The refugee crisis divided not only Germany but all of Europe. People are increasingly insecure, their political commitment split. European unity is cracking, Europeans feel increasingly alienated from the unified Europe. And that is why political education and enlightenment in schools is increasingly important in our times. The young generation must regain confidence in the Europe of the future. With their participation in this project our students should broaden their horizons, get to know foreign cultures, feel the cohesion and set their first political footprint towards Europe. The project “Different Approaches – One European Union” picks up on this topic and enables our students to deal with it from different perspectives (music, dance, culture and art). The main objectives are to make the students aware of the problem, to keep them interested and to raise political awareness in their families and communities. The project also aims at improving the students’ language skills, computer skills and digital skills (write an eBook and use a padlet). The participants are going to learn how to use an online platform for cooperation (eTwinning), present results, make video clips, develop an awareness rising activity and run it successfully. In order to enable the students to improve their language abilities, the teachers are going to cooperate in preparing CLIL language sheets and activities which will be used throughout the project. As national aspirations prevail in many European countries, the three very different countries are a good choice. The schools from Cyprus, Germany and Lithuania also vary in architecture, geography and traditions. The cooperation with these different cultures and regions will challenge but also encourage the students. On the teachers' side, the exchange between experienced and inexperienced parties means greater freedom of action and a broader exchange. Altogether there will be about 120 students and 15 teachers directly involved in mobilities. The project is planned for three years, because it offers 18 students the opportunity to participate in long term mobilities. Since these activities need a longer preparation and follow-up in order to be successful, the project plan has been created for 36 months. Moreover, there is so much interest among students in all three countries to take advantage of this opportunity that it takes time and preparation to manage such a large number of interested parties. The students who participate in the long-term activities will familiarize themselves with individual topics relevant to the project and support the individual schools in establishing the European idea. The project is organized in 6 semesters, each focusing on one topic: (C2) “On the Trail of Common Ground” will be the introduction to the project dealing with the first key elements of each partner country: customs, habits and idiomatic epressions. The second and third semester deals with music, art and physical activities, pupils are introduced to European cohesion through the musical and artistic part. Their creativity and curiosity should be increased by working together on various projects. In the fifth semester (C5) “Europe and Identity” the students finish their projects, perform them at a gala night and and have to deal with their own and with the European identity. There are several outcomes which can be measured: The results and products will be presented on the homepage and in the eBook. The video clips will be uploaded on the home page and on eTwinning, so later on they can be used in other lessons. The schools involved want to apply for the European Scool certificate and to implement a profile course with the European topics (at cultural, political and civic level), so the initiative from the project will be integrated in the schools’ profiles and curricula. Furthermore, new CLIL ideas will have an impact on language teaching at the partner schools. The outcomes which cannot be measured will for sure have greater impact on our students’ lives: The intercultural experience will broaden their horizons, speaking a common language will bring them closer, the application of new skills improve their competences, the debate on the European idea of cohesion will hopefully produce a clear position. The feeling of being able to get active will empower them as political thinkers and citizens of a future Europe. This project requires transnational partners because there can only be a change of consciousness when you come into contact with other countries and their cultures. We need to promote and strengthen the awareness of Europe and its partners among pupils. We want our students to get to know our European partners better and at the same time we would like to show these young adults ways to appreciate the diversity of each culture. With this project we want to eliminate prejudices of otherness and highlight the commonalities of cultures.
The first meeting of the responsible persons took place in May 2022 (C1) in Germany. During this week, the foundations of the project were laid and the planned changes were discussed. Since the planned long-term mobility of pupils could not take place due to Corona, the idea came up to transform the long-term mobility into two more short-term exchanges of groups of pupils. Plans were made on how best to compare the first key elements such as customs, habits and idiomatic expressions. The first short-term exchange took place in Cyprus in June 2022 (C6). The student group consisted of upper school students, and the entire project coordination was taken over and carried out by the German students themselves. The first meeting of the two groups of pupils took place. The second short-term exchange of student groups took place in November 2022 (C3) in Lithuania, this time involving students from all three countries for the first time. The next short-term student group exchange to Cyprus in February 2022 (C2) focused on the Green Line issue and thus on a political topic. The fifth semester (C5) was presented in the initial report as "Europe and Identity". This has resulted in an institutional trip to Brussels in March 2023.The budget for this was transferred from a planned long-term mobility. This short-term exchange involved all three countries, this trip was more for older students as a higher level of English vocabulary was needed. The pupils carried out a simulation game in the European institutions, which had been prepared in advance. The project concluded with the meeting in Germany in June 2023 (C4). All the German students who had previously been involved in trips were re-engaged in this week. The second and third semester dealt with music, art and physical activities. The students were introduced to European cohesion through the musical and artistic part. Their creativity and curiosity was increased by working together on different projects. In Lithuania, trilingual dictionaries were created at the beginning to facilitate future communication for all and to show idiomatic similarities and differences between the three languages. This was followed by a debate on the current situation in Europe. The students were also able to get to know the capital Vilnius and the hometown of the host students Marijampole in Lithuania. The focus was on Lithuanian history. The highlight of the trip was the hike to the border triangle in Vistytis. The pupils were able to talk to border officials and thus discuss the political and historical significance of this triangle. Traditional Lithuanian dances and the traditional craft of "weaving" were also featured during this visit. The focus of the visit to Cyprus was on Cypriot history. The students learned about the Cypriot problem, dealt with contemporary life and the security aspect in an occupied country, spoke with contemporary witnesses about their stories, heard lectures about the violation of human rights and were able to walk along the green line themselves. The international guests also had the opportunity to get to know the divided capital Nicosia better and to talk to representatives of the city. The visits to the famous cities of Larnaca and Paphos and the traditional village of Lefkara will remain in the students' memories for a long time. And also during this visit, the guest students became aware of the great importance of traditional dances and music for their hosts and were able to experience them for themselves. The expected long-term benefits are divided into two categories: the benefits for the students' personal development and the benefits for the whole school community. The students take away from this intensive year new presentation and argumentation techniques, better language skills and a broadening of their awareness. The experiences and friendships they have gained will definitely leave their mark for a long time to come and influence their future actions. In addition, their self-confidence was strengthened as they learned to take a clear position on key issues and to consolidate this position in their arguments. The certificates of participation will help them in their job applications. The school community will benefit for a long time from the approved application for the title of European School. Hopefully, many more international events and debates will take place in the newly established and officially inaugurated European room. The new profile course, based on European themes, is now firmly anchored in the school concept and will have a lasting positive impact on the school's profile. The new materials, videos and lesson concepts will be made available to all interested teachers. Due to the current situation in Europe, political education and enlightenment in schools is becoming increasingly important. The young generation must regain confidence in the Europe of the future. By participating in this project, our pupils have been sensitised to political problems, they have learned about foreign cultures, they have felt the cohesion as a community, they have become active as political thinkers and citizens and have thus set a first political footprint towards Europe.