Context and background of the project: The project idea developed from the cooperation of a group of pupils of the Quirinus-Gymnasium in Neuss, who wanted to develop a project with other schools on a European level. Various ideas and drafts were brought in and rejected and in the end it was clear that the project should have a historical, political sociocultural character. The pupils expressed the wish to learn about other regions in Europe and thus contribute to the documentation of transnational developments. The project thus enables the participants to look beyond their own horizons and to engage intensively with regions and their development under political and socio-cultural aspects. Therefore, the project is primarily of documentary character. In selecting the participants, we placed particular emphasis on diversification in order to be able to gain as holistic a picture as possible. Participating countries are Portugal, Poland, Italy and Croatia. It is interesting to note that both the size of the schools and their professional orientations vary from country to country, ranging from 150 students (Poland) to 1500 students (Portugal). All participating schools, with the exception of the Quirinus-Gymnasium in Neuss, have participated in some way in European exchange programmes and are on an equal footing in their efforts to bring this project to a successful conclusion. This has been clearly shown by the active and sustainable cooperation of all partners: Each country has concrete ideas about which activities we can carry out during the stays. During the total of 5 mobilities in the respective partner countries we will document the development of the region, city or district in many different ways. For this purpose, visits to museums and memorials will be organised, as well as discussions with university lecturers, historians, journalists and/or inhabitants of the region. Students have the opportunity to ask questions and find out things that lead to a deeper understanding of our common European past and present. Each country will have its own individual focus: our Italian partner school in the province of Basilicata will focus on the period after EU accession, while the partner school in Szubin, Poland will also focus on the role of the region during the Second World War. In this way, reports are created, worked out by students for students, which allow very individual perspectives on Europe in the second half of the 20th century. This process will lead to a deepening of our mutual intercultural understanding. The methods that lead to the completion of our product are manifold. 1. the pupils will get to know the region before the visits in order to prepare the interviews with the experts on site 2. the interviews with the experts and the visits to the local facilities must be documented by video recordings, transcripts and/or audio recordings. 3. the collected material will be edited, shortened, reflected and then combined into a product. This product shall be an interactive eBook, which is presented on a tablet or PC. This medium is ideally suited to show future generations of students a) how diverse Europe is and b) in what appealing ways content can be prepared and made accessible. The other possible uses are manifold: This eBook can be used in all subjects in which European history is thematised. Possible fields of application are geography lessons, politics lessons or English. In addition to the interviews, our partner countries are described through graphics, reports and photos, with a clear focus on the changes caused by increasing European integration. Another advantage of the eBook is its diversity. It is possible to create a book consisting of graphics, reports and diagrams, but also short videos, which reflect our experiences and work on the ground in an appealing way.
Traces of our ancestors is a project developed by a group of students from the Quirinus-Gymnasium in 2020. The aim was to bring together young people aged 16-18 to experience historical developments of the second half of the 20th century in their respective cities and regions. Thus, five schools from Portugal, Croatia, Italy, Poland and we as coordinators came together to cooperatively create an EBook to present similarities and differences of each regions historical development. Each nation planned their activities independently presenting the city and region from a historical perspective. When the application was submitted in 2020, it was not foreseeable to what extent the planned activities could be realized. Thus, some changes are found in the application and current description of the respective activities. The first mobility to Rio Maior, Portugal in February 2021 included visits to historical places (Lisbon, Salinas, Óbidos, Sintra) and a discussion with the former EU Member of Parliament Carlos Coehlo. The second trip to Croatia in March 2021 focused on the development of the cities of Zagreb and Rijeka. In the city of Varazdin we had the chance to travel back in time and get a glimpse of what life was like during the Middle Age in Croatia. In September, the host schools visited Neuss. Here Roman traces in Neuss & Cologne, as well as Jewish traces were found. Important industrial sites of the Ruhr area (Bochum Mining Museum and Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex) as initiators of the European Coal Community were also visited. In addition, we were given a guided tour of the Düsseldorf state parliament with a member of parliament and gained insight into the various areas of work. Finally, there was a discussion with Dr. Heusgen (Chairman of the Munich Security Conference) about current developments and trends in Europe. The focus was on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The fourth mobility in Szubin, Poland led among other things to Torún, here the parliament was visited and afterwards the birth house of Kopernikus and a gingerbread workshop were attended. In Bydgoszcz there was a guided EU discussion, which could not be held due to technical malfunction. There was also an interview with contemporary witnesses of the region around Szubin, which was planned and carried out by the students. During the last mobility in Bernalda, Italy, we visited historical places and met celebrities that shaped the history of Italy in the mid-20th century. Especially the visit to Aliano and Matera were very formative and exciting. In summary, the project makes clear that all visited cities and regions share different but also common historical developments.Thus Roman & Jewish traces showed up during all mobilities. The EBook gives an insight into the gained content knowledge of the individual regions in Europe, which represent the traces of our ancestors.In addition, all participants of the project have also been able to gain many intercultural experiences and make new friendships and contacts that will last even after the end of the project.