In connection with Cindy Lauper's song, TRUE COLORS highlights the full range of colors which different people embody as part of different nationalities, races, sexes or religions: that’s why everyone is special and unique in his diversity. The 6 EU partners (Italy - 2, Romania, Turkey, North Macedonia and Croatia) face specific geographical, social, economic and cultural backgrounds, but have common goals: to promote a multicultural approach by abating the walls of discrimination and to fight negative stereotypes. TRUE COLORS is innovative, supporting all the agents, operating in schools and in broader communities, to enhance inclusion and more responsible citizenship at a local, national and international level. At a local level, it seeks to promote an innovative and inclusive approach in education, fostering active learning, valuing physical and virtual resources and ICT tools starting with the 1st project year to strengthen a positive learning environment (O1). It also aims at training the involved students as promoters of civic engagement and multiculturalism by participating in thematic activities in the 2 project years (O2), developing a sense of shared democratic leadership in all partner schools by designing and implementing volunteering campaigns in the 2nd project year (O3). At a national level, it fosters an ongoing collaboration between local schools, administration and national institutions by promoting and strengthening a democratic culture in each partner school and setting up a cooperative network of schools and relevant stakeholders on joint activities, aiming at encouraging prosocial behaviour for minimum 3 years after the end of the project (O4). Internationally, TRUE COLORS focuses on the knowledge of EU institutions, all the efforts that EU is making for the integration process and on the European Agenda 2030 goals, mainly addressed to fight poverty, foster inclusion and implement democracy among the people, regardless of their nationality, race, religion or sex. At least 70 participants per partner school (50 students, 10 teachers, 10 representatives of the local community or specialists in the field of democracy and civic education) will be involved (100 students in bigger schools). 6 LTTs are scheduled, with teams of 4 students aged 15/18 and 2 accompanying teachers. No staff mobility is required: the partners will discuss and share all the details through ongoing contacts, both formal (emails) and informal (WhatsApp group). Materials for the project sustainability and replicability will be shared, stored and disseminated on the TRUE COLORS Etwinning project (ID: 212348). Mobility themes: - Education: ‘All Together Now!’ – IT - EU law policy: ‘All the Colors of Europe’ – MK - Empathy: ‘All Colors and Shapes of Empathy’ – HR - Communication: ‘Communication Colours Our Life’ – RO - European awareness: ‘Let's Paint the World Grey’ – TR - The Path to Democracy: ‘True Colors’ – IT. Project outputs: an educational App (C1); a booklet (C2); 3D watches (C3); volunteering campaigns (C4); short films on social discrimination (C5); recreated 'agora' (C6). Methodology - student-centred: teachers encourage students to use problem-solving and designer thinking strategies to develop critical skills (leadership, teamwork, peer to peer learning, tutoring and inclusive education) and to better appreciate different perspectives and voices. Estimated tangible results: 1. An innovative and inclusive educational approach, favouring the personal and academic success of students; 2. Min. 120 students trained to become Democratic Agents; 3. Min. 25 students and 10 teachers acting as cohesion factors in their communities; 4. Activities in/outside the classroom targetting the democratic culture. Envisaged intangible results: - preventing discrimination; - increase in interpersonal communication and self-awareness; - improving schools’ profile; - forging links with families and larger communities. Ongoing evaluation will assess the quality and the impact of the activities, thus ensuring the optimum premises to model young people according to the scope of the project. On the short-term, students will consolidate competencies regarding social responsibility, communication, dialogue, mutual understanding and openness. On the long term, they will learn how to act as balancing factors in their classes, to combat exclusion, to approach an unfair situation positively, building bridges across communities and contributing to more peaceful and multicultural societies. Continuation is ensured firstly through the outputs, e.g. learning materials, maintaining open and free access to content published on the TRUE COLORS online project, school websites and Facebook page. After the project's end, the work will continue at the local level (e.g. implementing methods and practices), at the national level (e.g. trying to influence policymaking, legislation) and at the EU level (e.g. replicating the project in other countries).
The “True Colors” project has basically achieved all the goals set in the programming phase. At the initial stage of the project the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the mobility programs. For this reason all the project coordinators decided to start online activities.Online activities have shown to be a powerful tool for partners to maintain and deepen connection. These activities not only have provided opportunities for bonding but also have facilitated communication and intimacy. Among the most profitable online activities, it should be noted the project start questionnaire edited by IIS F. Alderisio that included questions to reflect on the meaning of the term "Inclusion". In each partner’s school the Erasmus Corners have been actively engaged in setting up dissemination activities at school as part of the Erasmus Plus project. These activities have included organizing workshops, seminars, and presentations to share project outcomes and knowledge with the school community. Additionally, they have created informative materials and used digital platforms reaching a wider audience, contributing to the successful dissemination of project results and fostering a culture of international cooperation within the school. Moreover, since the creation of the True colors whatsapp group , messaging apps have helped maintain a strong emotional connection. The six European Union member states involved in the project ( Italy with two schools, Romania, Turkey, North Macedonia, and Croatia) possess distinct geographical, societal, economic, and cultural contexts. However, thanks to the activities carried out in this project, they have had the opportunity to share a collective mission: advancing a multicultural perspective by dismantling the barriers of bias and challenging detrimental stereotypes. The project has proven to be a real new program that has helped all those involved in schools and communities to work together in the certainty that everyone felt included being able to act responsibly, both locally and globally. From the very beginning of the first project year, at the community level, it has encouraged a new style of teaching based on active participation, it has recognized both physical and digital resources and technology tools so it has improved the atmosphere for learning. During the second project year, thanks to the physical mobilities, it has educated the participating students to get involved in their communities and appreciate diversity by engaging them in special activities. On a national scale, the project has fueled ongoing cooperation between schools, government agencies and national organizations supporting and strengthening a culture of democracy within each partner school. Through the activities carried out, a collaborative network has also been established between schools and participants involved in voluntary associations and political institutions in shared efforts, with the aim of promoting positive social behaviour that will have repercussions for at least three years after the end of the project. Globally, building on the objectives outlined in the European Agenda 2030, it has helped those involved to understand how the European Union works, the actions it takes to bring countries together and has fostered a true European conscience. 6 short LTT were carried out, involving teams of 4 students aged 15/18 and 2 accompanying teachers. The students involved showed willingness and motivation by being able to rely on language and computer skills. A small note against the communicative competence goes to the team of Turkey, whose students and accompanying teachers have not always shown a proficiency in English required for shared activities. This criticality has been remedied with the willingness to welcome that has become concrete in all participants who have never failed to involve each participant compensating for these critical issues with adequate flexibility. A "True Colors" Etwinning project has been created with the ID number 212348 and a “Tue Colors” site has been created by the Croatian coordinator ( https://truecolorserasmus.wixsite.com/my-site) with the purpose to exchange, archive, and distribute resources to ensure the project can be continued and duplicated successfully. From April 2022 it was possible to start physical mobility from mobility C1 in Italy and, without prejudice to the need to postpone the dates of mobility due to the emergency Covid, here are listed all the mobilities carried out: Education in C1:"All Together Now!", Stigliano IT; EU law policy in C2"All the Colors of Europe", Kavadarci MK; Empathy in C3 "All Colors And Shapes of Empathy”, Slavonski Brod HR; Communication in C4 “Communication Colours Our Life”, Iasi RO; European awareness C5 "Let's Paint The World Grey" Manavgat TR; The path to democracy C6 "True Colors": in Bernalda, IT. In the majority of cases, the project mentioned results were achieved despite slight variations.