Acting for the planet is a growing demand from young people all over the world. Climate disruptions exacerbated by human activity show that there is an urgent need to act for a sustainable economy and a rational use of resources. Schools are now involved since they are building the education of young people and the notion of ecological citizenship has appeared in the training axes. Food is a cultural marker of our societies, the way we consume tells about who we are. It is around this theme that five schools have come together to study and promote the "Locavore" concept throughout the European continent. These institutions have decided to work together because they are different but complementary. There are 2 general secondary schools: La Rochelle (France) and Istanbul (Turkey) and 3 technical or vocational secondary schools, including 1 hotel school: Bourgoin-Jallieu (France), Turin (Italy) and Nafpaktos (Greece). Thus, the theme of locavores can be posed in different geographical contexts: in a small city, a medium city, or metropolis of EU member states and a candidate country. In each school, between 20 and 30 students aged around 15 are involved in the project for 24 months. These young people are mobilized according to their conviction and interest in environmental issues. They participate in weekly workshops supervised by the project's referent teachers and liaise with their foreign counterparts through the eTwinning platform, social networks or software such as Skype. Exchanges are in English, the language of the project. The project has 4 objectives: - To train a responsible eco-citizen whose individual food consumption choices are informed and take into account sustainable development. - Acquiring knowledge. Students learn about sustainable development, ecology, locavorism, short circuits. They learn about nutrition, food safety, European regulations... - Acquiring skills: to be well informed, to analyse, to criticize, to organize, to use digital tools, to collaborate, to communicate. Students plan the reception of partners, identify key places to visit, prepare working documents for surveys. They speak English, process the information collected during their mobility periods and learn the basics of collaborative work to achieve the final production. - producing. By the end of the project, the pupils will have developed an interactive map on the scale of Europe that points to the work they have done during the transnational activities. The mobility periods are key moments of the project. Each mobility corresponds to a different issue in order to provide additional answers to the subject. It is the confrontation between the knowledge obtained during each mobility that will allow the student to analyse the situation, to understand its stakes and complexity and to build his own opinion. November 2019 : La Rochelle: identification of locavorous places May 2020 : Nafpaktos: producers and food chains September 2020 : Turin: associative and political actors December 2020 : Bourgoin-Jallieu: the relationship between locavorism and globalization April 2021: Istanbul: committing to the planet We proceed in a similar way during each meeting: the students investigate, meet professionals, collaborate in analyzing the information and produce synthetic sheets in various digital formats: videos, web pages, an app, an ebook. Digital technologies (ICT) are central to the project. Not only as a tool for exchanging and communicating through eTwinning and social networks or to produce various digital resources, but also because the specific objective of the project is to produce a digital information tool in the form of an interactive map using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). All the productions made are distributed by seeking contacts and relays with municipalities, tourist offices, traders and administrations. Their digital support makes it easy to publish on the web by sites or social networks. In this way, young people play an active role in the public life of their city, they are committed to influencing choices and contribute to virtuous lobbying.
Acting for the benefit of the planet has been a growing concern for the youth of our world. Climate imbalances have been accentuated by human activity and show that it is high time we took action for a long-term sustainable economy and a better use of our natural resources. Schools are from now on more and more involved as school boards have included the concept of eco-citizenship in different curriculums. Food is an important cultural element in our society, the way we eat tells us about who we are. Five schools gathered around this topic to study and promote the concept of eating locally, also known as locavorism, on the scale of the European continent. These five schools decided to work together insofar as they were different but complementary. There were two general education high schools : La Rochelle, France and Istanbul, Turkey and three technical and professional education high schools, including one catering school : Bourgoin-Jallieu, France ; Turin, Italy and Nafpaktos, Greece. Thus, the theme of locavorism could be tackled from different geographical scopes : in a small town, an average-sized one and a capital city from EU member countries and a candidate country to EU membership. In each school, between 20 and 30 students aged 15 got involved in a 24 months project. These young people were selected depending on their beliefs and their interests in environmental causes. They took part in weekly sessions monitored by all the different teachers involved in the project. They worked with their foreign counterparts thanks to social networks, Twinspace and video conferences. They exchanged in English, chosen as the language of the project. There were four goals for this project : - Allowing students to become responsible eco-citizens being able to make individual and informed consumption choices. - Building up knowledge. They learnt what sustainability , ecology, local economy, short circuit consumption were and how they worked. They learnt basic notions about healthy food, food security, and more about European rules. - Developing expertise in : getting informed, analyzing, criticizing, organizing, using digital devices and tools, collaborating and communicating. Students organized the welcoming of all the partners. They listed all the key places to visit. They designed the various surveys and documents to start enquiring. They exchanged in English, they dealt with the collective data and learnt how to work together to achieve a final task. - Creating a final product. They started creating an interactive European map showing the different spots and results they got in La Rochelle. The process should have been the same in cross-border activities and completed at the end of the project. International meetings were supposed to be the highlight of this project. Each visit allowed to tackle a different aspect of the problem so as to offer different and complementary answers to the topic. In La Rochelle, the students enquired, met professionals, collaborated to confront their analysis. They designed short documents using different digital formats : videos, web pages… November 2019 - La Rochelle This is the one and only meeting that could take place. We had prepared the following meeting : May 2020 – Nafpaktos, Greece – producers and food channels However, we couldn’t carry out this part of the project due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The other meetings were envisaged according to the following dates : September 2020 – Turin, Italy – association and political actors December 2020 – Bourgoin-Jallieu – link between locavorism and globalization April 2121 – Istanbul, Turkey – taking actions for the planet We first considered re-scheduling the meetings. Successive lockdowns and hybrid teaching methods prevented us from fulfilling this solution. Digital technologies (ICT) were crucial tools to exchange and communicate : eTwinning and social networks – and to produce various digital resources, but also keeping in mind that the backbone project was to design an interacive map using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). The students contacted the town hall of La Rochelle, the tourist office, met many of its shop owners. Digital tools as well as social media posts made exchanges and communication easier. Students’ productions were posted on Twinspace and shared on social networks. However, the final production – despite it being rather well advanced – couldn’t be published. All along the project, the students played an active part and were really committed to influence the group’s choices by setting up a virtuous form of lobbying.