"This project was born from the needs we were able to identify during the COVID-19 pandemic, from which we also drew some key lessons: that it was necessary to strengthen our societies, because they weren’t as invulnerable as we though; that we needed to change our ways of doing things; and that we needed to create together a resilient, digital, and environmentally sustainable European society adapted to the reality that emerged after the pandemic. In order to answer to these needs, In order to achieve this ambitious goal, schools and their students had to become key players as the main exponents of this change, and thus the 6 partners (PATRONATO DE LA JUVENTUD OBRERA - Spain MYLLYHARJUN LUKIO - Finland, ZS A GYMNÁZIUM S VJM - Slovakia, ITEC BOISFLEURY - France, LICEO GIULIO PERTICARI - Italy, and GESAMTSCHULE AN DER ERFT - Germany) proposed in 2020 the project “MANY SMALL PEOPLE WHO DO SMALL THINGS” based on the very idea that “many small people doing small things can change the world”, since only by working together to change our environment can we rebuild an environmentally conscious European society. We had the main objective of turning traditional schools into “ECO-EXCELLENCE SCHOOLS” and educating a whole generation of “ECO-FRIENDLY STUDENTS”, and after all the hard work we have carried out across several activities, we have created 45 ECO-EXCELLENCE schools (that show their commitment to the reconstruction of a new post-COVID-19 society) by implementing innovative changes in their management and organization, aiming them towards environmental sustainability, promoting their digital processes, renewable energies, and better waste management. The partnership of the project strongly believes that it is the students who, with their enthusiasm and innocence, can lead the process of ecological transformation, and thanks to the teaching methodologies and curricular contents in digitalization and environmental training we implemented, we exceeded our goals by training 960 “ECO-FRIENDLY STUDENTS” who developed initiatives to raise awareness and train the residents of the neighborhoods close to their schools by showing them responsible consumption and sustainability measures in their daily activities, thus alleviating the consequences of the pandemic. We also managed to turn 45 traditional schools into “ECO-EXCELLENT SCHOOLS”; 185 teachers were involved in our training process, not only from our partner schools but many of them also from collaborating schools, by taking the course we developed (O2); we carried out 37 awareness-raising, solidarity, and training actions for the residents of the neighborhoods of the “ECO-FRIENDLY SCHOOLS”, effectively promoting sustainability in their daily activities; we achieved the collaboration of 112 local businesses in the cities and towns of the 6 partner countries, certifying them with the “ECO-EXCELLENT BUSINESS” seal, and 8 neighborhoods were awarded the “ECO-EXCELLENT NEIGHBORHOOD” seal; we obtained the support of political institutions and representatives in the area of education and sustainability from the 6 countries; and we managed to spread the project through our powerful dissemination campaign to 1211 schools in 27 EU countries. The main results of our project are: ‒ The O1: “METHODOLOGICAL GUIDE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF A SUSTAINABLE AND DIGITAL SCHOOL”, which the includes protocols and methods developed to turn standard schools into “ECO-EXCELLENT SCHOOLS” transforming their daily life with sustainable practices. ‒ The O2: “COURSE FOR TEACHERS: TEACHING BASED ON DIGITALIZATION AND SUSTAINABILITY AFTER COVID-19” for digital training that allows teachers to focus their teaching on sustainability and action-learning, training their students to become “ECO-FRIENDLY STUDENTS”. And we also developed several Tangible Results: ‒ MEASURES FOR AN ECO-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT. ‒ The “ECO-EXCELLENCE” seal (for schools, neighborhoods, and businesses). ‒ And the “ECO-FRIENDLY STUDENT” badge. In order to achieve our objectives and develop the high-quality results, the 6 partners of the project joined forces in this strategic partnership and worked together for 30 months, carrying out: 4 Transnational Meetings, 1 joint short staff training activity, 1 combined student mobility activity, multiple national activities to develop tangible results, pilot tests of the materials and results created, and a large Multiplier Event in Valencia (Spain). All of this was carried out to develop and implement our innovative methodology that encourages high school students to use what they learned, becoming promoters of change in the dynamics of consumption and waste management in their neighborhoods, thus raising their awareness on not only regarding importance of taking care of the environment, but also on their key role in achieving this by enhancing their self-esteem and non-formal skills that are essential in these processes." Quedamos a su disposición para cualquier duda o subsanación. Un saludo
In order to answer to these needs, in 2020 the 6 partners of the partnership proposed the project “MANY SMALL PEOPLE WHO DO SMALL THINGS” with the objective of turning traditional schools into ECO-EXCELLENCE CENTERS and educating a whole generation of ECO-FRIENDLY STUDENTS. After all the work done, we have managed to create 45 ECO-EXCELLENCE schools (which show their commitment to the reconstruction of a new post-COVID-19 society) by having implemented innovative changes in their management and organization to aim them towards environmental sustainability, promoting digital processes, renewable energies and better waste management. We believe that it is the students who, with their enthusiasm and innocence, can lead the process of ecological transformation, and thanks to the teaching methodologies and curricular contents in digitalization and environmental training implemented, we have exceeded our goal, training 960 ECO-FRIENDLY STUDENTS who have developed initiatives to raise awareness and train the residents of the neighborhoods close to their centers by showing them responsible consumption and sustainability measures in their daily activities, thus alleviating the consequences of the pandemic.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to identify several needs and draw some key lessons: that it was necessary to strengthen our societies, because we now know that they are not as invulnerable as we though; that it was necessary to change our ways of doing things; and that the more we weaken the environment, the greater the danger of new pandemics, diseases and the uncontrolled spread of viruses and infections enhanced by the loss of biodiversity. We learned that we needed to create together a resilient, digital, and environmentally sustainable European society adapted to the reality that emerged after the COVID-19 pandemic; and in order to achieve this ambitious goal, schools and their students are key players as the main exponents of this change. The project “MANY SMALL PEOPLE WHO DO SMALL THINGS” was based on the idea that “many small people, doing small things, can change the world”, by which we mean that only by working together to change our environment can we rebuild an environmentally conscious European society.