Sustainability for Democracy Democracy for Sustainability

Tuesday, 29 October 2019

II. Portuguese articles written for "Democracy, Environment and Economy"

ERASMUS+ KA2 PROJECT

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

Sustainability for Democracy,

Democracy for Sustainability

I. Portuguese articles written for "Democracy and Environment in Institutions”

ERASMUS+ KA2 PROJECT

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

Sustainability for Democracy,

Democracy for Sustainability

ESJS-Mafra students interact with journalist Soraia Ramos’s life experiences

Reporter for 14 years, was invited to talk with students from Escola Secundária José Saramago - Mafra (ESJS - Mafra), on November 12th, about Human Rights violation events she witnessed, along with other experiences in several countries.

This lecture, which is related to the Erasmus+ Partnership Project with European Schools - “Sustainability for Democracy, Democracy for Sustainability”, ended up turning into a conversation, in which everyone “travelled” around the world, through the description of the reporter’s experiences. It was very interesting and enriching, since Soraia herself gave contemporary examples of non-compliance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, even 69 years after its agreement (10/12/1948).

Jorge Rocha, current Philosophy teacher at ESJS-Mafra and Soraia Ramos’s friend, contributed to the presentation, mentioning the journalist’s work in Bangladesh. Soraia photographed a group of displaced people, without any proper life conditions, surrounding a muddy water pond - an indecent violation of various articles from the UDHR. With this example, we may conclude that goods considered essential in the Western World, such as personal hygiene items, are seen as almost superfluous in unstable populations.

Soraia Ramos also lived within war scenarios on Eastern Ukraine, Europe. She was surrounded not only by fully armed men, but also by lost people involved in the war that were there to help her in spite of all the dangers they had to face. She claimed it was the most shocking work trip she performed. According to Figure 1, this case made Soraia the first female reporter and Portuguese reporter, as well, to execute war coverage.

Next, Soraia Ramos “took” the students with her to Syria. She narrated the civic obligation of wearing a burka, of which she had to comply as a woman. The same happened in Morocco, where she always carried a scarf to prevent any prosecution. Soraia added that, while being in another country, regardless of the time they’re spending there, everyone should act respectfully towards its laws and civic duties and responsibilities, if we don’t want to take risks. In Syria, no one has the permission to talk directly with women and they are forbidden to express themselves in public: an affront to Article 19 of the UDHR.

By suggestion of a Venezuelan student, the journalist “transported” the audience to her experiencein the Caracas airport. The security guards distrusted Soraia Ramos, only for the fact that she carried a single medium-sized backpack with everything she would need along a transatlantic journey.

Fig.1

PowerPoint slide illustrating Soraia Ramos’ mission in the Eastern Ukraine War.

Thereafter, she was forced to give her backpack to a full inspection. In addition to this impasse, the journalist also remembers seeing many people running to the supermarkets, early in the morning, in order to be the first to buy as many goods as they could, to sell them at a higher price. In Venezuela it’s already considered a job (being a bachaquero), since that’s the only revenue those people have. Venezuela was experiencing a serious humanitarian crisis, and the Portuguese community there was significant.

Within Latin America, we followed with Paraguay. The reporter landed at the airport, with all the official documents needed to identify a European and Portuguese citizen, but the security guards didn’t trust her identity. This is because, in Paraguay, there is a well-known business of falsifying documents, as stated by the journalist.

Finally, Brazil, which is an example of the greatest asymmetries and social inequalities, as well as disrespect for Human Rights - which may be aggravated with the victory of Jair Bolsonaro for president.

In conclusion, the students and teachers who attended this lecture retained great benefits from this initiative and are genuinely grateful to the journalist Soraia Ramos for her great availability.

Marta Mendes Afonso

Student nr. 18 of class 11SE3, ESJS-Mafra

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On December 5th, 2018 a speech on the role of the military institutions was given by Colonel Nuno Lemos Pires in the auditorium of Escola Secundária José Saramago, in Mafra.

I will write a critical analysis on this speech, but before I would like to make a brief summary of some of the aspects covered.

The institutions mentioned in this speech were the military institutions, which in democratic countries have the role of assuring not only the respect of every individual’s rights, but also of guaranteeing inclusion and administering violence. However, in unstructured countries they sometimes wind up being the cause of oppression and may lead to armed conflicts. War might be considered a permanent situation, which has been a fact throughout History. There have always been wars, for various reasons, except during a short period of time. When wars first appeared, they strove for the acquisition of profit. However, across History they have suffered a huge evolution, more pronounced during the Roman Empire and Napoleonic Wars, having acquired new purposes and pretexts. One of these pretexts dwells on the misinterpretation (due to the lack of contextualization of a particular passage) of Scriptures, such as the Bible, the Torah and the Koran, leading to the so called “just wars”.

Following the exposition of the facts mentioned above, war was broken down to three factors: natural phenomenon (biological aggressiveness/instincts of violence), social phenomenon (due to flawed systems) and rational actions (based on different ideologies). Therefore, as war is a permanent situation, which is deeply ingrained in us as living beings, how can it be halted? This question was enlightened by the Colonel. War, along with other similar conflicts, is countered by the respect of the universal values stated in the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights, by the acceptance of imperfection and the use of reason.
At last, a summary was made on the current situation and the future trends. In today’s society, a new type of conflict emerges, the “new wars”, which are fights of ideals, won by fear and of illegal financing. In the future there tends to be an increase in population, a decrease of resources, climate changes, decay of power and development of new technologies.Over the course of this speech, Colonel Nuno Lemos Pires exhibited the fundamental characteristics of a powerful speaker, since he was able to project his voice, in order to reach the whole auditorium, without resorting to the use of a microphone, grasping the attention of the audience and keeping it until the very last minute. I find that the information explained was of extreme relevance, and, due to the content and the shocking images, which portray not only our present but also our future, it was possible for each of the attendants to capture the message transmitted.Finally, I believe that the message spread should be shared with as many people as possible, because it is mandatory to raise awareness to the consequences that some current situations will have in a near future.

Margarida Santos, student nr. 18 of class 11CT6

Marta Cabeça, student nr. 19 of class 11LH5

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Monday, 5 August 2019

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.

Saturday, 20 July 2019

The booklets

ERASMUS+ KA2 PROJECT – SCHOOL EDUCATION No. 2018-1-PT01-KA229-047365