Transnational Educational Activity of the Erasmus + KA2 project by the 5th General Lyceum of Veria

"Sustainability for Democracy 

Democracy for Sustainability"

Democracy and Environment in Institutions

The First Transnational Educational Activity of the Erasmus + KA2 Project - School Education No.2018-1-PT01-KA229-047365_4 was completed on Saturday, January 19, 2019. The activity was prepared and carried out by the 5th General Lyceum of Veria, and in particular by the pedagogical group of the project  “Sustainability for Democracy, Democracy for Sustainability”. The title of this activity, which was the first mobility of the above programme, was: "Democracy and Environment in Institutions".

The groups of the European schools from Estonia, Portugal and Finland arrived in our country on Sunday, January 13, at the Airport of Macedonia, and they were welcomed in our town by parents and students in the afternoon of the same day. Each group consisted of seven (7) students and two (2) teachers.

On Monday morning the official reception of the groups took place at the 5th General Lyceum of Veria and the guests had the opportunity to have a first contact with the Greek educational system  during  their tour in the school premises and by attending courses. Then, the first acquaintance of the four school groups took place in the school library through the students’ presentations of their school, their city and their country.

After 12.00pm the hosts and the guests set out to get to know the town of Veria, they were welcomed by the municipal authorities and informed about the multicultural nature of Veria and the history of the municipal mansion, which is a typical example of sustainability. The visits to the Folklore Museum of Vlachs and to the  Synagogue followed, and later the European school groups went on to visit  the old Cathedral, the Apostle Paul’s Tribune and the Mendesse Mosque, which now houses Apostle Paul’s Cultural Center, the Byzantine Museum and, finally, the Christian Quarter of Kyriotissa. The locations were deliberately chosen to demonstrate, on the one hand, the harmonious coexistence of different religions and different ethnic groups for centuries, which is a victory for democracy and a proof of respect for diversity, and, on the other hand, the notion of sustainability since these buildings come from the distant past and with the appropriate restoration and change of use they are still used in the 21st century.

On Tuesday, January 15th, after a Greek language lesson for the guest students and teachers, all the project participants went to Thessaloniki, where, after a visit to the most important cultural sights, they visited "OIKOPOLIS - a parallel “city” for ecology and social solidarity ". There, they were informed by the person in charge of the voluntary organization "ANTIGONI” about the contemporary social problems and the citizens’ organizations fighting them, and through experiential activities and workshops they were involved in the issue of sustainability.

On Wednesday the European school groups – after a lesson on human rights and the need to protect them – presented by means of ICT the work on the project content that  they had produced before coming to Greece. Each school explored how democracy works and the environment is protected both at the level of their school community and the local institutions, and on a national and European level, as well. After each presentation there was a discussion between students and teachers so that they find common elements and differences, in addition to identifying the positive elements and weaknesses in the way institutions function. The programme of the day was completed early in the afternoon with a guided tour at the Royal Tombs of Aigai in Vergina.                                   

  

 

    On Thursday, January 17th, the day was dedicated to Naoussa. There, the participants had the opportunity to come into contact  with the three main pillars of sustainability: a)  Economy, by visiting Vaeni winery, b) Society and Culture, with a guided tour at the cultural association of  "Genitsaroi and Boules", where they were informed about the relevant custom and the production of  sesame oil , as the specific cultural association  is hosted at the premises of an old sesame mill, and c) the Environment, by visiting the Center of Education for Sustainability of Naoussa and carrying out an educational programme in the area of the environmental park of St. Nicholas. In the afternoon of the same day the students worked in groups of mixed nationalities to collect and record the material they would be working on the next day.

On Friday, the participants worked again in groups of mixed nationalities. The students, after their teachers’ initial guidance, began to gather and combine the activities and their experiences during past few days and to record the results and their conclusions. The digital material that they produced in the school's computer lab was afterwards presented by each group in the school library. Meanwhile, a conference of the teachers involved in the programme was held so that they would discuss the current work and prepare the next mobility of the project which will be held in Finland from 5 to 11 May 2019. In addition, both the teachers and the students involved in this project did the online evaluation of the first transnational activity. Finally, later in the afternoon of the same day, a farewell meal was held with the participation of all the students and teachers of the project.

GREAT GREEK DANCER

    The departure day of the foreign guests, on Saturday, January 19th, was very moving and emotional. Parting and departure were made even more  difficult as hosts and guests felt the special bond that had been created between them during the previous days, and so everybody made promises of close communication and  prompt meeting in the near future again.

The experiences of this activity, which took place in the town of Veria last week, proved that thanks to Erasmus +, IKY and the National Agencies of the other European countries, another transnational educational activity has fully achieved its goals!

    The group of students from Greece were: Kostas Tsilis, Antonis Vasiliadis, Vicky Tzouvaras, Lia Kapalika, Melina Metaxa, Despina Tzima, Giorgos Lokmanidis, Katerina Della, Elena Theodorou, Sophia Panidou, Nikos Tsiflidis, Maria Tsouflidou, Leonidas Koukouravas, Panagiotis Piperidis, Katerina Patopoulou, Vicky Moisidou, Katerina Feizatidou, Anna Tzirou, Emilia Kirtsiou, Giannis Psarras and Olympia Papafetimiou. The pedagogical team consists of the following teachers: Chara Axouristou, Efi Liakopoulou, Elena Giannaki, Katerina Totska, Stamatis Chrysis and Tasos Moschopoulos.
    The group of students from Portugal were: Alexandra do Nascimento Leite, Carolina Morais de Oliveira Vitor, Ines Rana Capelas, Jessica Duarte Carrasqueira, Maria Mendes Rodriguez, Rafael Baptista Brilha Oliveira, Marta Ramalho Fernandez, and the accompanying teachers were Ana Maria da Silva Abreu Marques Dias (Project Coordinator) and Maria Guilhermina Vilaça Delgado dos Anjos Galego.

The group of students from Estonia were: Andreas Idavain, Carmen Pajuste, Jaak Antonov, Johanna Marie Mäeväli, Kaspar Parve, Mariella Soom, Viktoria Borissov, and the accompanying teachers were Piia Palge-Lepik and Kai Peterson.

    The group of students from Finland were: Rebecka Asplund, Miina Jousmaki, Matilda Eriksson, Emil Zittra, Alva Sandelin, Daniel Berg, Hannes Hiekkanen and the accompanying teachers were Jeanette Kecklund and Mikaela Hansen.

REPORT ON THE MOBILITY IN GREECE 
1. Besides that which is written in the application, describe the content, methodology and the results of this activity.

2. Who were the participants in the activity?

3. How was this activity related to or integrated with the normal activities of the involved schools?

CONTENT, METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS

The first Transnational Learning Activity focused on “Democracy and Environment in Institutions”. Prior to the five-day Mobility, the participants prepared the material to be presented and shared it with the rest of their partners during the Activity. This preparation, in each school, involved visits to local institutions for Sustainability and interviews with representatives of the local and European authorities. During the main activity the participants worked on how democracy and democratic values in relation to the protection of the Environment and Sustainability take effect in institutions on a local, national and European level. Within this context the participants used ICT presentation tools to present their school, their city and their country. In a plenary session, they also shared the pros and cons of their country in terms of “Democracy and Environment in Institutions”. After each presentation there was a discussion between students and teachers so that they would find similarities and differences, in addition to identifying the positive elements and weaknesses in the way institutions function in each country. The host school had prepared a postergallery of relevant national democratic personalities of all times and their political ideas as well as their contribution to the establishment of democratic principles and values in the host country, the cradle of democracy. During field trips to local authorities, organizations, cultural associations and museums, the participants listened to informative talks, interviewed the people in charge and participated in workshops and interactive games, thus having a hands-on experience of the way democratic values and respect for Human Rights co-exist with the protection of Environment and Sustainability. The participants worked in groups of mixed nationalities, gathered and combined their experiences during the field trip activities and visits, recorded the results and created digital material that was presented by each group in the school library. The specific digital material, in the form of videos, Power Point presentations, Prezi presentations, digital notice boards (Padlet) depicted their ideas, their thoughts, their knowledge and their feelings from the first Transnational Learning Activity and was uploaded on the Project Blog. Along with the Democratic / Non-democratic European Wall on display at the host school, the documentation of the first Mobility activities was also uploaded on the Project Blog. A Teacher Conference to discuss the work process and the results of this first Transnational Learning Activity also took place, while both the participant students and the accompanying teachers were involved in an online Evaluation of the Learning Activity.

PARTICIPANTS

• twenty-one students from the host country Greece (Kostas Tsilis, Antonis Vasiliadis, Vicky Tzouvaras, Lia Kapalika, Melina Metaxa, Despina Tzima, Giorgos Lokmanidis, Katerina Della, Elena Theodorou, Sophia Panidou, Nikos Tsiflidis, Maria Tsouflidou, Leonidas Koukouravas, Panagiotis Piperidis, Katerina Patopoulou, Vicky Moisidou, Katerina Feizatidou, Anna Tzirou, Emilia Kirtsiou, Giannis Psarras and Olympia Papafetimiou) and six teachers (Chara Axouristou, Efi Liakopoulou, Elena Giannaki, Katerina Totska, Stamatis Chrisis and Tasos Moschopoulos) • seven students from Portugal (Alexandra Leite, Carolina Vítor, Inês Capelas, Jéssica Carrasqueira, Maria Rodrigues, Marta Fernandes, Rafael Oliveira) and two accompanying teachers (Ana Maria Marques Dias, the Project Coordinator, and Maria Guilhermina Galego). • seven students from Estonia (Andreas Idavain, Carmen Pajuste, Jaak Antonov, Johanna Marie Mäeväli, Kaspar Parve, Mariella Soom, Viktoria Borissov) and two accompanying teachers (Piia Palge-Lepik and Kai Peterson). • seven students from Finland (Rebecka Asplund, Miina Jousmaki, Matilda Eriksson, Emil Zittra, Alva Sandelin, Daniel Berg, Hannes Hiekkanen) and two accompanying teachers (Jeanette Kecklund and Mikaela Hansen).

HOW THE ACTIVITY IS LINKED TO NORMAL SCHOOL ACTIVITIESThroughout the activity the participants attended lessons at the host school, which gave the guest participants the opportunity to get in touch with the host students and teachers and experience their school life. The field trips and visits were carefully selected so that they would serve the purpose and content of the project and would be related to the activities that the host school commonly organizes in order to introduce and present Greek history, culture and local traditions. The guest students and teachers also attended a Greek language lesson, which contributed to the improvement of the participants’ intercultural communication and understanding. This knowledge along with the extensive use of the English language was invaluable for all participants during their visits and field trips. The host school organized a lesson on human rights and the need to protect them, during which the participants, from all four countries, attended a video presentation and a lecture by the Social Studies host teacher and discussed the relevant topic. The participant students worked in groups of mixed nationalities in the school classrooms, the Computer Lab and the School Library and, through this collaboration, they exchanged ideas and knowledge on how European Institutions function and foster Democracy and Sustainability