Dissemination Report of the 5th General Lyceum of Veria for the school year 2018 – 2019

ERASMUS+ KA2 PROJECT  

SCHOOL EDUCATION No. 2018-1-PT01-KA229-047365

Sustainability for Democracy, Democracy for Sustainability

A school open to society

Dissemination Report of the ERASMUS+ KA2 program “Sustainability and Democracy, Democracy and Sustainability” of the 5th General Lyceum of Veria for the school year 2018 – 2019

   On Wednesday 15/5/2019 members of the teaching team and the student group of the Erasmus + KA2 PROJECT-SCHOOL EDUCATION No.2018-1-PT01-KA229-047365 program implemented by 5th General Lyceum of Veria and entitled "Sustainability for Democracy, Democracy for Sustainability", participated in the closing ceremony of the 2018-2019 school year. The event was organized by the Department of Secondary Education of the Prefecture of Imathia on 15th and 17th of May 2019 and the participant students and teachers presented all the actions taken during the school year in the context of the specific program. Twenty-one school students with their families and six teachers participate in the program. The students and the teachers first informed the public about the concept of Sustainability and its relation to Democracy and the Environment. Detailed reference was made both to the preparatory actions and those during the two nobilities that took place first in Veria in January 2019 and then in Vaasa, Finland in the first week of May (5/5 - 11/5/2019). They particularly focused on the second mobility during which seven students and two teachers visited the Finnish partner school and got to know the famous Finnish education system and the way of life of the Finnish families. They emphasized that, in addition to participating in joint activities related to Sustainability on the school premises, they also visited industrial sites where biofuel and biogas are produced, recycling units and higher education institutions cooperating with the school. Finally, they responded to the questions asked by the attendants and shared with them the conclusions drawn from their fruitful - as it turned out - contact with their European partners.

   On Monday 20th May 2019, the last day of classes for the 2018-2019 school year the four Erasmus + ΚΑ2 programs implemented by the school as well as environmental education, health education and cultural projects were presented to the entire school community in the library of the 5th General Lyceum of Veria . Members of the teaching team and the student group of Erasmus + KA2 PROJECT-SCHOOL EDUCATION No.2018-1-PT01-KA229-047365 entitled "Sustainability for Democracy, Democracy for Sustainability", presented the actions taken during the school year in the context of the specific program.  In-depth reference was initially made to the work done in order to prepare the two mobilities that took place firstly in Veria in January 2019 and secondly in Vaasa, Finland in the first week of May 2019. In particular, it was mentioned that in the first stage while working on the sub-topic "Democracy and the Environment in the Institutions" the students explored the role of the Institutions in the establishment of Democracy and the protection of the Environment on a local, national and European level. The students also designed the logo of the program, conducted a questionnaire survey on the role of the School as an institution in the development of Sustainability and contacted other educational institutions, the Municipal Authorities and Environmental Groups. In view of the second mobility of the Erasmus + KA2 program and for the needs of the sub-topic "Democracy, Environment and Economy", the students involved in the program studied the relation of Economics with the Environment and Democracy, after being informed by environmental experts and professionals about the financial and environmental issues concerning the Prefecture of Imathia. The students spoke enthusiastically about the experiences they have gained from their participation in the program so far, especially about the hospitality they offered during the first mobility and the one they received during the second mobility in Finland. They answered their classmates' questions and encouraged them to participate in future European programs.

   On Monday June 26th, at the end of the school year, the ERASMUS +KA2 program "Sustainability and Democracy, Democracy and Sustainability" participants of the 5th General Lyceum of Veria presented the activities of the program implemented during the current school year at the School Library. The students informed the public about the program's annual actions in a clear and compelling way. They first referred to the long-term preparation of the Greek team for the hosting of their foreign partners, and the research they conducted on Sustainability and the role of the Institutions in it. They focused on the hosting of twenty-one students and six teachers from the three partner schools of Finland, Portugal, and Estonia for one week in January 2019 (13/1/2019 to 18/1/2019), and explained how they worked in groups on the topics of the program and participated in a variety of activities covering all areas of Sustainability: environment, society, economy. The students emphasized that during those days they also had the opportunity to introduce the Greek culture to their European fellow students through visits to landmarks of Veria and Thessaloniki, stressing the element of multiculturalism that runs through Greek history. The two students who made the presentation also referred to the preparations for the trip of the Greek group to Vaasa, Finland. During the second mobility the European student partners participated in joint actions at the Finnish school and experienced the implementation of Sustainability in Finland. During the discussion that followed students, parents and teachers said they were excited about the experiences they had gained and highlighted the enormous benefits of the program implementation. The feedback received from the students and especially their parents has reinforced our desire to continue the program cooperation next year. The next mobility has been scheduled for November 2019 in Mafra, Portugal, with the participation of seven students and two teachers of our School.

   The participant students are: Kostas Tsilis, Antonis Vassiliadis, Vicky Tzouvara, Lia Kapalika, Melina Metaxas, Despina Tzima, George Lockmanidis, Katerina Della, Elena Theoudou, Sofia Panidou, Katerina Patopoulou, Vicky Mwisidou, Katerina Feizatidou, Anna Tzirou, Emilia Kirtsiou, Yiannis Psarras and Olympia Papaefthimiou. The pedagogical group of the program consists of the following teachers: Chara Axouristou, Efi Liakopoulou, Elena Giannaki, Katerina Totska, Stamatis Chrysis and Tassos Moschopoulos.

   The program is cofounded by the European Union in cooperation with IKY, the national agency for Greece.