"Our Erasmus+ project “Promoting European cohesion and integration through the development of intercultural sports games” will bring together students and teachers from three European schools in Italy, Spain and Germany over a period of 22 months. Therefore, it will contribute to the visualization of our European community of shared values. It will show that sport and Europe are a strong link by using the uniting and peacemaking effect of sport.In line with the project theme, our students will deal with the topic of “Sport in Europe” in a multidimensional and multiperspectival workshop, focusing on the development of new sports games. The big advantage is obvious: if students have developed a game themselves, they will completely identify with it – it is their game with their common rules. Their different ideas and different cultural backgrounds will merge into one newly created European sports game.An integral part of the project will be transnational meetings involving 10 – 15 students aged 13 to 16 and two teachers from each school participating in the project (Gymnasium Langen / Germany, Colegio San Enrique de Hermanas Carmelitas del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús / Spain und IIS Rolando da Piazzola / Italy).There will always be a theoretical and a practical part in these meetings. The focus will be on sports game development, but furthermore we will look at sport from different cultural and sociological perspectives like the meaning of sport in different cultures, trend sports, fair play, doping, gender stereotypes and equality of opportunity. The project will be designed in a multimedia way, using cinematic elements (short videos) as well as print and online media. A monthly report will document the work process.The process of developing games will be highly communicative in both national and international project phases, as it will be based on the negotiation of different ideas and their subsequent testing with the given material in the given spatial and social environment.(Planned process: 1. Playing known sports games, 2. Comparing the games, 3. Developing criteria respectively categories for new sports games, 4. Modifying known games using the criteria/categories + creating a game rules index for new sports games, 5. Inventing new sports games by using the game rules index)The games will be explained to the respective partner schools and subsequently played and filmed by the students. If necessary, further explanations and improvements will follow.The aim is to create an develop new European sports games in the course of the project, which will finally be played by international teams as part of a large final event. In addition to the event, there will be a project magazine and a DVD with all our project results including our games and a manual of ""how to create and develop new sports games"". We will also publish our project results online to enable other schools to benefit from our findings and to give them the possibility to play our games in their lessons. We believe that working together on a common European topic will stimulate the debate on the European idea and hence sustainably as well as positively strengthen it. The common creation of something new will connect the students across national borders and show that the in-depth understanding of other cultures can only be experienced in direct intercultural contact with other European nations. Besides the positive perception of cultural diversity, friendships will be established, prejudices will be reduced, foreign language and media skills will be expanded, and sports and creative skills will be promoted."

This project was based on a common acknowledgment in the three involved schools : pupils’ vocational choices are widely influenced by their stereotypes about male and female social duties and skills. Many of them think that there are jobs for men and jobs for women : male would fit jobs with logical and technical skills ; female would fit jobs with psychological skills, sensibility, care for others. That is why most of male pupils choose first scientifical and technical trainings, and females choose artistic, health or social trainings. These choices have serious consequences on career advancement : males will reach a well-paid job with responsability, though females will get badly-paid, insecure and junior job, without promotion possibility.The main goals of this project are- to limit the effects of gender stereotypes on vocational choices by making pupils aware that jobs can be both for male or female and get equality and mixity in the different trainings.- to make pupils aware of the gender stereotypes in their daily life and their representations in workplaces.- to improve skills in English- to improve digital skills- to improve oral skills- to improve skills in collaborative works- to deepen knowledges about Europe and partners’way of liveActivitiesTeachers from partner schools organized, prepared and wrote together teaching documents in English and native langages, including descriptions of activities for teachers and instructions for learners. All these documents are available on the project web site www.createyourownway.frLearners’ activities are shared and organized according three skills : oral communication (shows, accounts), writing communication (accounts, analysis), pictures creations (exhibitions, posters). Most of them needed digital skills.Results :The results are available on the project website, in English or native language with a summary in English.Teachers’ results :- project logo and slogan- website to load teaching documents and pupils’works- descriptions of activities in English and native languages (French, Italian, Polish)- instructions for learners’ activities ( English and native langages)- assessment grids (for learners and teachers)Learners’results :- survey results (charts) with comments- exhibitions- studies of novels and paintings- studies of schoolbooks- shows- pictures creations : advertisements, photographs- course observation reports- reports of company visitsImpacts :- taking in account gender stereotypes in teaching practise- Using teaching documents available for teachers in and out of the partners schools- loading new teaching documents and pupils’ works on the website- increasing mixity in vocational choices

"What is it today's youth need of skills, knowledge and mindset to master a Europe of tomorrow? This project aims to deal with this question and thus give our students a framework for success; to prepare them for a competent life in a fast-changing Europe. Focusing on key competences within S-K-M (Skills - Knowledge-Mindset) will bring out the voices of both our students, but also the voices representing innovation, culture, businesses and education.As partner schools, we have thoughts about what the content of S-K-M should be, but are they aligned with the students' thoughts? One of the strongest motivational factors in learning is ""relevance"". Making this project relevant for the students and their future is important. Through socio-educational development and personal development the project intends to make the students employable in their future. To interact and collaborate with, peers has shown to be highly effective, and leaves a lasting impact. Our students will be working with the theme of the project through different sub-titles, and they will be doing this both at their own schools, through e-Twinning and meetings at the different participating schools. The activities, the meetings, will all be dealing with the overall heading for the project, but in the light of relevant national/regional challenges. Organizing the project in this way, giving the students the opportunity to travel will give them knowledge, insight and an awareness of everyday life for their generation in different parts of Europe. The partners in this projects represents different school sizes, different corners of Europe (Norway, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Denmark and Spain) some are urban and some are rural; but they all have in common that they are smaller areas (population) within their region/country. Being a smaller area might influence how one think abouts the future. It may also influence what opportunities a young European has, or believes s-/he has. Creating an arena for students from different countries to meet and learn from each other gives not only a broadened perspective on Europe, but may also provide new insight to ones own home town.The diversity of Europe and the opportunities given through meeting different cultures are at the core of this project. A project aiming to show the idea of unity through diversity, and thus give students from across Europe a common understanding of what is expected from them in their future. Each meeting will provide opportunities to learn from each other, and it will encourage cooperation and entrepreneurial thinking - in its widest form. The activities in the project are developed to strengthen the students' awareness of possibilities and opportunities. The underlying common thought, throughout all the activities is to help our students becoming competent and contributing citizens of Europe of tomorrow. It is a defined goal that the project will give the partner schools an overview of possible ways of focusing on, and teaching in the field of ""how to prepare for the future?"". Each meeting will at its completion provide a rough-guide to S-K-M within the specific theme focused on. Based on the reflections and findings made by the students,we will hopefully be able to draw some conclusions on what the students themselves consider to important and expected from them in their future."

Small Towns in Europe: Sharing Innovative Practices was a project which took its origin from the previous partnerships of 9 European schools mostly located in small towns in the northern, central and southern parts of Europe.Profile:Gymnasium Schaerding (AUSTRIA)provides a specifically comprehensive education in the field of computing science. Foreign languages are taught troughout the different curricula. RSG Broklede (THE NETHERLANDS)provides areas of specific expertises with digital competence, bilingual education and a focus on cultural activities.Botikazar BHi (SPAIN) offers training for future citizens, cooperates with more than 20 different high schools across Europe and has taken part in the European program since the beginning.Elisabeth Langgässer Gymnasium (GERMANY) is multilingual and offers education for independent and responsibel citizens, preparing the students for the requirements of multimedia world and conflict management.Hoyanger Upper Secondaryy School (NORWAY) offers both general academic and vocational studies.Gymnasieskolan Knuth Hahn (SWEDEN) offers a wide socio-economic range to a great number of immigrants from different countries.Frederiksborg Gymnasium (DENMARK)has a strong international profile and has had several exchanges with Europe and India.Rolando da Piazzola (ITALY) offers the students class exchanges, international project work and language studies abroad.Liceum Ogolnoksztalcaceim Jana Pawla II (POLAND) deals with students whose parents live or work in other EU-countries and prepares them for EU conform living.By doing project work together, we found out that entrepreneurship in schools is little encouraged in the traditional curricula. Besides, We felt a need to consolidate a strong and permanent link between school and the world of work in order to transfer innovative competences that may increase students‘ confidence on their educational and training success and reduce, therefore, the risk of school failure.Being carried out transnationally, the project provided wide and exhaustive information and planning on future studies and careers outside the metropolitan regions and established links between schools and the work sector. Students and teachers were able to observe educational and working systems in north, central and south Europe. As a result, they were able to achieve a better understanding of new industrial, business innovation, social entrepreneurship, educational opportunities as well as classroom culture in their own and other countries.All school staffs will receive benefits from the project. In terms of teaching, entrepreneurship and exchanges of innovative best practices are needed for staff involved in education to improve their professional competences and enhance the quality of their teaching in a new designed innovative school system.Throughout the 3-year project, more than 200 students and 80 teachers were actively involved in the training sessions organised by the 9 partners. But the impact will be higher and we reckon to have involved more than 2500 students aged 16 -18 attending the final years of the upper secondary school in the project work. They took part in the preparatory meetings, they contacted sustainable and innovate companies in their territories and participated in the workshops and conferences organised during the training sessions. They visited fairs and events where they got in touch with the job market and its innovative practices. The training sessions organised in each of the 9 partner schools dealt with different topics which are gradual steps to bring current issues into the school and enhance the quality of our educational systems. The topics were : Attracting business, The Media, Ghettoes, Local Tourism, Active Citizenship, Volunteering, Sustainability, Working in Europe and, finally, Why do I go to school? All planned training activities included visits to local companies that make use of sustainable and innovative practices; school workshops and conferences where the different educational systems were presented; group work where students and teachers reflected on the received training and prepared reporting materials (videos, interviews, questionnaires) to be used in the final products and for dissemination.A final publication (printed and digital) was produced containing reports on all activities, presentations of the visited companies and a deep insight into the different educational systems.