To promote European values and bilingualism of Spanish-Bulgarian children for their inclusion in both countries, simultaneously working on the cultural identity of each of these groups in order to enhance self-esteem and a feeling of belonging to both their roots of origin and their roots in common, the European ones. To alleviate the disadvantages immigrant students face in respect of learning and comprehensive development which were in turn accentuated by the pandemic, to mitigate uprooting, to prevent school dropouts and discrimination, to encourage mutual knowledge and cultural exchange. Although the focus fell on these two nationalities, the activities and results had an impact on all the school communities involved, serving as an example that could be replicated with other nationalities and in other European geographies and school contexts. To provide teachers and other key actors with the necessary tools to promote coexistence and cohesion in the classroom. To make visible a little-known European cultural heritage, specifically, Bulgaria's contribution with the Cyrillic as the EU's third official alphabet and with a new learning approach, the Pedagogy of the Sun, which could have a positive impact on the field of inclusion
The impact of COVID-19 on the equity and inclusion of students was very profound. The closure of schools had hit the most vulnerable students the hardest, such as immigrant students who lack support networks outside the classroom and suffer educational, social and emotional deprivation. The impossibility of overcoming language barrier, falling behind in subjects and being uprooted, all this exacerbated by the pandemic, increased the risk of dropping out of school. The pandemic had brought more challenges, one of which was very worrying, the fear of foreigners as a possible source of contagion. Spain's great achievements in welcoming and integrating immigrants could be threatened. Promoting European values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rights of minorities and the sense of belonging to Europe became more necessary. Europe is “united in diversity” and our proposal sought to structure this unifying element to promote the inclusion of immigrant students, including an innovative approach based on the Cyrillic, the third official alphabet of the EU, and the principles of the “Pedagogy of the Sun”, the Bulgarian alternative to the world-famous Montessori and Waldorf methods.