Schools participating in the project have been undertaking various activities for many years, having as a goal the broadly understood inclusion of the adjacent communities, but also reaching to our European roots. This is what inspired us to write a proposal for a project, that includes both pro-social activities, building a civic society, and looking at our European roots from a regional perspective. The target groups are students with different social, economic and cultural status, teachers with different professional experience, parents and local residents. We want the participants of the project to become aware of their identity, resulting from the European cultural heritage, recognizing common European values such as tolerance, freedom, respect for human rights, respect and understanding for diversity. Our project will enable students, their families and teachers to get to know the European cultural heritage better. The cooperation between our countries will broaden the horizons of the participants and will encourage them to continue cooperation and exchange experiences, especially for students with limited financial capabilities. Direct contact with peers from other countries and getting to know their countries will make them aware that foreigners are not really different from us, and the diversity of their cultures or customs only adds to our common European wealth. Thus, our project teaches tolerance, understanding of the differences between us, it is an incentive for intercultural dialogue of all beneficiaries. Our goal is also to reduce the disproportions in the students’ learning achievements. While working on the individual stages of the project, students will develop key skills such as reading comprehension, social, linguistic and IT competences. In the modern world, it is very important to know a foreign language, because this eliminates language barriers and increases the likelihood of finding an attractive job. Activities using ICT will increase the ability to use computers, the media, and will teach the students the diversity of ways to use these tools (presentations, films, on line broadcasts, etc.). We hope that the priceless result of the project will be the increase in motivation experienced by students of our schools and convincing them that it is worth learning and (re)discovering the world. Widening the horizons and opening the minds of the participants should prevent social exclusion, allow to strengthen students’ ability to continue education, increase their motivation to learn and believe in their own abilities, and their involvement in social life. Teachers will observe and implement in their current work, methods learned in partner schools, they will inspire each other, exchange experiences, which will enrich their teaching capabilities. We will also take care of good relations between the participants of the project through various contact channels (eTwinning, the internet social media portals, WhatsApp and emails). All activities are planned for both the exchange of knowledge and the education of our communities. We plan to create a project website where we will publish lesson plans (for instance for a bilingual class), films about the legends and traditions of countries participating in the project and reports of our meetings. We will use surveys, students will create various artistic and literary works, possibly a newsletter. They will take part in workshops related to regional traditions and human rights. They will share their knowledge, e.g. participating in a “Regional Day.” During the project, we will conduct four weekly meetings of students from our schools to share the results of their work and at the same time get to know each other better. In the end, we will conduct an evaluation using surveys, interviews, observations and a test of knowledge of partner countries. The results will be measured at each school, and then summarized by the coordinators and made public. Participation in the project will have a long-lasting positive impact on the schools. First of all, it will enhance the reputations they have in the local communities, among teachers, graduates and students. Second, it will increase the appreciation of local governments which look favourably at educational establishments that independently facilitate events that strengthen their potential. Third, it will raise the attractiveness of the educational offers for students. It will also raise the prestige of education in our facilities, and thus increase the motivation of students to achieve better results in learning. It will allow them to establish lasting contacts with foreign partners, and create a chance for ongoing cooperation. The lesson plans and work sheets developed during the project will be used in the following years not only in the four partner schools but they will also be made available to other teachers on our project website.
The great achievement of our project was that our students gained a better understanding of other cultures and the influence of the culture of their countries on the shape of the whole European Union. They opened up to other cultures, traditions and peoples. Through the project students, teachers and the whole school community were able to learn more about European cultural heritage in both social and educational context. Each national coordinator set up a multidisciplinary Erasmus+ Team in their school. These Teams worked internationally, engaging in all the tasks that included the organisation and preparation of the LTTs. In addition to the students, each school also had about six teachers who supervised and assisted the Teams. Instead of controlling the groups, the teachers guided the students to complete the tasks. These teachers also accompanied the students on the LTTs abroad. Prior to the LTTs, necessary information about travelling was provided to the students and their parents, and the students were prepared for cultural differences - it was explained how to behave and interact in a foreign culture. For the teachers, the project provided excellent opportunity to improve their English and to realise the value of international contacts. It gave them a chance to share examples of good practice, exchange ideas and build up their confidence in communicating in English with people from other countries. Our project equalised opportunities for all students and recruitment to the project took into account the principle of equal opportunities and non-discrimination and the principle of equal opportunities for women and men. All students who wanted to improve their English language skills, work in international groups and develop their ICT skills were eligible to apply. The project enabled students from disadvantaged groups to participate in international activities. While in the case of Lithuania and Poland these were mainly students with certain learning challenges, e.g. dyslexia or dysorthography, and therefore with learning difficulties, in the case of Romania and Turkey these were also students with economic difficulties. In addition, children from the Romanian school belonging to the Romani minority also participated in the project. Some of these students felt insecure and were reluctant to interact, but the teachers involved in the project made sure that the students felt as comfortable as possible, while providing them with opportunities to interact with their peers. When we submitted our project proposal, we planned four LTTs, but the Covid-19 pandemic prevented us from achieving this goal - the last LTT in Poland had to be converted to a virtual one. All the LTTs were very successful, though naturally the last LTT was not as rewarding as the other ones. Within the LTTs, students worked as one team - contributing to the completion of the tasks. Our students willingly participated in all activities. Their progress in developing English communication skills and greater cultural awareness is very valuable and will certainly have a lasting impact on the students. They achieved better results in their exams, improved their fluency in English and will do better in the next levels of education. Through participation in the project, our students gained very valuable experience in information technology. As most of the communication took place online and they had to prepare presentations and films, our students became more computer proficient. The project participants got to know foreign cultures through their stay abroad and upon their return home they were able to share their observations and experiences from the LTT with the whole school community. The LTT participants lived with the host students' families, thus getting to know the realities of everyday life in other countries. In preparation for international cooperation, students learned about their own cultures, traditions and history. Students from partner schools had the opportunity to learn that despite seemingly very different cultures and traditions, more things unite than divide us. After each LTT we organised meetings with students and their families to disseminate its effects. After these meetings, the families were more aware of the benefits that our project and Erasmus+ projects bring to the participants. Articles were published in the local press to raise awareness of our project and its impact within the local community. We also disseminated the aims and results of the project at meetings attended by teachers from neighbouring schools. All participating schools prepared "Erasmus+ Corners", presenting information about the project and the Erasmus+ programme to all visitors and school community. The project has its own website, TwinSpace, Facebook page and YouTube channel, which are mentioned later in this report. The schools have also made roll-ups and banners that hang outside and attract the attention of passers-by.