Our school exchange project is focused on the European cultural heritage. We want our students to become more aware of their cultural background, to expand it and develop their European identity. The stability of the European Community is related to the consciousness of historical and cultural interconnection. We have a lot in common in religion, philosophy, politics, science and art while keeping some national cultural and historical specifics in mind. Within a diverse cultural environment, we want our students to share the same values of citizenship that are based on the principles of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. We lead them to be proud of their culture and at the same time able to recognize cultural diversity, act in the spirit of tolerance and civic cohesion and stand as a barrier against the spread of extremism in Europe. The aim of our project is to get students - deepen the knowledge of their cultural background and history - develop their European identity - to use and develop their competences in French language to be able to present their regional history and culture and to learn the history, culture and traditions of the partner region - get to know peers from foreign countries and develop new friendships During the preparatory phase of the project, students will work together with their teachers to learn the history and culture of their region and prepare didactic material about it for their partners. They will take creative approach using modern information technology to make the content valuable and attractive for their age category. They will prepare a guided tour in French language to present historical sights during the mobility. Specifically, the project will focus on the traditions connected with Easter in Slovakia and France: students will meet grandparents and parents who will tell them about the Easter traditions and customs of their youth and these statements will be recorded on camera. They will meet people from different cultural backgrounds. They will take part in a meeting at the Town Hall in Trenčín and Saint-Pol-de-Léon , where they will learn more about civil society and activities carried out by the municipality. This way students will also become active citizens, taking part in the life of society and taking on civil responsibility. Students will continuously record videos from which they will create a joint movie. It will be about history and cultural heritage, comparing the regions of Trenčín and Brittany and will be screened in their schools for all students and teachers.
The school exchange project was focused on European cultural heritage. Our main motivation was to give our students the opportunity to socialize and have discussions with peers from our partner school during mobility. We wanted them to become more aware of their cultural background, to expand it and to develop their European identity. We wanted that our students were proud of their culture and heritage, whereas at the same time learned about cultural diversity working in a spirit of tolerance and civic cohesion being a barrier against the spread of extremism in Europe. The goal of our project was to get students - deepen their knowledge of their cultural background and extend it to the knowledge of the history and cultural heritage of their region and the region of their partners - develop their European identity - to use and develop their competences in French and to be able to introduce their hometown, its past and culture and to learn about the history, culture and traditions of the partner region in French - know their peers and develop new friendships We met the first three goals of our project. The students did not meet in person due to the ban to travel because of the spread of a new dangerous virus in both partner countries. Students had the opportunity to get to know each other via social network, which, however, cannot fully replace interpersonal contact. In the preparatory phase, the students, in cooperation with their teachers, focused on the history and cultural heritage of their region and prepared documentary-didactic material about it. The acquired knowledge was processed in their own creative way using modern information and technological means in order to be attractive and content-wise for their age category. They focused on important personalities presented in the form of comics and prepared a sightseeing plan about the historical monuments for their partners and its interpretation in the French language. The project was focused on Easter traditions in Slovakia and France: students were to meet grandparents and parents to tell them about the customs and traditions of Easter during their youth and their testimonies were to be recorded on camera. Unfortunately, this part of the project did not take place. During Easter, a travel and visit ban was introduced under Government Regulation due to the spread of the Covid-19 virus. In an effort to protect the health of older people, in particular, joint social contacts were broken. The inability to visit grandparents was a painful experience and a great loss for many students. The students were admitted to the town hall in Trenčín, where they learned various facts about civil society and the activities carried out by the city government also in connection with its candidacy for the European Capital of Culture. Visiting the town hall, the students approached being active citizens, participating in the running of society and taking on civic responsibility. Mobility was scheduled for March 2020. Due to the epidemiological situation, it had to be cancelled. The director of the partner grammar school, Kreisker, banned travel abroad and at the same time cancelled all visits and stays of foreign partners in France until the end of the school year. This ban was also confirmed by an official statement from the French Ministry of Education, and at the same time, the Slovak Ministry of Education issued a recommendation to cancel all school exchanges and stays abroad.