In our Erasmus+ KA229-Project “ERASMUS FOR FUTURE“, schools from five different countries are going to deal with the topic climate change together. This topic is equally important for all the people involved. Nevertheless, the schools come from five very different parts of Europe, including different geographical, climatic and economic conditions, and thus have their very own approaches to this topic. The project’s goal is, on the one hand, to sharpen our students’ and our communities’ awareness concerning climate change including a willingness to get involved on a political and personal level. On the other hand, we want to show our participating students European diversity, and, very importantly, the relevance of European and global co-operation as this challenge can only be tackled by common international collaboration. Within the framework of the interdisciplinary project work the students involved are going to gain and enhance various competences e. g. on the intercultural, digital and linguistic level. Secondary schools from Denmark, Spain, Rumania, Turkey and Germany will take part in the project. These partner schools were chosen as participants because of their students’ common age and their geographical location in order to ensure a broad European variety (see above). Students from the age of 14 to 16 will patriciate in the project. During the project’s time span of 24 months they will work in school clubs on the topics of the project’s particular parts. Three meetings will be held to ensure the exchange of their work results and to enable further common work on the project. These meetings will be joined by 5 to 8 students from each country and 2-3 mentoring teachers. There will be two more meetings of the mentoring teachers, one to prepare the project with regards to content and organisation, the other to evaluate it. The project is divided into three thematic parts: in the first part of the project the students are going to collect information about the causes and consequences of climate change. On the one hand the students from the different schools will deal with the same tasks as they will all explore the situation in their home-country or region with regards to climate-damaging conduct and country specific perceptible and anticipated consequences of climate change. On the other hand each team will do research on different aspects of climate change, e.g. concerning main polluters and global consequences. Their results will be provided on posters which will be presented in an exhibition during the first meeting and subsequently during all other meetings of the project so that all schools and school communities can benefit from it. In the second part the students will deal with the question which political actions, meant to confront climate change, are possible and advisable. They come in contact with politicians in their communities, but also on a regional and national level, and investigate which strategies and interests exist, for example with regards to a reduction of climate-damaging emissions. The second meeting will be organised and performed as a simulation game with the title “International climate conference”. Mixed groups with students from all the participating countries working together are going to represent five nations, which are affected by climate change on very different levels (USA, China, the Netherlands, Bangladesh) and which consequently promote oppositional interests. The mixed groups will be formed in advance of the second meeting which enables the students to prepare thoroughly their role as representatives of one of the nations mentioned above. In order to do so they will communicate via eTwinning. In the last part of the project the students reflect on manageable measures that will boost climate protection at their schools and in their communities. They will engage in activities to promote such measures at their schools. Their efforts will be filmed and presented during the last meeting. The results of all the project parts will be made accessible and usable for all the students of the five schools as well as for other interested people via the public Twinspace and the Erasmus+ project platform, in particular the poster exhibition with all its collateral material and the simulation game “International climate conference”. Another lasting benefit is ensured by the establishment of climate friendly measures at the five different schools. These measures will be filmed and thus can form an example for other schools. Sustainability and climate protection are going to be implemented into the overall concepts of all five schools in order to turn them into climate friendly schools. We want to achieve an enhancement of our students’ key skills through their participation in this project oriented and interdisciplinary learning experience in a genuine thematic context.
In our Erasmus+ KA229 project "ERASMUS FOR FUTURE" five schools from five countries worked together on the topic of climate change. The great relevance of the topic for everyone involved was the motivation for choosing the topic, although over the course of the project the different geographical, climatic and economic conditions in the five countries became clear and were an essential part of the substantive discussion of the project topic. The original project planning was initially hampered by the pandemic, so the project was extended by one year to a 36-month period. This extension and the digital collaboration established during the pandemic supplemented the original planning and helped to deepen the content discussion and contact between those involved. The aim of the project was to further sensitize the students and also the entire school community and the external public to this important topic. Young people should develop a willingness to get involved both politically and through personal action. Through collaboration and encounters, young people involved should recognize the diversity of Europe and, above all, the importance of European and global cooperation on this problem, which can only be solved through joint international efforts. As part of the interdisciplinary work on the project, the students and the teachers also acquired and deepened a variety of skills, e.g. on an intercultural, digital and linguistic level. Five secondary schools from Denmark, Germany, Spain Romania and Turkey took part in our project. The partners were selected specifically based on the age of the student body and geographical location in order to reflect as much European diversity as possible. Pupils between the ages of 14 and 16 took part in the schools. During the entire project period, they worked on the topics of the individual project sections in working groups (see below). The partners met at a total of three meetings to exchange their work results and to work together on projects. 5-8 young people from each country take part in these encounters, accompanied by 2-3 teachers. In addition, two meetings of the supervising teachers took place to design the content and organization and to evaluate the project. The project was divided into three thematic sections: In the first part of the project, the students collected information about the causes and consequences of climate change. On the one hand, they worked in the same way by researching the situation in their home country or region with regard to climate-damaging behavior and the noticeable or expected consequences of climate change for their country. Each team also researched certain aspects of climate change. They presented their results on posters, which were presented as part of the first project meeting at the first meeting in Inca / Spain in an exhibition that was then shown at all schools. During the pandemic, teachers and young people also held regular video conferences. In the second part, the groups looked at options for political action to counter climate change. To this end, they came into contact with political actors in their communities, but also at regional and national levels. The 2nd project meeting in Sibiu / Romania was held in the form of a simulation game “International Climate Conference”. Mixed national groups represented countries affected by the climate crisis in very different ways. The groups were put together in advance of the meeting and prepared their roles as representatives of one of the above-mentioned states in digital communication. In the last part of the project, the students considered how climate protection could be carried out at their school and at the local level with the help of small measures and carried out their own actions at their schools. They documented their work and presented it at the final meeting in Denmark. The results of the individual project sections were presented in schools and to the local public. In addition, they should be permanently accessible and usable on the Erasmus results platform and the school homepages (poster exhibition including accompanying material, “International Climate Conference” simulation game, documentation on concrete measures for a climate-friendly school). The project initiated various climate-friendly measures in all five schools, which also serve as an example for other schools. Sustainability and climate friendliness are implemented in all 5 schools in the school principles in the sense of education for sustainable development.