The current political and cultural world asks for critical students and students who understand different cultures, the democratic values put out by the European Union and the mondial challenges tackled by the Sustainable Development goals of the United Nations. This projects aims to give students tools and understanding to be this critical student in a changing world. The project is a cultural comparative exchange between the Rysensteen in Copenhagen (Denmark) and the VCL in the Hague (The Netherlands). Two countries who seemed to be related to one another politically and socially. However what makes them different from each other? And how do both countries tackle the current problems faced in the world. It is said that outsiders can give a clear and comprehensive understanding of another culture. Within the project the C4 skills are important: communication, collaboration, critical thinking/problem solving and creativity skills. The aim of the project is for the participating students to conduct critical comparative research on a Sustainable Development Goals of choice. They will execute this research in groups of four. Two Danish students and two Dutch students. Making collaboration and communication important. In two, one week visits 24 of pupils Rysensteen and VCL will visit each other. The students are between 16 and 18 years old. First the Dutch students visit Denmark. In this week the theme of the week is research skills and choosing a goal of choice. During the first week the pupils visit a variety of companies, governmental bodies and organisations to give some inspiration for their research. In addition the students will have different classes to adres specific research skills and creative thinking. Furthermore the students will stay at a Danish student's house. Therefore they can create a better understanding of the Danish culture. When the Danish pupils visit their counterparts in the Netherlands they will also stay at the house of one of the Dutch students. The second week is especially for the students to carry out their research and write their recommendation. At the end of this week the student will give a presentation to their peers, school management and new participants of the exchange. The skills the students learn during these weeks will be beneficial to them for their further learning endeavors and they will share this knowledge with their fellow students. The participating teachers will also gain insight, knowledge and inspiration from this exchange, for example educating 21st century skills, modern class room management, and use of ICT during lessons.
The current political and cultural world asks for critical students and students who understand different cultures and the democratic values put out by the European Union. Futhermore they need to be aware of the global challenges such as climate change and other issues tackled by the Sustainable Development goals of the United Nations. This projects aims to give students tools and knowledge to be this critical student in a changing world. The project is a cultural comparative exchange between the Rysensteen in Copenhagen (Denmark) and the VCL in the Hague (The Netherlands). Two countries who seem to be similar both politically and socially. However what makes them different from each other? And how do both countries tackle the current problems the world is facing. It is said that outsiders can give a clear and comprehensive understanding of another culture. Within the project the C4 skills are important: communication, collaboration, critical thinking/problem solving and creativity skills. The aim of the project was for the participating students to conduct critical comparative research on a Sustainable Development Goals of choice and to experience intercultural exchange. In the first year, the students started the project in Denmark. During this first week visit, three SDG’s were the focus of the exchange: SDG 7, 11 and 16. Goal 7 and 11 because of the goals of Copenhagen as a CO2 neutral city and goal 16 because The Hague has adopted this goal. During this first week the pupils visited a variety of companies, governmental bodies and organisations to give some inspiration for their research. For example the municipality of energy and water. In addition the students had different classes to address specific research skills. How to create a research question and how to search the internet for scientific information. These classes where given by Danish teachers. The research aim was to find a topic of interest to conduct a comparative research between The Netherlands and Denmark within the scope of the three mentioned SDG’s. Furthermore the students stayed at a Danish student's house. This gave them an insight in the way of life of a Danish teenager and the Danish school life. In the second week of the exchange the Danish pupils visited their peers in the Netherlands. The focus of the second week was to carry out their research that they started in Copenhagen and write their recommendation (for the school). In this week they also visited different organisations such as a refugee centre and The Humanity Hub in The Hague. Both had a focus on goal 16. At the end of this week the student gave a presentation to their peers, school management, parents and other interested students. In the second year of the exchange a new group of students was selected to participate. The programs during the first week in Copenhagen and the second week in The Hague were the same in broad terms. However, the focus of the comparative research shifted towards goal 11. Therefore the organisations visited also had a focus on sustainable cities. For example in Denmark we visited a sustainable neighbourhood in Roskilde and in The Netherlands we visited the sustainable campus of the University of Delft. The students gained different skills during the exchange weeks. First they broadened sensitivity with regards to different cultural backgrounds. Staying at a foreign family for a week, even when the countries seem very much alike, gives a clear understanding of differences between cultures. Furthermore they developed research skills within the field of comparative research. Both of these skills are beneficial for the students in the long run. The scope of the project was broader then only the students and the direct involved teachers. For both of the participating groups families got involved and also the school community as a whole. In both schools the SDG’s have become a focus point within the curriculum.