The project “National heritage for our common European heritage” offers a new approach to cultural heritage by promoting different regions through students. As the participating schools are from all cultural parts of Europe - AEVID in Portugal, Kauhajoen Lukio in Finland, Gymnasio Plomariou in Greece, Zakladna skola CSA Presov in Slovakia, Istituto Omnicomprensivo San Marcello Pistoiese in Italy and Szkola Podstawowa in Marklowice, Poland - the richness of mutual cultural diversities will help to better understand the European heritage as a whole. Our partnership is built up on the previous successful cooperation. Students of each country will be familiar with and proud of the area they live in and find the diversities that could interest their co-workers. The students will share their attitudes, approaches and experiences. Their view on the heritage of their own region and country will create the basis for the project. The students will find the real sense of their own cultural heritage that enables them to share and promote it within Europe. They will understand the similarities and differences of the European countries and their heritage through their own experiences and participation in the intercultural dialogue through the project activities. During 2 years the project will target at least 2000 students from 10 to 17 years, coming from different backgrounds with varying abilities and about 100 teachers. Teachers and students will be the main target and directly involved. Teaching staff from different departments will be selected to participate in the project to ensure that all students will benefit from it. The remaining community (families, retired teachers and people from local communities) will be invited to participate in the project activities. The project will bridge generation gaps among students, their parents and grandparents. The old and young generations will cooperate and promote the value of their ancestors’ heritage by saving their knowledge and skills. During the workshops we will discover endangered tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Students will learn traditional songs, dances, crafts and techniques and find the spirit of European heritage. The students organized in international teams will promote cooperative strategies that require every student to be a piece of the whole. Students will work together to develop their own specificity and talents. Because the group of students will be heterogeneous, the students of advanced level will be tutors and support the younger ones to be able to discuss and find solutions. Methods such as learning by doing, debate and brainstorming will be used to develop students’ curricular competences. These methods are expected to reduce early drop out and thus privilege the development of individual skills and self-esteem. We will practice inclusion by cooperative learning to break down stereotypes and to give everyone a chance to learn. Students will learn about heritage on tours across European countries. By making a story map they will disseminate the knowledge. Each school will prepare a crafts tree about the country's heritage. It will be on display in the schools. The students will prepare and translate digital brochures into English, photos and videos enhancing their language and digital skills. The use of inclusive strategies and special software will allow to fully involve students with disabilities and special needs. All the results will be published on the project’s and schools' websites, channels of social media and eTwinning. Dissemination of the results of the project will also be done through local media. The project will have a substantial positive impact on the students involved, their families and the whole community of each partner. The impact will be constantly assessed by tests and questionnaires: activity satisfaction tests, linguistic and ICT skills and awareness of being a European citizen. The project will help the students and our communities to adopt an openness of mind towards the different cultures by revealing the beauty and the utility of various aspects of the past. All participants will adopt a more active attitude towards the protection and studying of the national and European heritage. A permanent exhibition will be set up in each school with the material produced during the project that will also be open to the local community. We will get experiences and knowledge on inclusion and different cultures and it will become permanent heritage of our schools. We plan to establish international network of cooperation among the participants for future projects. The longer term benefits of the project include an improvement in the teaching methods and contents of the curriculums of participating schools thanks to the exchange of good practices. The dissemination events are bound to raise awareness in terms of European citizenship inside and outside participating schools.
The "National Heritage for Our Common European Heritage" project offers a new approach to cultural heritage. As the participating schools are from all parts of Europe - AEVID in Portugal, Kauhajoen Lukio in Finland, Gymnasio Plomariou in Greece, CSA Elementary School Presov in Slovakia, Istituto Omnicomprensivo San Marcello Pistoiese in Italy and Szkola Podstawowa in Marklowice in Poland - the richness of individual cultural diversity helped to better understand European heritage as a whole. Students from each partner school got to know their own country better, and then passed this information on to their peers. Through deep study and some responsibility for publicity, they gained natural pride. They also perceived the uniqueness that would attract their peers. Their view of the heritage of their own region and country is the basis for the project. The students discovered a real sense of cultural heritage, which enabled them to promote it within Europe. The project activities enabled students to perceive the similarities and differences between European countries and their cultural heritage. This was reinforced by one's own experience and participation in intercultural dialogue. Students from 11 to 17 years of age from different social backgrounds and with different abilities worked on the project. Teachers and students were the main target group. Parents and whole families, people from local communities (craftsmen, staff of local cultural organizations) and municipalities were also involved in project activities and cooperation. The theme of cultural heritage naturally created a space for mutual communication between the younger and older generations. This enabled mutual understanding and the transfer of knowledge and skills. During activities, we learned about the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Europe. Students learned traditional songs, dances, learned crafts and creative techniques. They worked in international teams, where each individual brought their own cultural dimension to the mutual European dialogue. The groups of students were also age-specific, leading to peer learning, the older ones being tutors and supporting the younger ones. The most commonly used methods were learning by practice, experiential learning, discussion and brainstorming. These methods significantly benefited the participants, motivated them and increased their interest in new knowledge. Overall, interest in studying helps to reduce early school leaving. Project learning, especially in international teams, significantly contributed to the inclusion of all students. Through cooperative learning in a friendly environment, we broke down stereotypes and gave everyone a chance to learn, show their skills and be rewarded. Each school has created a crafts tree by the country - crafts still alive, dying out and disappeared. Students prepared and translated 2 books into English and national languages. One book deals with the celebration of holidays across the partnership each month of the year and the second with crafts. Thanks to the knowledge and comparison of these traditions and crafts, the students learnt about the cultural richness of Europe. The use of inclusive strategies through practical activities in various workshops has made it possible to fully involve all pupils, including those with disabilities and special needs. All project results are published on the project and school websites, FB, IG and Twinspace. The results of the project were also disseminated through the local press, municipalities´ websites and other news websites. The project has had a significant positive impact on the students involved, their families, and each partner school's wider community. We verified the benefits using questionnaires and quizzes. The most significant benefits are gaining self-confidence, knowledge of other countries and their customs, and improving English and ICT skills. The project has helped students and partner communities be open to different cultures by learning about the beauty and richness of each aspect of the past. All participants have become more active in the protection and study of national and European heritage. There is a permanent exhibition in each school with materials collected during the project, which will also be open to the local community. We have gained experience and knowledge about inclusion and successful projects of other schools in this area. At the same time, we have created an international network of cooperation between participants for future projects. The longer-term benefits of the project include the improvement and application of modern teaching methods and the enrichment of curriculum content. We applied the books we created and became supplementary teaching material to the teaching process. These books are a permanent legacy of mutual cooperation and can be used by various institutions as teaching or promotional material. They are available online as well as in local libraries.