Our project entitled "Inclusion and Integration - Enrichment through Diversity" aims to bring German and Portuguese young people aged 15-17 years (15 in each group) into contact with other members of the society, so that they develop more tolerance, openness, empathy and social commitment through subsequent reflection. These members of society are members of the community of both schools and are therefore of particular relevance to the wider school community into which the results are subsequently brought: In Lisbon, these are young people of African descent who, due to Portugal's colonial past, belong to the Lisbon population - but not to the school clientele there. In Rotenburg, the Rotenburger Werke is a social institution in the region, offering a wide range of services for people with mental disabilities (housing, work, education, support), who characterise the population of the small town. Our aim is to bring the participants of the project together with the respective minority in manual-oriented workshops through the Bildnerische Werkstatt in Rotenburg or various cultural institutions in Lisbon. In doing so, the respective (artistic) activity must result in a form of communication that goes beyond verbal communication. Through practical work, the young people experience their new, different counterpart - but in the musical-artistic field also themselves. In the guided process of reflection and exchange that follows - also over distance via eTwinning - these socio-cultural experiences are deepened and lead to a new, different view of the minorities involved with their very special, sometimes certainly unexpected strengths and their history. These insights prepare the final phase of our project: Against the background of the sensitisation to the particularities of other groups of people, the project participants will deal with the European Human Rights Treaties. The visit of the International Court of Justice in The Hague in this final phase of the project will first be prepared through eTwinning in binational groups. As this is the only UN body outside New York, our work on minority rights will also be taken to a global level. In addition, this final activity is an opportunity, not only in view of the final report, to evaluate the personal experiences of the previous months. The results will be compiled, documented in several languages and also recorded on film. These documentations, in the form of a school yearbook or moving pictures, serve as a basis for further work on inclusion and integration by the entire student body in both schools. The decision to place the young people in host families during the two activities in Rotenburg and Lisbon guarantees further intensive intercultural experiences: The immersion in the everyday life of a family in the host country requires openness, adaptability and willingness to communicate. These qualities are criteria for the selection of our project participants (15 each), who all have knowledge of at least two foreign languages. Therefore, the required authentic, binational communication will certainly lead to an overall improvement in communication behaviour, which will have a positive effect on foreign language learning apparently. Although our project " Inclusion and Integration - Enrichment through Diversity" has its focus on socio-cultural contents, it certainly contributes to the personal development of our young people, who through their open-mindedness and curiosity learn to appreciate and preserve values that make them valuable members of the European community.
Our project "Inclusion and Integration - Enrichment through Diversity" could be implemented after all, despite the pandemic, to everyone's delight. However, a) the start was delayed by a whole year and b)for organizational reasons, the final third-location meeting for the purpose of joint evaluation could not be held in The Hague but in Strasbourg. The planned phases of our project proved to build on each other in a meaningful and coherent way: The kick-off meeting in Dec. 2021 was used for us teachers to get to know each other personally for the first time, but also to get in touch with the German external partner, the "Bildnerische Werkstatt" of the "Rotenburger Werke". Thereby the project ideas and possibilities became more and more concrete and pre- and post-preparation steps could be worked out together and suitable work sheets could be designed. This sincere preparation was the basis of our further learning activities. The action orientation of these activities guaranteed, as desired, a direct encounter of the project participants from both countries with people with disabilities in Rotenburg and with young people of predominantly African descent in Lisbon. The activities in Lisbon first of all picked up on the topic of art through a visit of the street-art-district of Saccavém, and at the same time addressed the sometimes very problematic living conditions of immigrant families. The subsequent workshops at "Casa Pia," an institution dedicated to the reintegration of previously troubled young people, brought our project participants together with slightly older young people who nevertheless had a completely different family and social background.By working with external partners, the perception of our project was by no means limited to the two school publics: In Rotenburg in particular, a brochure financed by the Rotary Club of Rotenburg and the Rotenburg Art Association, as well as a Youtube video of the "Bildnerische Werkstatt", provide documentation that reaches a wide audience. Currently, the vernissage is expected to go public in the Rotenburg arts scene and testifies to the even closer cooperation of the Ratsgymnasium with its external partners. During the guided evaluations - during each learning activity, but especially each morning in Strasbourg - it became clear how much our young people's view of the respective minorities had changed and broadened. As a result, we consider our goal of social inclusion to have been fully achieved. The accommodation in the host families during the respective meetings, first in Germany and then in Portugal, gave the young people new insights into another culture, demanded adaptation and gave them greater self-confidence, especially with regard to communication in the lingua franca English. In Strasbourg, it was unanimously stated that clichés had been broken down, people had gotten to know and appreciate each other and had developed an understanding for each other through these intercultural experiences. Participation in our project was seen as an important and enriching step in the development of their own personalities. The joint visit to the European Parliament in Strasbourg left a lasting impression on our young people: The debate we followed, conducted in a wide variety of languages, made the young people realize that the challenges of our time can only be overcome together. Therefore, our project has produced new, convinced young Europeans who have rediscovered themselves - but also other people - in the different project stages. Our priorities "Promoting, engaging, connecting and empowering young people" and social dialogue were therefore achieved.