Sometimes congenital sometimes under environmental conditions, people face many disadvantages, such as mental and physical disability, hearing, vision, language and speech insufficiency, special learning disabilities, autism and attention deficit, economic difficulties, ethnic and cultural discrimination, illness, parental separation. The quality of education which they receive in the schools determines the quality of life of disadvantaged individuals.The disadvantage of many students in today's schools is not even noticed. The students who are noticed their disadvantage cannot receive appropriate education according to their interests and needs. Because there are students who develop normally in the center of the educational processes of today's schools. We know that; Every student in an disadvantageous or normal carries an ore in them. Our schools cannot transform the ore within the disadvantaged students into jewel. Maybe one of our students who has the potential to change the world is now waiting to be noticed in our schools.To be included in the scope of inclusive education with the right diagnosis for disadvantaged students is a need like bread and water. As partner schools, we want to support our disadvantaged students in completing their education cycle. We want to protect the right of our children who continue with different disadvantages to life for a fair education. In this respect, we want to bring a broad perspective to all stakeholders of our educational ecosystem, which do not isolate disadvantaged children from their peers and support the culture of co-existence more.As partner schools, we aim to transfer the best practices and examples in international standards in the areas of management and staff competencies, curricula, teaching methods, tools and environments into our education processes.For these reasons, we have come together with 5 partner schools that carry out wonderful activities related to the education of disadvantaged students. Each school is almost like a piece of a puzzle, we are creating a very beautiful picture when we unite.As partner schools, we first turned our idea into a project in eTwinning. We then prepared this project to transform our virtual collaboration into physical mobility. We aim to carry out this strategic partnership project in synchronization with eTwinning.In our project, we planned five learning, teaching and training activities. Each school will host a Learning, Teaching, and Training activity. A total of 16 teachers from each school will participate in these events. In addition, we have planned 24 local activities in each school independently or jointly.Together with our disadvantaged students, we will ensure the participation of our students who have normal development, parents and all stakeholders of our educational ecosystem. In this way, we will create common awareness on the education of disadvantaged students in all stakeholders of our educational ecosystem.In order to improve the quality of the planned activities, we have established four different teams working in coordination with each other in each school. We have made the task sharing among our schools and teams. We have established an independent selection committee in each school for the selection of our teachers who will participate in the Learning, Teaching and Training activities.With our project Our partner schools will;*overcome the problems of discrimination and integration experienced by our disadvantaged students.*improve the capacity of disadvantaged students on the types of disability and diagnostic techniques.*be able to redesign the learning environments according to disadvantaged students.* include the new generation educational models that come with inclusive education to the teaching processes.*support the educational processes of disadvantaged students through new applications such as Individualized Education Plan and Support Education Room.*be able to use the new generation of digital components, artistic activities and sporting activities as a powerful tool for the physical, spiritual, emotional and social development of the disadvantaged students.At the same time;*Our schools will share their experiences with our project on online platforms such as eTwinning, SEG, EPALE, EURYDICE, enable the exchange of good practice and examples in the international area and contribute to the creation of a common education culture in the international area.* Stakeholders of our educational ecosystem will gain positive attitudes about EU citizenship, EU values, racism, xenophobia and intercultural interactions.*It will contribute to the promotion of policy reforms at the local, regional, national and European level and contribute to the achievement of the objectives set out in the EU 2020 Strategy and Erasmus + 2014-2020 Program with the mixed effect of thousands of projects implemented.

“The Power of Animal-Assisted Interventions” is a 21 months' project that is coordinated in Lithuania with a partnership among Macedonia, Turkey, Portugal and Slovenia. Numerous studies have proved the benefits of animal-assisted interventions for school aged children, particularly children with the autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit, speech and learning difficulty, psychiatric problems, and developmental retardation. Animal assisted program is an alternative path for students with special needs. Our objectives are:1. To facilitate learning difficulties, to develop reading, speaking, math, social skills, to improve personal progress, learning motivation, academic success and self-confidence of students with various disabilities or special needs using animal assisted programs.2. To integrate animal-supported educational programs into the curriculum.3. To explore the best practices and experiences with animal-supported interventions, and the usage of various activities encompassed different animals in different environments.4. To encourage teachers to use innovative, effective and creative teaching methods and techniques.5. To increase teachers professionalism and strengthen the competences of in the European dimension on integration of animals into the educational process.6. To raise the quality standard of our institutions and to cooperate more in the international dimension.Four teachers from each partner school will participate in learning, teaching and training activities. Transnational meetings include special education teachers, psychologists, teachers who have disabled students and staff to benefit from animal-assisted education in the coming years. During the 21 months project, there will be 80 mobilities from partner schools (16 mobilities for each school). The main activities of the project are: presentation of partner schools, cities and countries, interviews with therapists and parents who have disabled students, dog therapy, equine assisted interventions, dolphin assisted therapy, classroom activities with animals, teaching activities with birds, rabbits and fishes, preparing effective lesson plans which include animal assisted activities, exchange of good practices. We will use methods such as therapy programs, observation, teamwork, sharing good practices, teaching using creative methods, interview, seminar, and surveys.The concrete results we would like to produce are:-More positive attitude and motivation towards learning, reduced feeling of depression or anxiety.-Students with special needs will boost their listening/understanding skills, attentiveness and positive social behavior.-The quality of students’ social interaction, communication with peers and adults, fine motor skills, coordination and motivation will be improved due to animal assisted activities.-Animal assisted education will ensure physical, social, emotional, or cognitive functions of special needs students. -The best methods and experiences will be discovered in animal assisted interventions and the usage of different activities that included various animals in a variety of environments.-Our schools’ capacity and quality will be increased on academic achievement, social and emotional development, civic engagement, and equitable opportunity.-This project will help teachers identify key steps in effectively using such activities to teach socially important behaviors to students with learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disorders, and autism. -The competence and professionalism of teachers will improve through the exchange of good practice and participation in activities at animal-assisted therapy centers and partner schools.With this project, the participants will learn various methods about animal-assisted education using different animals. So, interaction with animals will provide important contributions to the social, emotional and physical development of students and help develop their skills. Learning, teaching, training activities will bring the international dimension to the professional development of participants. The participants will have a deeper knowledge and experience on animal-assisted programs in the European dimension. They will use this experience and knowledge in their professional life. Thus, they will improve the quality of life of students with disabilities and facilitate their social integration.Participating schools will become higher quality educational institutions with staff that have learned different practices in the European dimension in the field of animal assisted interventions and activities, have participated in human-animal interaction programs for professionals. They will be able to solve emotional, social, physical and mental problems of students with learning difficulties. Partner institutions will continue to provide school-based animal-assisted education and improve the learning environment further.

CONTEXTSometimes young people make irresponsible choices that represent a menace to their lifestyle, sound development and reaching their full intellectual and physical potential. Lack of experience makes it difficult for them to discern between positive and negative information, being highly exposed to external influences at this age. Nowadays schools strive to provide an open educational space to prioritize quality educational activities for students’ wellbeing. Partner schools confront with students who refuse to attend PE classes, increasing number of overweight students, prevailing sedentary lifestyle caused by technology addiction, preference for unhealthy food. Our mission as educators is to prepare students for healthy adulthood and lifelong development process. We wish to teach our children healthy lifestyle habits and model their behaviour, help them maintain a balanced living pattern that will lead to normal growth and continue beyond into adulthood. Because of a growing tendency to disregard health aspects among students, 5 European schools, motivated by similar institutional needs, devised a project with concrete solutions to make young people more self-conscious of their health.OBJECTIVESThe general aim of “Smart Choices For Healthy Lifestyle” is to raise awareness on the importance of a healthy lifestyle among students in partner schools. Project set objectives:-to empower participants’ skills and knowledge so as to adopt a balanced healthy lifestyle and healthy habits;-to foster quality and multidimensional improvements in participants’ lifestyle-to create the space for participants to learn in a multicultural environment-to exchange good practices at the international level.-to develop intercultural awareness and sense of identityThe objectives are in line with selected priorities and reflect the topics of LTTAs: Active and attractive sports, Happier lifestyle tips, Healthy eating habits, Healthy body&mind harmony, Nature-based learning. We would like to increase students' degree of awareness regarding the necessity of adopting a healthy and active lifestyle; to form positive attitudes towards sports. We wish to make students turn to genuine natural landscapes as people are more and more disconnected from the earth and beauty of the natural world.PARTICIPANTSProject target group is made up of teachers and students who deal with issues related to unhealthy habits in their daily activity. Direct beneficiaries will be 150 participants (110 students, 40 teachers specialised in the subjects/areas in the project) to attend scheduled LTTAs. Students with fewer opportunities, disadvantaged backgrounds will be encouraged to join the project and make their voice heard. We estimate that about 500 students aged 11-15 will be part of the activities, 120 teachers and local participants (school management, staff, parents, schools’ collaboration partners, stakeholders, guest specialists). The language of communication in the project is English.ACTIVITIESTo achieve project objectives we designed a selection of local and international activities. Thus, participants will explore the connection between body, mind and nature to foster wellbeing. Outdoor activities will engage participants into the exploration of the surrounding nature and exercise through sports and games. All partners will organise short term exchanges for groups of students. The topics of the exchanges:C1. Active and attractive sports - 22 students, 8 teachersC2. Happier lifestyle tips - 22 students, 8 teachersC3. Healthy eating habits - 22 students, 8 teachersC4. Healthy body&mind harmony - 22 students, 8 teachersC5. Nature-based learning - 22 students, 8 teachersRESULTSOur 22 months’ cooperation will generate tangible and intangible results. The concrete project envisaged results are: project logo, advertising poster, website, brochures, booklet, videos, TwinSpace, quiz, competition, seminars, questionnaires, feedback forms.Intangible project results produced include upgraded knowledge, attitudes, experiences, soft and hard skills developed, transfer of good practice examples into a daily routine.IMPACTFor all participants in activities, the partnership will have resulted in various benefits. There will be a range of occasions to learn from each other, transfer positive aspects identified in foreign educational systems to their own schools, appreciate and respect European cultures, develop the sense of tolerance and introduce the European dimension in one’s own institution. Students’ active involvement in interactive activities will develop the ability to sum up the information, digital skills critical thinking ability, stimulate creativity, healthy habits by applying knowledge into practice, a strong sense of nature connectivity.For teachers it will provide the space for professional exchange of practices in the field of methodology and the schools will have higher international visibility.