The subject matter of the project concerns the contemporary crisis of traditional work ethos and other positive values closely related to this ethos, such as perseverance and persistence in action, honesty, ambition and constant desire to improve one's character. Contemporary youth is, on the one hand, surrounded by a vision of an easy and pleasant life, which is created mainly by mass media, on the other hand, the same media usually distribute negative information, a decline of faith in traditional values among the young generation and, unfortunately, a lack of faith in their own abilities. Additionally - school curricula overloaded with theoretical knowledge do not indicate the relationship between success in life and one’s own work. In this project, the young people should "rediscover" the old, but universal and irreplaceable values mentioned above. Young people should hear these life truths from genuine people of success in their various aspects. To obtain this information students from six schools from five countries will interview people who have already gained their success in their places / regions. People representing at least three generations must be chosen for these interviews . Successful people in the sense of this project are not only people of financial success, but also ordinary people appreciated in their local environment. The interviews will also be carried out with at least one person after the so-called transitions, i.e. a person who has returned to a normal life after various addictions (alcohol, drugs etc.). Interviewees will be chosen by means of surveys conducted among parts of the school community and the parents from the local school. To sum up , at least 9 people must be selected for the interviews in each school: one representative of financial success, but locally , one representative of the so-called happy person, but not necessarily a rich one (who simply considers themselves a fulfilled person) and one representative from the so-called transition people They should search for representatives of three generations for each group. Then, while summarizing these interviews, students should focus on what principles have guided or constantly guided these people in their work and in life. Then, the interviewers should compare the character traits and the rules of life of these people between the representatives of the three generations they had previously interviewed. Comparing the results of their surveys, students will probably come to the conclusion that many of these character traits and rules of life of successful people are common and trans-generational. The next step of the project will be a creation the so-called "Guide of a happy / fulfilled man". In it will describe all the most important character traits and rules of life in general of people who have achieved success (in its various forms) in their lives. The guide may also contain entire excerpts from the statements of these people. Such guides, constituting a set of advice and tips for the future people of success, will be created by students in each school participating in the project and translated into English. During youth exchanges, pupils from different schools are supposed to compare their guides and develop a universal, the trans-generational and transnational "Guide of a happy / fulfilled man", and then they jointly translate it into English, German and French. Such a guidebook will also be the main product of the project, which is to induce representatives of the young generation to self-reflection and to discover old, but imperishable truths of life and rules of conduct. During the project, young people should learn critical thinking, the ability to acquire objective information and respond to it, get to know their own local environment and the final effect should be the creations of a conscious and responsible young citizen. The project will also support the increase of language competences, mainly English. In addition, young people will be more actively involved in social life of their schools and cities/towns. During the meetings in the partner countries, the youth will promote their culture and identity in other European countries, and at the same time learn about the culture and traditions of the host country. The project will also include students with special needs, e.g. "difficult youth" for interviews with transition people. These young people will be exposed to confidences of the interviewees who have overcome their own weaknesses and who have been able to achieve success and, if possible, help other people in need.
The project " Work is success, time is money; a return to the roots" was implemented from September 2019 to August 2022 with the cooperation of 5 schools from 4 countries, i.e. France, Lithuania, Poland and Romania. The target group was pupils aged 11-18, including pupils at risk of social exclusion, pupils with opinions from Psychological and Pedagogical Clinics and pupils with fewer opportunities from families with many children, single-parent families and from small villages. The theme of the project concerned the contemporary crisis of the traditional work ethos and other positive values closely related to this ethos, such as perseverance and persistence in action, honesty, ambition and the constant striving to improve one's character. The task for the participants in this project was to rediscover old but universal and enduring values and principles of behaviour through which they would find their way to success and happiness in life. To this end, the students interviewed dozens of financially successful people, fulfilled people and people who are struggling with difficulties in their lives such as disability, illness or addiction. The interviews were mostly conducted with local community residents representing three generations. On the basis of these activities, the main product of the project was created, which is the international 'Guide of a Happy Man'. It contains a list of character traits, life principles and practical advice and tips to help young people achieve fulfilment and happiness in life. Alongside the guide, students from each school developed presentations showing people who, through their own work, perseverance and ambition, have realised their life goals and are examples of so-called 'self-made men/women'. Here, the pupils also focused on people in their environment, whose lives are proof that nurturing the above-mentioned qualities leads to genuine fulfilment and self-fulfilment. During the project, the young people improved skills such as critical thinking, acquiring objective information, teamwork and making new contacts, including intergenerational dialogue. As a result, this activity helped in the process of forming an informed and responsible young citizen. The project also fostered the improvement of language skills, mainly English, into which all project products were translated and which was the dominant language during the youth exchanges. E-mail correspondence also played an important role, through which students not only carried out project tasks, but also learned about the culture and traditions of their peers from other countries. An e-mail exchange was set up so that every willing pupil in the school could find a 'correspondence colleague'. The pupils became more independent, began to believe in their own abilities, overcame their shyness and felt they were important participants in an international project. The project was a time when the young people experienced an extraordinary adventure. It was a journey through diverse traditions, cultures, languages, values and passions. Thanks to their great commitment, cooperation and openness, they discovered that despite so many differences, certain values and guidelines are timeless and universal. They discovered qualities that will help them become the smiths of their own fortune and understood that although happiness may be defined differently, the way to it is through common values: hard work, conscientiousness, persistence, honesty and enjoying small successes.