This project, European Heritage:opening minds for integration and progress, aims at raising awareness, promoting integration and strengthening intercultural understanding, as well as EU citizenship, among young people. This will be achieved by sharing and analyzing European intangible cultural heritage and engaging pupils in active learning experiences, with the goal of developing not only 21st century key competences but especially those attitudes, skills or knowledge essential for mutual respect and solidarity (for example cross-cultural competence, ability to negotiate, ability to accept other viewpoints, etc.). In the short and mid- term, the project will contribute to improve pupils' motivation towards learning and their key competences, especially with regard to foreign languages (during international meetings tasks will focus on developing those skills necessary for debating, agreeing and disagreeing, giving opinions, justifying viewpoints, etc.); also with respect to digital competence (use of web 2.0 and 3.0 tools for geolocalization, sharing, editing, etc. ) and socio-cultural competence as a means to facilitate their access to further education or labour market. Throughout the project, there will be opportunity to spotlight on oral traditions and expressions, including language, the performing arts, social practices, traditions and festive events, etc. Special attention will be placed on discussing what it is like to be excluded from a group, and finding ways to be more receptive and tolerant. We hope our pupils realize that people are connected through shared experiences and interests, as well as develop an understanding of the various communities or groups they belong to. We also expect to reinforce a sense of belonging to a common European space, tearing down walls, dividing lines and stereotypes by sharing that untouchable cultural heritage we feel proud of. Among the expected results and outcomes we can mention the following: short films , visual displays, an interactive map, an awareness campaign and a survey, a Twinspace within the E- twinning platform, a report including best practices, new models and methods, translated in different languages; games, puzzles and quizzes (both printed and online) linked to the topics addressed by the project and a graphic novel showing the discovery journey of Erasmus, the character chosen to enact Europe's identity, from one country to the other to discover the European heritage and the different ways to tackle exclusion mechanisms. Judging from experience, we consider short-term exchanges of pupils to be vital for the achievement of the project's aims; in fact, this type of experience has proved to be really effective for boosting a much more open attitude to other ways of life. Thus, four international exchanges or meetings have been planned, each one hosted by one of the participating schools. During these events, emphasis will be placed on working in international groups and interacting in the project's language as an efficient way to develop those skills and attitudes needed for teamwork and integration. On the other hand, it is necessary to underline the positive benefit for schools and teachers, in terms of professional competences development, implementation of new methods and possible reforms or modernization of schools (school management, differentiated instruction, after- school activities, changes in infrastructure or organization, etc.) In short, this project will contribute to improve our knowledge of Europe's rich culture and diversity, boost teachers' and pupils' competences, but above all, our goal is to make our students aware of the fact that they can make the difference by breaking down the cultural, gender or socio-economic barriers, since mutual understanding is the foundation for social inclusion and European success
The project, European Heritage:opening minds for integration and progress,intended to boost young people’s awareness about exclusion, the importance of integration , intercultural understanding and EU Citizenship.This was achieved by analyzing and sharing the European intangibile cultural heritage and by involving students in active learning experiences with the aim of developing especially those attitudes and skills essential for mutual respect and solidarity (as the ability to negotiate , to accept other viewpoints, etc.), their motivation to learn and their key competences. Students’ foreign language competence was implemented especially during the international meetings since all tasks proposed required the use of English for debating, agreeing, disagreeing, expressing one’s opinion,etc.; students’s digital competence was raised thanks to the use of web.2.0 and 3.0 tools for geolocalization, sharing, editing audiovisual documents, and their social-cultural competence as a means to facilitate their access to further education or the labour market.The project participants ,4 secondary level schools from Belgium, Italy,Poland and Spain, combined their experience and in the two-year period the project lasted , carried out a Kickoff meeting, held in Belgium to fix short exchanges 'calendar, students’ selection criteria and to detail the activities and tasks to do before during and after each short term exchange of students and teachers and 4 LTTA where pupils and teachers have taken part . Each LTTA had a proper specific objective and was preceded and followed by set tasks and activities : C1 LTTA Spain “Mapping our cultural heritage” aimed at enriching students' knowledge about their own intangibile cultural heritage and that of others and to be aware of the links and differences ; C2 Poland “Acting against exclusion and prejudice” aimed at analysing the exclusion problems at each partner school, on organizing an awareness inclusion campaugn within each local reality to foster tolerance and to prevent gender, ethnic,and socio-economic exclusion; C3LTTA Italy “European Citizenship to foster inclusion” aimed at relaunching European consciousness among young people by making students aware of each country’s contribution to the EU, of past and present national episodes of intolerance and prejudice, on how Europe can help to guarantee inclusion; C4 LTTA Belgium “Building European Integration”: this was focused on heritage and integration; it intended to give students the opportunities to visit the European Institutions in Brussels, meet European Commisioners , to interview witnesses of discrimination, to partecipate to workshops about inclusive methods and activities. This physical mobility couldn’t be accomplished because of Covid-19, but students shared their graphic novels on a form of exclusion really occured at school / local reality and on the way the community,the country, Europe reacted by uploading them on a padlet present on the Etwinning space and by producing a QRcode (the part in which the character of Erasmus had to travel from one country/novel to the other and find a final message of integration is missing). Among the results and outcomes there are: short films, visual displays, an interactive map, an awareness inclusion campaign, surveys, the Etwinning platform, timelines ,a Report of best practices (in English and mother tomgue), a graphic novel (in English and mother tongue).Even for this project short-term exchanges of pupils have been vital to achieve the project’s goals and to boost in students a more open attitude to other ways of life. So students have become more aware of exclusion, bullying, etc. they have learnt to behave in a more tolerant way,to take an active role in their communities by accepting other cultures or socio-economic realities and they are majorily aware of their responsibility as young European citizens to change the present situation , to tear down walls ,dividing lines and stereotypes.. They have increased their motivation towards learning and their key competences .They have improved their foreign language command by working in international groups, interacting in the project’s language and developing those skills and attitudes needed for team work and integration So students have become more fluent in communicating with other people, have learnt to use digital tools in a corret way, have a major sense of belonging to a common European space , by knowing more about Europe and its peoples ,by being more active in European initiatives .The project had also positive effects for teachers and schools in terms of professional competences development , implementation of new methodologies and school management: changes in terms of organization and of strategies implemented to tackle exclusion and to prevent students’ early-school leaving . Now that the project is over we expect that the project’s outcomes and results will continue being used to address the topics of exclusion , prejudice, European cultural diversity both inside and outside the participating institutions.That’s why we promoted and presented the project results within each school communityin a virtual way), and by sending copies of “The Report of Best Practices” to other local schools, to social/cultural associations, to local Universities, Town Halls, Regional Department of Social Policies, to Europe Direct Offices , by creating a spot in school libraries, and by presenting the project results on school websites, on the Etwinning platform,the Erasmus Plus Project Results Platform. This can also be a source of inspiration for future projects or initiatives.