The Future of our EUROPE The EU yesterday – today – tomorrow Europe--first a continent, then a federation of states and now a continuously growing political power in the world. Europe, or rather the European Union, has historically broken through significant boundaries— boundaries between countries, people and their minds. However the future of Europe has never been so uncertain as it is today. Together with our partner schools we want to raise the question: What will Europe look like in the future? We want to bring these uniquely connecting countries, that are tied so close with their historical roots, even closer together. We want to analyze current, controversial developments within our own countries, but also across borders. We want to take a look at current risks, such as Brexit, and understand the changes that come with it. Above all, we want to find out how we can actively participate in the future of Europe. In order to reach these goals in the first year of the project, a historical awareness of the EU should be achieved. The pupils of all project schools / partner schools will deal with the origins of the EU in general and the affiliation of one's own country to others. By understanding the historical base of the EU, the students should be able to identify current problem areas, but also show the successes of this association. Different, critical perspectives can be analyzed and taken into consideration because of the unique mix of early European states (Germany, Italy, Great Britain) and later European states (Poland, Bulgaria). At this point, a long term mobility between the partner schools is foreseen. By sending the students to and from different countries we will strengthen awareness as well as promote the dialogue between our countries. Not only should we consider the academic exchange, but also the development of the host country as a member state of the EU. The second year of the project is a continuation of its chronological structure. This is where present Europe comes to the foreground. Not only will the EU’s current structures and be investigated, but also the current problems. The higher-ranking bodies (eg EU Parliament) will be visualized, but the participation of individual countries will also be taken into consideration. The goal of the second year should be that students develop an awareness of intra-European decision making. They should also learn how to take action in presenting their own perspectives (for example, simulating debates in parliament). The experiences from the first two years should be utilized in the third year when the students articulate their personal visions for how they think Europe should look in the year 2050. They will formulate their speculations and develop modes of action to create a strong, connected Europe. The results from the different projects will be displayed on posters, with Power Point presentations, and in short films and recordings of the conference.
The Future of our EUROPE The EU yesterday - today - tomorrow Europe - once just a continent, then a confederation of states, now a political entity in the world. Europe, or European unity, has long since broken through historical borders - borders between countries, between people, in people's minds. Together with our partner schools we asked ourselves this question: what will the future Europe look like? We took a closer look at the historical roots of this unique connection between different states. We have analyzed current, controversial developments within our partner countries, but also across borders. The Brexit and the changes associated with it, examined more closely. Above all, we dealt with the question: “How can we actively contribute to the future of Europe ourselves?” In order to achieve these goals, we first created a historical awareness of the EU in the first year of the project. The students of all project and partner schools dealt with the origins of the EU in general and about belonging to their own country in particular. By becoming aware of the historical core, the students identified possible current problem areas, but were also able to show the historical and current successes of this confederation of states. Due to the mixture of rather "early European states" (Germany, Italy, Scotland/Great Britain - founding countries) and "late European states" (Poland, Bulgaria - later accession states), different, sometimes very critical perspectives and aspects of the EU were taken or illuminated. At this point, long-term student mobility between the partner schools was also foreseen. By sending the students, on the one hand, their own European awareness should be strengthened and, on the other hand, the dialogue between the countries should be promoted. However, not only the academic exchange should be considered, but also the development of the host country as a member state of the EU. Unfortunately, the long-term mobility could not take place due to Corona or was only made up for in September 2022. Evtim - a Bulgarian student from the Goethe Gymnasium who attended the Humboldt Gymnasium in Gifhorn. Evtim spent four weeks in the classes of the 12th and 13th graders (in the upper grades) and filled the intercultural exchange of the project with life. The second year of the project was a continuation of the chronological structure. Here, contemporary Europe came to the fore. The current structures, goals, but also problems of the European Union were examined. The superordinate bodies (eg EU Parliament) were visualized, but the participation of one's own country was also considered. The aim of the second year should be that the students develop an awareness of intra-European decision-making processes and explore their own perspectives for action (e.g. by simulating the debates in parliament). Unfortunately, in the second year of the project, many of the activities only took place via video, but the connection between the schools became closer and the content goals were achieved and exchanged digitally. From the experiences of the first two years, the perspective of a possible future Europe should be developed in the third project year and the students have formulated their personal visions : What should my Europe look like in the year 2050? They formulated wishes and developed options for action for a common, strong Europe. The results of the various projects were recorded on posters, in the form of Power Point presentations, but also in the form of short videos or recordings of the video conferences, with English being the working language. Over time, the students have become accustomed to the format of video conferences and have developed new ways of presenting their information. Even if the video conferences became a normal part of the project process, all students and teachers were more than happy about the possibility of a last "real" meeting in Italy! A big thank you to the spontaneity and professionalism of the Italian partner school in Meta and ultimately to the whole project community! Ultimately, the project has contributed to the further development of European integration. European aspects were not only examined in the internal schools, regions and countries, but also exchanged with all participating partner schools. Knowledge of developments, concerns and needs in other European countries is required to strengthen understanding and cooperation between all countries or partners.