Action Competences for a Sustainable Future

The project ‘’Action Competences for a Sustainable Future’’ was carried out by schools from Austria, Norway and the Netherlands. Our fourth partner, Dover College, did not participate in the project. In the application they had responsibility for developing a structured evaluation plan and distribute and process it during the project period, and for organizing the logo competition. This responsibility was shared between the remaining partner schools and the work has been completed as planned for. The strategic partnership focused on three main topics: 1. Teaching the connection between our way of living, climate change and its effect on our cultural heritage by analysing concrete problems and current challenges. 2. The development of self-entrepreneurial skills that strengthens students’ motivation, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking. 3. Methodological innovation by the use of pedagogical entrepreneurship and blended learning. The project was based on analyses that pointed out needs and aims to meet the challenges posed by the EU through the 2020 objectives, including the context of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 and social inclusion. Our project has aimed to create action competences for a sustainable future. The objects were: - To create awareness on how our way of living connects to climate change and its effect to our European cultural heritage. - To balance our own identity, common European cultural heritage and social inclusion. - To create awareness on the need of a European approach to deal with climate change and secure our European culture heritage and a sustainable future. - To use the methodical approach of pedagogical entrepreneurship that strengthens our students’ motivation, creativity collaboration and critical thinking. - To use the methodical approach of blended learning and to create an attractive online learning platform. - To strengthen a professional organisation in all the partner schools that integrates good practices in daily routines. - To involve school community, local community and stakeholders to share knowledge and show the importance of international collaboration. The project has focused on all objectives through structured modules with different topics. The schools have worked together through blended modules consisting of both physical and virtual mobilities. The project ACT has involved directly at least 24 students at each partner school, aged between 13 and 17 years old, some of them with fewer opportunities. Students was involved through different events (workshops, lectures and experiences on the field) organised by all partners, taught by teachers at the partner schools in collaboration with experts and stakeholders. Four blended mobilities were carried out, our Dutch partner hosted two physical mobilities due to the dropout of Dover College. Each mobility consisted of 30 days of virtual moblity through Twinspace, and five days of physical mobility in Austria, Norway and the Netherlands. Every blended mobility had its focus area through different topics: 1. Our way of living and its effect on Climate Change 2. Climate Change in relation to our Cultural Heritage 3. The balance of cultural heritage and social inclusion. 4. A Decalogue with action competences for a Sustainable Future The participants of ACT, both students and teachers, was active in every blended mobility. One of the results from active participation was that knowledge and skills gained enabled participants to take action and show how it could be done in creative and innovative ways. When results were shared in partner schools and school community, the methodology was to a greater extent used by other teachers also. The idea was to stimulate students to take action themselves and recognise the small things each individual can do to protect our cultural heritage. Results produced in blended mobilities and evaluation showed that we had success. Through the methodology used students experienced how to use knowledge gained in creative, innovative and collaborative ways, and the work generated ideas containing good solutions for a sustainable future. The target groups addressed was the school administration, teachers, students, parents, other secondary schools and local politicians. We aimed to reach them through our school websites, TwinSpace, other (local and social) media and by the distribution of a teachers handbook with best practices. The handbook was distributed between partners and the partners have shared it in their local community. Every school had project groups in their school in order to include more staff and share results. Local press has had articles covering project work and Erasmus+. In addition to this, results were shared through parent’s meetings and exhibitions. TwinSpace was used actively throughout the whole project period. Taking the climate challenge seriously is not free of cost. However, failing to act in time will be more costly for our cultural heritage. Those who are the best at converting the challenge of becoming a low emission society to opportunities, will be the most competitive ones in the coming decades. This was the background and idea of ACT. We found it vital for the students to work on the action competences and how their role as future European citizens impact the people around them. Project results, like products and evaluation, show that we had success with our work.