“CULTURES MEET IN EUROPE” project, The aim of this project is to enable our teachers, who are the guide of the society through the sharing of cultural heritage, to recognize the different cultures and to introduce them to our students in an optimum way and to participate in our activities. With our project, students will learn about different cultures and question their own knowledge and reduce their prejudices and increase their tolerance. Recognition of different cultures and understanding the wealth created by our students will gain new dimensions of education. Our immigrant students will be supported in cultural adaptation and historical places and museum visits will be organized. A short trip will be organized, such as traditional games, costumes, dances, songs, dining workshops. At the end of the project, there will be a photo and poster exhibition. Peer learning, ICT based methods, communicative approach, and interdisciplinary methods will be used. The project will also strengthen the competence of staff, teacher trainees and staff working with international collaboration, communication, digital and problem-solving skills. Activities will focus on helping our students understand their own and other students' values in order to increase their awareness of themselves and others. It includes introductions, introductory activities, and exercises that lead our students to the learning journey towards understanding, expressing and negotiating their cultural identities. The knowledge of cultural differences needs to be transformed into action. These innovative activities will help you learn and practice how to communicate successfully for a variety of purposes to facilitate team compatibility and trust in intercultural situations. The activities in this project will create awareness of our students as being European citizens. Objectives: • Ability to manage intercultural, diversity and challenges, • Spread the European Cultural Heritage as a means of social education, personal and economic development, social integration, • Competence and communication skills of our students for lifelong learning, • To improve social integration, • To create new dynamics of the school organization, • Ensuring the participation of the whole education community in the Erasmus + project, • Better coordination of our school staff and cultural environment, • Evaluating the cultural heritage as a source of knowledge, inspiration, dynamism and wealth, • To promote the European spirit. • To increase intercultural awareness among our students and teachers. Results and Long-Term Effects: • The learning, teaching and training activities and the final beneficiaries will be affected by our project. • All documents will be shared on the web page to be created and similar activities will continue to be shared during the two years after the project. • The dissemination and use of the results of our project will lead to more partnerships in the future. • With the dissemination and use of the results of our project, awareness will be raised about the opportunities offered by the Erasmus + program. • Our project will have a positive impact at local, regional, national and international levels. • The project's website will be active for two years, including the contributions and sharing of our partners. • Our project entered through E-Twinning platforms will continue to show its effect at the end of the project. • A booklet containing the outputs of the project will be distributed to all stakeholders and will be available after completion of the project. • During the project, cooperation between our partners will be strengthened and the development of the project will be provided and supported after the completion of the project.
CONTEXT As Europeans, we are always looking to join forces to promote the kind of shared dialogue we need. Erasmus+ supports teaching and offers us the opportunity to exchange knowledge with other countries, for good educational practices. The opened communication between six schools from different European countries: Portugal, Italy, Spain, Northern Ireland, Austria, and Turkey, allowed a place for sharing good educational, social and cultural practices with the surrounding communities. OBJECTIVES The Cultures meet in Europe KA229 project was born from the need to get to know other cultures of our continent. To create this educational environment, several schools, in collaboration, arranged cultural moments related to traditional games, art, gastronomy, monuments, music, and national and regional symbols. The main goal of this project was to raise awareness for the recognition and acceptance of different cultures while strengthening the skills of staff, teachers, and students (Kindergarten, 5 and 6 years old, and Primary School, from 6 to 10 years old), in terms of international collaboration, integration, acceptance, communication, digital skills and problem-solving. ACTIVITIES Through the three years of project, the classes came together many times to learn with each other, on a perspective of global citizenship, promoting the English language as a path for communication. The online meetings between the students were an important tool to share what we had been doing and to talk with each other. Before every online meeting, the students prepared a brief presentation and activity to present. Along with the online meetings and shared school activities, based on the cultures of every country partner to this Erasmus Project, the mobilities were a crucial gathering of ideals and communication between the teachers and school staff. We got in touch with other cultures, got to know innovative pedagogical practices, and, consequently, provided new experiences to our children, promoted quality, excellence and innovation in the learning process. The first mobility took place in Turkey, with the theme ‘Play a traditional game activity’, the second mobility, hosted by Northern Ireland, with the theme ‘Historical place and museum trip activity’, the third mobility took place in Spain, entitled ‘Traditional arts activity’, the fourth mobility in Italy, themed ‘Create a story activity’, the fifth mobility occurred in Austria, with the theme ‘Cultures meet with music activity’ and the final mobility, hosted by Portugal, in Madeira, planned around the theme ‘Gourmet game activity’. RESULTS We consider that the participation in this program was an excellent opportunity to innovate our school at various levels, whether educational, linguistic, or cultural. Students developed a shared sense of European citizenship and identity. They improved their competence and communication skills, creativity, critical thinking, increased their self-esteem, motivation to study and attitude towards European values. The teachers and school staff, which participated in the mobilities, significantly improved linguistic and cultural fluency and there was a positive impact in terms of the international relations. Levels of satisfaction and motivation also increased because of new experiences and new training acquired, showing a higher ability to apply new competencies in the classroom context. These results were important for building a positive attitude towards the Erasmus+ Programme, with more adults now interested in participating in mobilities and in this global dynamic of collaborative project work. We also recognize the value of this project as an incentive for the use of ICT in learning, and improving digital awareness, with emphasis on concepts such as Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, QR code manipulation and creation of digital/online applications/platforms. We have produced: questionnaires, surveys, quizzes, posters, brochures, booklets, a multicultural dictionary, a calendar, short videos on historical places, national heroes, traditional games, art, music, food, performances, and newsletters for each mobility. The results are published on the website of the institution, on web site project, and on various social platforms (Facebook, eTwinning, local TV, newspapers, and websites). https://sites.google.com/sgboscobiancavilla.it/www-culturesmeetineurope-it/home LONG TERM BENEFITS This project will contribute to a more inclusive education, promoting essential notions of an active and conscious European citizen, as well as their actions in the world, based on tolerance and respect for others. Another underlying factor is the evaluation of cultural heritage as a source of knowledge, inspiration, dynamism, and personal and community wealth.