The goal of our project was to increase competencies in relationship building. We wanted to achieve this by developing IT skills among students and teachers, working on issues of democracy and social inclusion, as well as ecology and environmental protection, as this provides an excellent foundation for establishing and maintaining new relationships. These are aligned with the main assumptions and principles of relationship building: cognition, cooperation, and shared responsibility. We wanted to jointly develop new, innovative educational tools that we could use in an international group, but which would also be adapted to the level of all schools. Appropriate IT knowledge, familiarity with secure applications and IT tools – for example, working on the eTwinning platform and online meetings – provided a great opportunity to meet peers from other countries, establish, maintain, and improve long-term relationships, and work together to address issues as crucial for today's young people as democracy and social inclusion, civil society, and ecology and environmental protection.
European schools must adapt to changes in society. We must adapt our programs and educational tools to meet the new needs of the young generation. In the current situation, this need is the ability to establish and build relationships. During the pandemic and remote learning, all European schools struggled with the lack of, or significant reduction in, peer relationships, which had a serious impact on the mental well-being of children and young people, often resulting in destabilization and emotional disturbances, neurosis, and depression. Analysis of this crisis situation, the challenges posed by the pandemic and the post-pandemic period, the desire to adapt to changes, and the experience of the past two years mobilized and encouraged us to reestablish international cooperation and work together to improve the mental well-being of children and young people, developing key competencies: social and digital, fostering attitudes of tolerance, and pro-ecological activities. Through activities in these areas, our young people once again had the opportunity to fill gaps in relationship building, also in an international context.