The open-mindedness of today's youth to the concept of European citizenship appears to be crucial so as to increase and maintain values such as respect for others, tolerance, and peace in Europe and in the world . We cannot but state that intolerance and conflicts in Europe today deeply harm European society because of a lack of knowledge of other peoples' countries and cultures. One of the missions school education has to pursue is working on eradicating this by providing the students with ways of broadening their minds thanks to educational means. Schools have ways of making their students meet foreign students , thanks to European and international projects which give them the opportunity to increase their knowledge and awakes their curiosity for different cultures : this helps the students build their sense of a responsible European citizenship . Developping a sense of belonging to the very diverse European continent by meeting fellow citizens living in different countries cannot but be a positive and beneficial experience for young people . A better knowledge and understanding of other European countries and citizens paves the way for pespectives at different levels for students who live in two badly-known and not very popular European regions, all the more so as they find themselves at a decision-making moment about their future life and studies: - on a personal level, such a project can help the pupils challenge their vision of the world around them and help know themselves better. - on an academic level, the project may help the pupils consider their school and study perspectives in a more precise way of what they wish to study as it may shed light on some opportunities in the school curriculum such as the choice of certain optional subjects and participation in individual mobilities. - regarding future studies - post high school- this project may fuel the desire of studying abroad , of learning to speak one or several foreign languages fluently or live and study in a foreign country so as to immerse oneself in its culture and acquire a better knowledge of it. " Come and discover my corner of Europe" will make the students think, analyze their local heritage which will allow them to appreciate it more and make it interesting for foreign people, distinguishing which parts of it are the most relevant . This work on our close and local environment and heritage is a good way to step back and question the elements that our cultures are composed of; it puts them into perspective , which would not normally happen without such a specific work about it. Moreover the use of digital tools will show the students they are essential so as to communicate , cooperate and build common activities together though living in distant areas. At last working with IT throughout the project will train the students and teach them additional IT skills.
As soon as the project started in autumn 2019, it appealed to the pupils’ open-mindedness to European citizenship ; indeed they were asked to meet young people their age but living in another “corner of Europe” . They were led to acknowledge how different their respective lives were because of their different school systems, of their local heritages, of the local geography and climate; yet they were also able to see they had common points such as after-school activities and interests in general. The way the pupils met through the making of videos and thanks to on-line meetings, rose their interest in getting to know each other better. It also generated respect and tolerance for “the other”, which was one of the most important goals that appeared in the application form. On both sides the pupils knew little of the partners’ country and culture and most pupils only had a vague representation of France and Sweden . Thanks to the project it was possible to precise and deepen the pupils’ general knowledge : this was reached through the activities and works which were done and exchanged ahead of the first mobility. Cultural and historical themes were chosen accurately so as to give the French the maximum of chances to understand the Swedish culture during the mobility . It took place as planned in February 2020. Some more palpable topics were also explored such as clothing and food, which were studied in the early 2019-20 winter: the pupils who were getting ready to leave for Sweden could have a precise idea of what to expect and how to be ready to live this experience at their partners’. The preparation of the mobility was a guarantee of success and on both sides; Swedish and French families took up the challenge. The Swedish families did their best to host the French students and make them discover their way of life. The French families turned out to be curious and interested in the culture their children were about to discover .Therefore, as soon as their children were ready to leave, they started to make plans in order to host the Swedish students in the best way they could in May 2020. However the Covid-19 crisis prevented them from going further and they had to drop their plans. The moments of share and friendliness that were planned would have gathered all the students and families who were taking part in the project as well as the local community(town hall representatives, school representatives from the parents and students communities) . A new phase of reflection and of re-adaptation had to be conceived by the teachers as the second mobility was cancelled and thanks to the project ‘s prolonging , new pupils on both sides could benefit from the project in the new school year and from the opportunities it was offering. “Come and discover my corner of Europe” started again in autumn 2020 , though only in a digital way. The students could meet virtually and they benefited from the fact that both schools had tightened their links between September 2019 and March 2020. Therefore the goal consisting of encouraging students to become aware of their European citizenship was reached for twice as many students as it was planned in the application form. Moreover, in France where students were on the verge of taking important decisions regarding their school curriculum , the project aroused some reflections: - From a personal point of view, the students who were able to visit Sweden challenged their ability to be immersed in an unknown environment, to manage their emotions and anxieties , to open themselves and get to know themselves better. - Regarding their high school studies, the project helped and still does this year, students to make choices in terms of academic orientation : it helps them see what they wish to study in the future years (optional subjects, majoring subjects, offers to take part in individual mobilities) - Regarding their college studies, this project has given some students the idea of studying abroad , of speaking a language fluently in order to experience an immersion programme and get to know the culture of another country . This project has allowed all the students to think and analyze what their local heritages are made of . They appreciate them and try and make their partners appreciate them too as they put to the fore the components of their own cultures. Working on their local heritages helps the students to step back and question the elements that give every culture its specificities. It puts them into a perspective that would not exist if no work was done on it. Finally, the use of IT tools made the students aware that these are necessary to communicate, cooperate and help build together common activities , interesting for all, all the more so in such a context of pandemic. The digital activities have given the students the opportunity to improve their IT communication skills.