The main theme is our common historic, cultural and linguistic identity. The goal of the project is - to strenghen the already existing partnership, - to emphasize the need to master the second foreign language, - to give the students the chance to develop mutual understanding and friendshhip through the common history and culture and in this way to offer them a better future. In this partnership two schools will take part – the Lutheran Grammar School in Banská Bystrica (Slovakia) and the Wimmer Grammar School in Oberschützen (Austria). Each school is represented by 15 students aged from 16 – 18, who will be chosen on the basis of their motivation letter. The programme of the exchange week always consists of two parts, one at school and one outside. The part at school consists of participation in lessons, presentations by the students to other students and teachers. The teachers coordinate the working methods and the time scedule of these tasks. The result of this part are the shared knowledge and understanding gained and jointly worked on by the students. The external part includes visits to various historically significant sites, museums, attractions, tasting the local specialities combined with traditional dances and songs. These activities will be documented by photos, videos, presentations and reports. Outcomes for the future: the students will - improve their language skills - make new friends - get to know new places and (settings), new cultures, customs and traditions - vividly experience the differences and similarities of both nations (in the past and in the present). The students are motivated to pass language examination DSD1 and DSD2. For us it is important to teach the young generation about the time of the Habsburg Monarchy as part of our common cultural heritage which also connects us today in the European Union.
The goal of the "Getrenntes verbinden" project was to improve students’ profiles and language skills, to increase the quality of education as well as the content of school educational program through implementing innovative elements of language education, deepening of the European dimension of secondary education and multicultural education. Our project was a continuation of activities from previous years between Evanjelické gymnázium in Banská Bystrica and G.A. Wimmer Gymnasium in Oberschützen. Motivation of students to learn German in order to master at least two foreign languages and to improve their learning performance by implementing this project still remains an important part of school's long-term goals. The aim of the project included raising awareness of the importance of European cultural heritage through intercultural approaches and by supporting intercultural dialogue. This way it contributed to the innovation of study methods aiming to include new topics, learning and understanding the importance of the cultural heritage of the Habsburg monarchy, looking for common links but also differences and deepening mutual contacts. Consequently, mainly thanks to cross-curricular and extracurricular project activities, we managed to offer students of our school a more contemporary education and thus we created conditions for their further studies or accomplishment not only on the Slovak but also on the European labor market. Maximum number of 15 students aged 17 to 18 from each school took part on project mobilities. Originally, the selection of student-participants was planned to be done by means of motivation letters, however, this was only implemented during the first C1 mobility. During the C3 mobility we complied with the conditions of our Austrian partner school regarding necessary health protection requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic and selected only adult and vaccinated students or students who overcome the disease. During the implementation of the project, all activities were carried out in the planned scope. (Except for mobility no. 2, which was not realized due to the pandemic.) All project aims were achieved and some of the indicators were significantly exceeded. The implemented activities (excursions, practical activities, school visits and discussions) brought a new perspective of foreign language education with a huge potential for spreading awareness and information to various target groups. Last but not least, the project brought together and networked individuals from different areas of the educational environment or general public. Publishing the materials in electronical as well as paper form proved to be beneficial for sharing of knowledge and documents with the wider public. Students, as well as teachers, gained experience from international education, acquired a higher degree of knowledge of the diversity of European cultures, which leads to tolerance and respect for otherness. Developing social, civic and intercultural competences contributes to overall personal development. All these processes were supported by the "Getrenntes verbinden" project within the framework of Erasmus plus. And therefore, in conclusion, we can say that we managed to unite the divided and that we will remain persistent in our efforts to support the teaching of German language, mutual cooperation and the development of inter-culturalism.