The project “What Binds Us Together – UNESCO World Heritage in Modica and Hamburg” is part of the newly founded school partnership between the “Institute of Secondary Education Giovanni Verga” in Modica (Italy) and “Heinrich Hertz School” in Hamburg (Germany). It is part of both schools’ recent effort to establish a school exchange partnership by which Heinrich Hertz School hopes to improve its profile in the area of foreign languages. Having had many positive experiences with German partner schools, the Italian high school “Giovanni Verga” is looking not only for the possibility to teach German language skills, but also to let their pupils get to know German culture. Since there are many differences between the cities of Hamburg and Modica, the project emphasizes something they have in common: Their UNESCO World Heritage sites. In Hamburg Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District with Chilehaus have been listed as World Heritage site since 2015, Modica has even been classified World Heritage as a whole – together with other late Baroque towns of the Val di Noto. By focusing on UNESCO World Heritage as a topic, this project conveys not only the historico-cultural significance and the social and pedagogical value of the European cultural heritage but also gives pupils the opportunity to acquire important skills, such as intercultural competence or cultural and media literacy. Moreover, this appealing project aims at putting the school exchange partnership on a durable and sustainable basis. On both sides twelve pupils each will participate together with two teachers. The juveniles are aged between 15 and 18 years which normally corresponds to grade ten to twelve. For the German pupils the school exchange is linked to the subject Latin, on the Italian side the study of German is required for participation. While the Italian students learn German as a foreign language, the German students will not learn the language of the partner country. In that sense, the languages of communication will be German and, if needed, English. Given this background, the reason for the project’s focus on a historico-cultural topic becomes even more evident. During the project’s duration of two years, we plan on conducting four mobilities altogether: two trips from Germany to Italy and two trips from Italy to Germany respectively. Because Heinrich Herz School is a climate aware school, the German pupils will travel via train whereas the Italian project group will travel by plane. The planned program for the mobilities involves visits at the partner schools including participation in classes, tours to the UNESCO World Heritage sites, and last but not least time for working on project outputs individually or with partners. We plan on using the eTwinning-Portals not only for organization and documentation of the project but also for continuous communication between the project partners ahead of, during and after the mobilities. Working individually and continuously throughout the school year, the students will create computer presentations on buildings and other aspects of UNESCO World Heritage sites located at the respective partner city. For some parts of the tasks the students will need the help of their exchange partner. We will focus on historico-cultural questions in the first year of the project, in the second year we will work on the topic of living and working at UNESCO World Heritage sites. The images and videos produced by the students will be used for public outreach not only within the schools, but also beyond (e.g. on social media). By letting the students collaborate closely on a common topic, this project has the potential to maintain a long term school exchange partnership and to integrate the UNESCO World Heritage into the partner schools’ curricula and their community. The project results will be made available long term and therefore reusable for other projects organized by the partner schools.
Background The project was carried out jointly by Istituto d'Istruzione Superiore Giovanni Verga in Modica (Italy) and Heinrich-Hertz-Schule Hamburg (Germany). We worked on a topic that links these two very different cities, namely their UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In Hamburg, these include the Speicherstadt warehouse district at the harbour, the Kontorhaus district and the Hamburg Wadden Sea as a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Wadden Sea. Modica in Sicily - together with other late Baroque towns in the Val di Noto - has been declared a World Heritage Site in its entirety. The aim of the project was to raise awareness about the social and educational value of European cultural heritage in addition to its cultural and historical significance and to give the pupils involved the opportunity to acquire key competences (intercultural competence, cultural competence, media competence). The character of the project as a cultural-historical project also resulted from the fact that the Italian pupils learnt German as a foreign language, but the German pupils did not learn the language of the partner country. Realisation 24 students were involved in the project on both the German and Italian side; the first project group worked from 2020 to 2022, the second from 2022 to 2023. The age of the participating young people was between 16 and 18 years (grades 10 to 12). The activities consisted of independent project work by the German and Italian groups, regular online meetings and the four mobilities (two trips each from D to ITA and vice versa). The continuous project work was carried out either as a working group with fixed dates (D) or in the form of more extensive working meetings (ITA). Here, the students learnt about the significance and tasks of UNESCO, the different types of World Heritage sites and the criteria and procedure for awarding the title. While the first phase of the project focused on the architecture and history of the sites, the second phase of the project looked at how people live and work at the World Heritage Site. The online meetings were used to get to know the World Heritage sites in Hamburg and the Val di Noto and to exchange initial information. Initial ideas for the project work during the mobilities were also developed. As part of the mobilities, visits to the partner schools with participation in lessons took place and phases for both individual and work in groups on the project were made possible. Here, for example, interviews were developed in bi-national group work, which were then conducted on site with local people. Visits to UNESCO World Heritage sites were an important part of the project: In Hamburg, these included visits to the Speicherstadt warehouse district and the Kontorhaus district, a trip to the Wadden Sea and a visit to Lübeck. In Sicily, the focus was on Modica, supported by trips to Scicli, Ragusa, Noto, Syracuse and the UNESCO World Heritage Site Mount Etna, among others. An evening with a German or Italian host family was also part of the varied programme. Results As a result, the pupils have produced a travel guide to the World Heritage sites in Hamburg and the Val di Noto. It presents and illustrates most of the World Heritage sites visited. The pupils involved also reflect on their participation in the project and explain what they have learnt about the project topic. The funds from the Erasmus+ final grant will be used to finance the printing of the travel guide so that a print version can be used alongside the digital version for further work in the school partnership and for publicity measures. It must also be seen as an important result of the project that a permanent school partnership between Istituto d'Istruzione Superiore Giovanni Verga in Modica (Italy) and Heinrich-Hertz-Schule Hamburg (Germany) has been established. For the Heinrich Hertz School, the project was a great success in its endeavors to establish long-term exchange partnerships and strengthen the school's profile in the field of foreign languages. For the colleagues in Modica, the successful realization of the project significantly strengthened the cooperation with German schools, which will make it easier for pupils in Modica to learn the German language and experience German culture in the future. Everyone involved is delighted that the project will continue beyond the funding period. The next activities are already planned for the current school year.