Our cultural and historical roots are in the history of Europe itself, but taking into account the fact that the differences stem from the relation of each individual to the heritage and history of his people. This is important because it gives a solid basis of ideas and values to a group of people. Moreover, it can mean that people recognise their need to preserve the past and pass it on to future generations. Official statistics also suggest that the preservation of heritage is vital: more than eight in ten European citizens think cultural heritage is important to them personally, agrees that Europe's cultural heritage and related activities create jobs in the EU. The project opens the way to rediscovering and returning to the origins of cultural values that form an integrative system of elements based on emotions that interact in a common European space. The project revolves around the idea that history and cultural heritage are the basis of the way of life reflected in literature, art, beliefs, mythology, stories, crafts, traditions, history, food. The project co-opts young people in the knowledge, the interpretation of the heritage history moderated by specialists, which will be a powerful trigger of the debates, of the reflections, thus limiting the vulnerability to populism and religious fundamentalism. Students acquire intellectual knowledge and skills and a wide range of skills that lead to increasing the ability to maintain and improve the way of life and society. They will acquire a series of skills specific to active and responsible citizenship. The project invites students to build a bridge between the past, present and future by participating directly and experiencing knowledge experiences other than the usual ones, common during the classical and unattractive lessons. The teachers will visibly change the way they use and approach the cultural heritage in the learning activities and will go from classical to modern. They will be innovative and creative in lessons and have the skills to use the best teaching strategies for achieving the learning performance of students. Our schools will be developing the capacity for international cooperation and our communities will be more open to cultural diversity. The project has 5 partners from Italy (coordinator), Turkey, Greece, Poland and Romania. The team is heterogeneous because it has partnered with extensive experience in Erasmus projects (Turkey, Greece, Italy, Poland) also includes one new entry school (Romania). About 180 students will have an active role and will benefit from unique learning experiences and share it with colleagues from other European countries. The project methodology is built on seven steps: 1 question: how we can use the cultural heritage in learning and how much we know about it 2 search: we will make a research about the origins and meanings of our traditions, languages, mythology, art, crafts always focusing on the link with modern technologies 3 think: we will interpret and understand cultural elements and how we can preserve the value 4 go and see: we will learn by direct contact with history and cultural customs 5 find out: we will find out why our cultures are different but related too 6 get connection: we will find the best way to connect learning with reality and connect them to our needs also thanks to the knowledge and use of technological and digital tools 7 share: we are going to share our experience and acquired knowledge with partners and communities We will organise various activities: workshops to study web2.0 tools (learning apps, wordwall, thinglink, kahoot, AR and VR technology, robotics, 3D pen and printers, interactive graphics tablets) and to teach history and robotics (Lego Mindstorms EV3) at the same time, nonformal activities about arts and traditional crafts, ancient day life, mythology, literature and language, old agriculture, great mistakes from our common history, important personalities from our cultures. We will have also fun activities to learn history in a pleasant way (shadow play with puppets, ancient games, play cards with mythology heroes, LegoWedo, 3D models of mythological characters made by students with 3d printers). The project final common products will be the "Deep European CulTour" promotional video spot and the digital advertising poster created by all partners working in collaboration using online education tools. We will have schools with a strengthened European dimension, better educational level and motivated students, modern teaching methods used by teachers. Our communities will be more active, open and involved. The long-term development of the schools involved will be achieved by applying a strategy of sustainability of the project based on the continuation of the project through its implementation in the school curriculum.
The project was based on the rediscovery of the origins of cultural values that form a system of elements based on emotions that interact in a common European space. It focused on the idea that history and cultural heritage are the basis of the way of daily life and that this is the reflection of literature, art, beliefs, mythology, stories, craftsmanship, traditions, history, food. The project co-opted young people in the knowledge and interpretation of the history of cultural heritage, triggering debates, reflections, awareness on the importance of diversity and thus limiting vulnerability to populism and religious fundamentalism. The students acquired a series of specific skills for active and responsible citizenship. The project urged them to build a bridge between past, present and future by experiencing knowledge experiences different from those traditionally experienced during classic school lessons. The teachers had the opportunity to deal with issues related to cultural heritage with interdisciplinary methodologies by integrating them into daily teaching practice. The didactic-educational approach favored constructivist teaching-learning strategies in order to put the student at the center of the action and facilitate interaction and communication between peers. Furthermore, our schools have had the opportunity to improve their international cooperation skills and our communities have become more open to cultural diversity. The project was developed by 5 partners: Italy (coordinating school), Turkey, Greece, Poland and Romania. The team was heterogeneous and this allowed for more fruitful collaboration and exchange of experiences and skills. The project methodology was developed following seven steps: 1 - question: how we can use the cultural heritage in learning and how much we know about it 2 - search: we make a research about the origins and meanings of our traditions, languages, mythology, art, crafts always focusing on the link with modern technologies 3 - think: we interpret and understand cultural elements and how we can preserve the value 4 - go and see: we learn by direct contact with history and cultural customs 5 - find out: we find out why our cultures are different but related too 6 - get connection: we find the best way to connect learning with reality and connect them to our needs also thanks to the knowledge and use of technological and digital tools 7 - share: we share our experience and acquired knowledge with partners and communities During the implementation phase, various activities were organized: workshops to study web 2.0 tools (educational apps, wordwall, thinglink, kahoot, AR and VR technologies, robotics, 3D pens and printers, interactive graphics tablets) and to teach history and robotics at the same time (Lego Mindstorms EV3); non-formal activities regarding traditional arts and crafts, ancient life, mythology, literature and language, ancient agriculture, important personalities of our cultures. Engaging teaching activities were also proposed to learn history in a pleasant way (shadow games with puppets, ancient games, card games with mythological heroes, LegoWedo, 3D models of mythological characters made with 3D printers). The project saw the creation of several common final products, including: a promotional video and a digital advertising poster of the project, a work of art created by all the students in collaboration during a mobility, a book of Myths, a calendar , a multicultural anthology, a collection of lessons plans based on good teaching practices, a Memory eBook. All the products created are the result of active collaboration between the partner schools. The schools involved have strengthened their European dimension, improved educational practices, motivated students more and acquired more effective teaching strategies. Our communities, both school and local, are actively involved, especially during incoming mobilities and during organized dissemination events. The long-term development of the project in the schools involved will be achieved by applying a project sustainability strategy based on the constant dissemination of the good practices acquired, this is already possible using all the material produced which we are widely disseminating through the project website and the TwinSpace, the schools will also continue to support the culture of valorising cultural heterogeneity and safeguarding European cultural heritage by making them fundamental elements of their school curriculum.