THE MAIN AIM of our international partnership, is to provide effective, sustainable and successful transitions of young people in Europe, to awaken awareness of own satisfaction in life and to find motivation for preventing early school leave in order to get a meaningful life. The students will carry out research on life quality in the partner countries: Turkey, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal and Denmark. By comparing the different regions in the EU, they will discover the different life values. Participants are all schools with different profiles, but all students are about the same age, 15-18. About 60 teachers will be involved in the project at some point. Around 1000 students will participate - some directly and some indirectly e.g. by answering surveys.. 216 students and teachers will participate at the Learning/training/teaching activities of which there will be 6. At transnational meetings there are 2 teachers represented from each country. It is important for the project that the schools are placed in different areas and are addressed to a large variety of different social layers. The working language of the project is English, which will enable the students to widen their language abilities and gain fluency in using a foreign language in real situations. The most important thing in this international project, is to motivate and enable students to find positive values in getting a Good Life. The project has 4 important aspects: European citizenship (within culture and traditions as well as education and job possibilities), Inclusion (refugees/migrants/disabled/social vulnerable), Health (what is a healthy lifestyle and why is it important) and Friendships across borders (spare time, sports, social medias). Our final products will be: 1) An OER website, where teachers all over Europe can find interviews, articles, photos, and lesson plans freely to be used in classes. The website will be sustainable for at least 3 years after the end of the project. The idea is to inspire teachers in Europe to deal with the topics of A Good Life, in order to prevent early school leave. The website will contain: - Lessonplans (created both at each individual school and at international meetings) - Articles (written by the students on the topics and overall on A BETTER LIFE) - Interviews (with teachers, students and stakeholders) - Surveys and questionnaires (on the topics) - vlogs (short films made by mobile devices) - Art work (created by students to show another kind of expression to what A BETTER LIFE means to them) - Filmmaking - Stories (by students who might have gone through tough times, and now have got a better life) - And other things that will be developed along the way 2) Three digital magazines - one each year - with the relevant topics. THe magazines will be created in international groups during the last International meeting of each year. Students will work together, write articles, make interviews, take photos which they prepare for the entire year. Each magazine will therefore be concentrated around the 2 topics that are in focus each year. OBJECTIVES: An improved understanding with students on different minority groups in society Greater understanding and responsiveness of students to social, ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity in and outside of Europe A greater sense of European identity More positive attitude of students towards the European project and the EU values Increased competences in the English language Lifelong learning Improvement of internationalization strategies and management; inside the schools and through international meetings Reinforcement of cooperation with partners from other countries and other education sectors Linguistic, social and cultural diversity and their integration; meeting people from other countries, appreciation of diversity and differences through Europe and development of -European dimension in teaching and learning Use of ICT throughout the project in numerous ways, i.e. apps, editing tools, websites, communication Synergies between schools and other organisations from other fields and sectors IMPACT on participants: Find themselves as a part of a European citizenship Become more open minded to other cultures Receive a greater knowledge about our neighbours Develop communication skills in English as a second language Develop learning skills such as decision making, teamwork and ICT Increase motivation in education Discover new methodological approaches Foster an interest in international work Foster new friendships in an international scope Learn about educational- and social systems
We wanted to build a European Education Area, supporting the implementation of the European strategic cooperation in the field of education and training. This would lead to synergies between schools and organisations from other fields and improve international strategies and management across borders. Through mobilities we recognized other cultures which gave a greater understanding of social, ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity in Europe. Also give a greater sense of European identity, so we could gain a positive attitude towards the European project and the EU values and Lifelong Learning. We expanded participants' horizons and changed their perspective by meeting new people and cultures, by developing tolerance and empathy, and also to understand different minority groups in society. We helped students interact with their environment and develop their creativity. They met a European dimension in teaching and learning and used ICT in numerous ways. We gave students a chance to express themselves. We corrected misunderstandings and broke down prejudices. We helped students learn to collaborate and cooperate. We listened to and accepted the points of view. We created an opportunity to use and improve the English language.
What we saw in classrooms and what we read in the Eurostats statistics, showed that there was a need to take action towards the risk of poverty, risk of social exclusion and risk of idleness. These elements were of great concern to us, and therefore this project was very important - to enlighten people and hopefully bring A Better Life into the classrooms. We formed the project in compliance with the EU Youth Strategy and the European Pillar of social rights. It was our belief that we needed to support our young people, teach them their rights, give them the tools and motivate them into believing in themselves, so they would be able to stand stronger once in the labor market in the future.. We wanted to provide effective, sustainable and successful transitions of young people in Europe, to awaken awareness of their own satisfaction in life and to find some motivation for preventing early school leave, in order to get a meaningful life. We wanted to focus on social inclusion, to bring awareness to students, that no one should be left behind. And we wanted to give our results to other teachers around Europe - free of use. The project had 4 important aspects: European citizenship, Inclusion, Health and Friendships across borders.