The year 2019 marks the Euro’s 20th anniversary and therefore provides an ideal opportunity not only to review European project as a whole, but above all to assess the single currency’s future potential in tomorrow’s Europe. The main goal of this project is to make pupils aware of the central importance of the Euro. The single currency is a cornerstone of the European integration project, and it is essential to the economic development of the Eurozone. Moreover, it stimulates trade between different member states and has a measurable impact on citizens’ everyday lives. A joint project called "The Euro: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow" has been developed by the ECG - School of Business and Management (Ecole de Commerce et de Gestion) in Luxembourg, in tight collaboration with its partners, the Zespol Szkol Ogolnoksztalcacych school based in Raciborzu, Poland and the IIS Isa Conti Eller Vainicher school based in Lipari, Italy. In essence, a group of 10 pupils (between the ages of 14 and 19) and three teachers from each school are going to participate in a series of 3 mobility schemes. The first meeting is scheduled in Luxembourg and is going to take place under the header “The Euro: yesterday”. It will enable students and their teachers to discover why Luxembourg has always been in favour of a single currency and enable them to study the impact of its introduction on citizens’ purchasing power. Participants will also have the opportunity to visit different European institutions such as the Central Bank of Luxembourg and to engage in discussions with their representatives. The second encounter will take place in Italy under the theme “The euro: today”. The island of Lipari is strongly dependent on tourism. Participants in the mobility scheme will therefore study the extent to which the single currency benefits this economic sector and discover the currency’s impact on the regional economy. At the same time, they will have the opportunity to meet representatives of the tourist sector as well as local authorities. For their last meeting in Raziborzu, Silesia (Poland), participants will focus on the topic of “The Euro: tomorrow.” Poland not being a member of the Eurozone will confront students with the necessity to exchange currencies, and therefore provides an excellent opportunity for our students to witness a first major consequence of national currencies on citizens’ lives. Moreover, students will study the local community’s attitudes towards the single currency and will have the possibility to meet local authorities. Students and teachers will also share their experiences with the entire school community, thanks to a series of related events organised in the three participant schools. The following results are expected: - enhancing the students’ skills in the field of economics, whilst putting a strong focus on economic reasoning and economic geography; - improving the pupils’ language skills, with particular reference to French, which will be used as a lingua franca throughout. - imparting a greater understanding of Europe’s cultural heritage and its different regions; - making pupils aware of the concept of European citizenship; - exchanging best practice examples between teachers and imparting a better understanding of different didactic approaches across different regions.
As the Euro celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2019, it was the perfect time to take stock of this European adventure, but above all to see its potential and its role in the Europe of tomorrow. The aim of this project was to show the students the importance of the Euro. At the time of its introduction as book money on 1 January 1999, and especially the introduction of banknotes and coins on 1 January 2002, the single currency was a cornerstone in the construction of Europe and still is: it plays an important role in the economic development of the euro area, it promotes trade between member countries and it has a significant impact on the daily life of citizens. The project "The Euro: yesterday, today, tomorrow" was initiated by the ECG - Ecole de Commerce et de Gestion - School of Business and Management in Luxembourg, in collaboration with its partners, the schools Zespol Szkol Ogolnoksztalcacych nr 1 w Raciborz (Poland) and IIS Isa Conti Eller Vainicher, Lipari (Italy). It was planned that a group of 10 pupils (aged 14-19) and three teachers from each school would participate in each mobility. The implementation of the project was impacted by the pandemic and the mobilities had to be postponed to later dates. It was planned to spread the three mobilities over two school years, but as a result of the pandemic, the mobilities were much closer together than planned. The first activity C1 had to be postponed, as force majeure had been requested and granted. Activity C2 was thus the first physical activity of the project and corresponds to activity C1 of the application. Activity C4 was the second physical activity and corresponds to activity C2 of the application. Activity C5 was the third physical activity and corresponds to activity C3 of the application. The first meeting was in Luxembourg under the header “The Euro: yesterday”. It enabled students and their teachers to discover why Luxembourg has always been in favour of a single currency and enabled them to study the impact of its introduction on citizens’ purchasing power. Participants had the opportunity to visit the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. They had the chance to attend a lecture by a representative of the Luxembourg Central Bank and they were able to attend a lecture and discuss with an Member of the European Parlament. The second meeting took place in Italy under the theme: "The Euro: today". The island of Lipari is very dependent on tourism. The participants of the mobility learned to what extent the single currency facilitates this economic sector and saw its importance for the economy of the region, among other things by meeting representatives of the tourism sector and local authorities. In the third mobility, on the theme of "The Euro: Tomorrow", the participants met in Raciborz in Silesia (Poland). Poland is not part of the Eurozone, so our pupils saw a first consequence for the life of the citizen: the exchange of currencies becomes necessary. Pupils analysed and compared the purchasing power and worked on the future vision of the Polish euro. Pupils got acquainted with the position of the population towards the single currency and had the opportunity to meet local officials. Students and teachers also shared their experiences with the entire school community, thanks to a series of related events organized in the three participant schools. The following results, expected and realized: - enhancing the students’ skills in the field of economics, whilst putting a strong focus on economic reasoning and economic geography; - improving the pupils’ language skills, with particular reference to French, which will be used as a lingua franca throughout. - imparting a greater understanding of Europe’s cultural heritage and its different regions; - making pupils aware of the concept of European citizenship; - exchanging best practice examples between teachers and imparting a better understanding of different didactic approaches across different regions.