My school, agent of solidarity is a two year project of 5 partner schools. The applicant organization is Uudenkaupungin yhtenäiskoulu, a comprehensive school in South-Western Finland. The other partner organizations are IES Xesús Taboada Chivite (Spain), Budapest II. Kerületi Szabó Lörinc Kéttannyelvü Általános Iskola és Gimnázium (Hungary), Istituto Comprensivo Statale "F.Palizzi" (Italy) and Agrupamento de Escolas D. Afonso Henriques, Santo Tirso (Portugal). All 5 partner schools have worked together in a way or another in several other international projects. The Portuguese school has hosted a preliminary meeting with the Finnish and Spanish partners in January 2019, with the participation of Hungarian and Italian partners via videoconferencing, to define a final draft of the application. The chosen themes are of real interest to all partners. As all the schools deal with socially disadvantaged people like students with special needs, emigrants and minorities it is felt that the project will help with integration at school and in the local community. Sustainability of transnational links is a particular strength of our application. Finland, as the lead school will coordinate all aspects of the project. The Finnish students' committee will be in charge of coordinating the work of the other committees in the partner schools. Finland will undertake the first staff training event as they have expertise in using Digital Platforms to its full advantage. Finland will deliver a students’ mobility on My school and local institutions. The Hungarian school will deliver a staff training on improving English language skills for teachers in the partner schools using the CLIL methodology as well as a students’ mobility on From local identity to global integrity - My country and Europe. Spain will organise a staff training on innovative methodologies and a students' mobility on My school agent of solidarity, where we will produce the partnership dictionary which will contain key vocabulary in 5 languages related to each theme. Portugal will take charge of the publications on the gastronomy and cultural influences of the food of each partner country by producing a recipe book of the most popular traditional recipes from each country (Me and My school). Italy will organize a students' mobility on My school includes. Italy will be responsible for the final publication which will include detailed descriptions of activities. Having established that we are a group of hard working like-minded schools who are very aware of our own school priorities and teacher skill set, we are going to build on this close cooperation to deepen our understanding of best practises concerning students involvement in their schools and communities, solidarity projects and cultural features of each country. We feel that European communities need to remain open to innovative ways of working and thinking if Europe is to fully exploit the potential of our rich heritage and fight against prejudices and stereotypes!
Erasmus +-project Caring 4Sharing was started in autumn 2019. The project included five schools in five different European countries: Uudenkaupungin yhtenäiskoulu (Suomi), IES Xesús Taboada Chivite (Espanja), Budapest II. Kerületi Szabó Lörinc Kéttannyelvü Általános Iskola és Gimnázium (Unkari), Istituto Comprensivo Statale "F.Palizzi" (Italia) ja Agrupamento de Escolas D. Afonso Henriques, Santo Tirso (Portugali). The theme for the project was solidarity and the possibilities of young people to have an impact and influence on their local community. The theme was looked at different levels, starting from the schools and continuing to international level. Within the project there were three mobilities for teachers and five for students. The project started in autumn 2019 with the teachers’ mobility in Uusikaupunki, Finland. The teachers got to know each other and the Finnish school. Precise plans and schedules were made for the project. In all the schools of the project, the students for the mobilities were chosen on the basis of applications and interviews. All the schools launched club activity around the themes of the project and on general intercultural topics. The first student mobility took place in Verin, Spain in December 2019. The theme for the project was Solidarity. As in all of the student mobilities, the students stayed with local host families, who they got to know before the mobilities via online meetings. Next mobility was supposed to be organized in Uusikaupunki in January 2020 but because of the covid pandemic the project was postponed for two years. In July 2021 the teacher meeting was organized in Verin, Spain. The Finns participated online. The timetable for the mobilities was replanned and the project went on as scheduled. In December 2021 a students’ mobility in Casoria in Italy was organized. The theme of the mobility was Inclusion. The last spring was very busy for the project: in March the student mobility took place in Santo Tirso, Portugal (Me and my School), in April students’ mobility in Budapest, Hungary (stereotypes) and in Uusikaupunki, Finland (Possibilities of young people to influence on their communities). The final teachers’ mobility took place in Budapest, Hungary. The project was a great success and it increased the internationality and multiculturality of the partner schools.The teachers, students and parents participating in the project gained new experiences and friends. The students’ awareness of different cultures and diversity and their language skills were improved. Not only those who participated in the mobilities were the ones to benefit from the project but also those who participated in erasmus clubs and hosting were happy to attend. The project was advertised in local newspapers and social media. The results of the mobilities are published online. International activities, including Erasmus+ projects, will continue in all the partner schools!