The idea behind our project was given to us by Nelson Mandela's quotation, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Initially starting with an eTwinning project, and after seeing the interest shown by the students involved in the formal/non-formal/informal approach to the activities, we felt that we could achieve more relevant results for our schools by expanding our collaboration within an Erasmus + school exchange partnership. Our project involves 250 students aged between 13 and 17 and 25 teachers in five schools, covering all levels of study from primary through lower secondary to upper secondary: Liceul Tehnologic PETROL Moreni, Romania; Bower Park Academy Romford, England; Scoala Gimnaziala nr. 1 Moreni Romania; SZIGNUM Makó Hungary; Lycee General Techno Antoine Roussin Saint Louis France. The aim of the project is to motivate students to improve their school results, as well as their personal development, by combining formal education with non-formal and informal education. Specific objectives proposed: O1- Developing multicultural and foreign language skills for at least 250 students and 25 teachers from the five partner schools by September 2020. O2 - Raising motivation in science learning for 250 students from the five schools until September 2020. O3- Increasing responsibility for personal health and sustainable development for 250 pupils from the five schools until September 2020. O4 - Development of civic and volunteer attitudes for 250 pupils from the five schools until September 2020. O5- Improving the quality of education in the five schools through efficiently integrating elements of formal, non-formal and informal education to prevent early school leaving. In order to achieve the objectives of the project, we intend to use four major themes: "Education through multiculturalism", "Education through sciences”, "Education for a healthy lifestyle" and "Education through active citizenship". All project activities, both in schools and during LTT activities, will combine formal learning with non-formal and informal learning. The methodology which we will use will be a mixture of formal, non-formal and informal creative methods: icebreaking, presentations, brainstorming, discussions, documentation trips, games, lessons observations, school performances, practical workshops, simulations, exercises, theatre, role-playing, reflections, team working for the final products. Achieving these goals will be reflected in the following results: - Tangible results, represented by the final products: the project website, brochures, mini-guides of good practice, videos, 3D models, photostories, dictionaries, calendars, presentations; posters, handicrafts from recycled materials. - Intangible results: increasing the quality of education by combining formal and non-formal education; developing civic and volunteer attitudes; improving key competences in Maths and Sciences; improving intercultural, digital and foreign language skills for participants; encouraging a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. The integration and use of project results in the current work of partner schools will be done both during and after the end of the project, according to the common valorisation strategy; thus the quality of education in all 5 schools will be improved by transferring and adapting them to the profile of each school. The multicultural and linguistic skills acquired through "Education through multiculturalism" will develop pupils' personal abilities and improve the quality of learning. Improving basic skills in maths and science by engaging in activities related to "Education through sciences" will stimulate interest in learning maths and science and will support students' academic progress in these areas. Students will be more responsible for their individual health and lifestyle by participating in the activities proposed under "Education for a healthy lifestyle". Through the activities related to "Education through active citizenship" students will become aware of the importance of active European citizenship and understand the mechanisms of civic life. Volunteering will develop social skills and competences for learners: solidarity, tolerance, trust and social responsibility; they will make sure that through active involvement they can bring positive changes in their community. The final products made within the project will be disseminated and valorised in each partner school and in local communities, so the results of our project will be multiplied. This will improve the quality of education for the five partner schools. Those schools will be able to use attractive, open educational strategies based on the values of "Education without borders".
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