This project is primarily concerned with European integration, which often involves the hope that not only an economic and a political community is formed, but also an emotionally based we-feeling. It must be considered intensively, what it means for young people to be Europeans. It also examines how European identity fits into the context of other identities (such as regional and national identities) and how young people are involved in their region, nation, and Europe. Addressing the issue of national identity in Europe aims at the foundations of the European Union. The process of growing together in Europe will be given priority by the youth. Therefore, it is important that they first become aware of their national identity as foreseen in this project. This is done by examining their own socialization and comparing it with that of the partner schools. The European added value lies in the fact that the young participants meet in person, travel to other European countries, throw light on their childhood and youth and thus on a part of their national identity. This observation makes it clear that today's Europe still has many different faces and is viewed very critically by many young people who have not realized yet what opportunities the united Europe offers them, and even a resignation as demanded in Greece. On the other hand, the project will prepare the young people for their solidarity in shaping the Europe of the future, although not only the positive aspects but also the social and economic disparities that can be observed in the EU are addressed. An example of this is the movement of climate activist Greta Thunberg, which manages to unite young people in solidarity. The project involves pupils and teachers from six European secondary schools. The age of the pupils is between 12 and 18 years. Because the Italian school also has a primary school, it could well be that one or the other times even primary school students are involved. There should be transnational learning, teaching and training activities in all participating countries. The Pupils should stay in host families. Therefore, it is possible to participate more pupils than indicated in the activity budget. During the project interim, the students are working on the project topic in a working group. The activities are made accessible to the other participating schools by the pupils via the new media (youtube). The project homepage is the presentation tool for the project activity in the individual countries. The students are involved in the project planning, present, write texts, conduct interviews, take pictures. They impart language skills to foreign students in talks. Together, they learn the basics of the native languages of the countries involved in the project, leading to further identification with Europe. The project work will incorporate aesthetic learning. In addition to personal experiences regarding their own national and European identity, the pupils will make aesthetic experiences and develop artistic products through various artistic expressions. They are also occupied with the languages of the participating institutions and they will learn basic skills and create a language guide. The pupils and the teachers will recognize that linguistic diversity in Europe is not an obstacle to a European identity. They see that the boundaries of national identity are becoming increasingly irrelevant, and that this development is being strengthened with advancing foreign language skills. This will enable them to interactively use language, symbols and text. The language competence is promoted. By designing the content and methods throughout the project, participants are supported in acquiring and developing key skills. By dealing with the question of a European identity and the compatibility with the national identity with regard to young people, the project trains their capacity for criticism and cooperation. The method of aesthetic approaches in project work fosters the creativity of the participants. Understanding of democracy, participation and youth policy are promoted by the young people, together with preparation and follow-up, creating an online school newspaper, choosing a common head boy or girl and forming a European youth organization. In addition, the ability to organize as well as the ability to reflect are trained. All in all, intercultural and lifelong learning are promoted.
Pupils and teachers from six European secondary schools took part in the project. The ages of the students ranged from 12 to 18 years. In all participating countries there was a transnational learning, teaching and training activity. Except in Italy, the students were placed with host families. It was therefore possible to involve more students in the activities than indicated in the activity budget. In the meantime, the students worked on the project topic in a working group. The Erasmus+homepage https://erasmus.robertas.dev/ is the means of presenting the project activities in the individual countries. The process of Europe growing together will primarily have to be carried out by young people. Therefore, this project primarily dealt with European integration. During the encounters, the participants not only developed an emotional sense of togetherness. Above all, they identified with the democratic values of their European countries and thus also of Europe. Since a total of six countries, well distributed from East, West, North, South and Central Europe, were involved, the young people were able to become particularly aware of their European identity. During the different activities they examined how the European identity fits into the context of their national and regional identities and how young people are integrated in their region, their nation and in Europe. It was therefore important that they first became aware of their national identity. They examined their own socialization and compared it with that of the students at the partner schools. During the corona-related break, further points of contact were addressed online in addition to the topics provided for in the application. The students worked together on a Padlet by introducing each other to their favorite music or their favorite national food recipes, for example. In a Genially they presented all their Christmas traditions. They also compared the corona measures in different countries online. Above all, the European added value lay in the fact that the young participants met in person and traveled to other European countries. It was therefore very important to the coordinators to make up for the meetings that were canceled due to the pandemic. Through regular online conferences, they managed to expand their contact and set up a plan to make up for the remaining five encounters in one half of the school year. Unfortunately, the thematic order provided in the application could not be adhered to. An important part of this project was also the aesthetic-creative approach to the project topics. The students made aesthetic experiences and developed artistic products through various forms of artistic expression in addition to personal experiences regarding their own national and European identity. This helped to avoid possible linguistic misunderstandings and too much theory. The creativity of the participating young people was particularly well challenged in the encounter that took place in Greece before the pandemic, in which a joint European sketch was created. In retrospect, this meeting was characterized by a pronounced light-heartedness. The five other meetings that followed each other at short intervals were still shaped by the pandemic and the Ukraine war that broke out shortly before the second meeting. Nevertheless, aesthetic-creative approaches could also be successfully implemented in the multinational community. The students were involved in the project planning, presented, wrote texts, conducted interviews, took photos, painted, drew, danced and acted. They taught the foreign partners language skills in conversations. Together they learned the basics of the mother tongues of the countries involved in the project, which led to a further identification with Europe. In doing so, they recognized that the linguistic diversity in Europe is not an obstacle to a European identity. Their language skills were also encouraged by the fact that they largely communicated in English and also in the project language By designing the content and methods throughout the course of the project, the participants were supported in acquiring and developing key qualifications and intercultural and lifelong learning was promoted. As the project dealt with the question of a European identity and compatibility with national identity with regard to young people, their ability to criticize and cooperate was trained. The creativity of the participants was encouraged through the method of aesthetic approaches in the project work. Understanding of democracy, participation and youth politics were conveyed by the young people electing a joint Erasmus spokesman with a deputy and forming a European youth organization. In addition, organizational skills and reflection skills were trained.