, observed and analysed theoretical contents both in the field and during laboratory experiments, summarized and made conclusions in internationally mixed groups. The main target group were upper secondary school students (16 to 19 years). Every exchange week 20 students from every school participated in the project. Secondary school students were mature enough to be able to understand the complexity of environmental problems. Teachers and educators were a target group for developing and sharing the new methodologies and contents of their teaching. University researchers and professional experts as well as Geoparks' staff took actively part in the project and shared their experience with the project groups and thereby generated new materials and methods to be used in their educational and enlightening activities. General stakeholders and the governance network were involved in different activities. Students developed their scientific skills, improved their knowledge in foreign languages when they were exposed to new cultural and contextual situations and exchanges with many professionals and host families. The scientists and professionals developed closer ties with their local educational establishments and the community. They enhanced their capacity to act as ambassadors for the Geopark territory and its sustainable future. All the participants got a new shared knowledge on local and global effects of climate change. At a regional level we raised awareness of the project, its innovative elements and results through universities, private companies, education departments and the regional administration. At a national level we presented the project as an example of the best collaborative practice and innovative educational approach stimulating debate and new projects. At a European level we used the Geoparks Network and the networking with the European Parliament to disseminate the importance of this project. At a global level we diffused the results through the GGN and scientific articles by the associated university partners. Covid-19 forced us to adapt to the worldwide crisis. One mobility was cancelled (from France to Italy). Nevertheless the Finns worked on the project, because it was their turn to participate remote. One mobility was postponed from November 2020 to October 2021 (from Finland to Italy). The mobility in spring 2021 (from Italy to Finland) was organized virtually and we had lectures together via Teams. We had half a year extra time due to Covid-19 and the final meeting was postponed to December 2021. Because of Covid-19 we had to organize the final meeting virtually via Teams as well. Instead of five working days we had three virtual days. During the last face-to-face exchange in Italy in October 2021, some students stayed at the hotel with the teachers because the families could´t host all the students due to Covid-19.