Background: The project should strengthen the relationship between Wolfsberg and Varpalota which have been in contact for 20 years. This friendship can now be used to encourage cooperation in the educational area. One main aim is to invigorate ties between schools. "BORG Wolfsberg" and "Thuri György Gymnasium" offer similar subjects. As the two schools also focus on arts and music, their successful European collaboration is guaranteed. Aims: Main aims are to aid students in expanding their knowledge about arts and music and to foster social skills. Another aim is to assist students' development towards personal independence, in particular when it comes to conducting artistic activities. At the end, Austrian and Hungarian students should be able to present results to the public. Another aim is to develop connections with people living in another European country. There will be opportunities for students from the Austrian and the Hungarian school to meet each other. These meetings will incite young people to develop friendships. Due to the short distance between Wolfsberg and Varpalota, it is likely that students will remain friends, even after the project. Additionally, students are encouraged to express their creativity. They can be creative beyond constraints of ordinary lessons at school. For example, students create presentations to introduce their hometown. With guidance from teachers, students will take photos and produce drawings of places in their home region. As a result, young people learn more about their surroundings. They will also obtain insights into photographic and artistic techniques. This is helpful for a teenager's future career because many jobs demand digital, creative and graphic understanding. Towards the end, an exhibition of students' artwork is planned. Most of the students might not have experience in planning such an event. Therefore, teachers support students. This procedure depicts another aim, namely to impart knowledge important for students' work life. Conducting such an event requires students' ability to work in a team. Not only do students learn to find compromises, they simultaneously develop skills such as empathy and conflict resolution. In regard to the exhibitions, there is another advantage. These two events do not only focus on arts but also on regional music and traditional dances. Students will present country-specific songs and dances. Young people can develop musical skills. As a result, students develop an interest in their culture as well as the culture from other countries. Educators who take part are Dir. Peter Reischl, Nicole Schatz, Günther Dohr, Andrea Fian, Andrea Hirsch, Anna Markut. The headmaster and teachers are experienced in such projects. Meetings: The first meeting takes place in Varpalota in November 2020. Teachers discuss the project. In February 2021 Hungarian students visit Wolfsberg and present their hometown. They will use self-made drawings and photos. In May 2021 Austrian students travel to Varpalota and present their hometown. This will be carried out with self-made drawings and photos. In October 2021 there will be another meeting for teachers in Wolfsberg to discuss current developments. In February 2022, Austrian students come to Varpalota and present their paintings in an art exhibition. These are paintings which they have worked out within the project. Austrians will also present traditional songs and carry out cultural dances. In May 2022 Hungarian students visit Wolfsberg and show their paintings in an art exhibition. They will now also include Hungarian songs and dances. Implementation: At the first school staff meeting, teachers will analyse the organisational implementation of the project. At school, teachers then provide students with ideas, give them advice and enough time to realise their plans for the project. As a preparation for students' upcoming presentations about their hometown in the partner school, teachers will conduct photographic excursions with students. Students will learn the skills needed to take artistic and meaningful photos of special places in their hometown. Since students also need to be prepared for the art exhibitions, they will get support from Art teachers. Art lessons will be used to create their own paintings. For the art exhibition, music teachers will also explore and develop muscial and dancing performances. This preparatory work takes place individually at both partner schools. Results and positive effects: Throughout the project, participating students will discover, further develop and apply their administrative, artistic and creative skills. Regarding social skills, working on a project together encompasses huge advantages for students and teachers. For example, mutual respect, tolerance and empathy will be needed to achieve positive results at the end of the project. Schools, parents and local authorities will recognise the capabilities of the young people in our society.
The Erasmus+ programme invigorated ties between schools whose cities had already been in contact long before the start of the project. Both "BRG/BORG Wolfsberg" and "Thuri György Gymnázium" offer similar subjects. As the schools also specialise in arts and music, their collaboration on the project "European towns - connected through art" was bound to be both successful and educational. The aims were to aid students in expanding their knowledge about arts and music, to impart digital understanding and to foster social skills. Participating students were glad to realise their ideas regarding the project. They also had the opportunity to be creative beyond constraints of ordinary lessons at school. Additionally, arousing an interest in other European countries revealed another advantage. Although the situation with Corona Virus did not allow us to carry out all planned activities, the Austrian and Hungarian students developed friendships. Young people gained self-confidence as well as self-esteem and learned from each other. Students gained valuable experiences which will have a positive impact upon their future. Throughout the project, "BRG/BORG Wolfsberg" and "Thuri György Gymnázium" came closer, in particular the relationships between the contributing students were strengthened. As a result, the purpose of the European project has been fulfilled. We were successful in achieving most of the objectives during the project, despite the Corona Virus Pandemic. We assisted students' development towards personal independence, in particular when it came to conducting artistic activities. With guidance from teachers, students took photos and produced drawings of places in their home region. Unique pictures evolved by ambitious students. These drawings can be admired in a calendar in both partner schools. When students had to pick a limited number of drafts for the calendar, they learned to work as a team. They chose six drawings from a large variety and had to decide which one would be appropriate for the respective month. Not only did students learn to find compromises, but they also simultaneously developed skills such as empathy and conflict resolution. It was not possible to meet in person. However, with video conferences – so-called virtual mobilities – and the exchange of postcards, students became familiar with each other. The Austrians and Hungarians learned about each other's hometown through music, art and culture. For most students, the project was the first opportunity to obtain new insights into artistic techniques and to gain knowledge from other Europeans and their traditions. Due to the short distance between Wolfsberg and Varpalota and social media, it is likely that students will remain friends in the future. The students enjoyed expressing their creativity. At the first virtual meeting, students introduced their hometown. On this occasion they used their self-made drawings and photos to create presentations. Teenagers also showed their schools with live broadcast and videos. Getting to know more about their own surroundings as well as an unfamiliar place meant that students gained more understanding for their own locality, but they also learned to appreciate a foreign neighbourhood. Prior to this first exchange, teachers conducted photographic excursions with students. This will be helpful for a teenager's future career because many jobs demand digital, creative and graphic understanding.The second virtual interaction focussed on music; students applied musical skills. Preparing musical work encompassed advantages for students and teachers. Mutual respect and empathy were needed for positive results. In the third virtual mobility schools presented students' paintings in an online art exhibition. These were drawings which had been created during the project. Students also showed more of their hometowns with videos. We were able to complete many activities during our project. At first, students were informed and those interested were chosen. Then schools agreed upon the next steps. In Wolfsberg there was a photographic excursion. Participants learned skills to take artistic photos of their hometown. Students also attended a workshop to learn how to edit photos. Furthermore, they created large posters to make others aware of the European project. In the second year of the project Hungarian and Austrian students conducted three virtual exchanges and compiled a calendar. This calendar, which shows drawings from Austrian and Hungarian students, is an excellent product to show the success of the project.