CONTEXTEurope is portrayed by a set of challenges - unemployment, poverty and social exclusion, terrorism, the mass influx of refugees and ecological construction - that has face to move forward. For such reasons, over the last years, the EU has paid increased attention to a new and progressive vision of combating inequalities that stems from sustainable development. In 2015, all EU member states and other countries in the United Nations have adopted the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, while in 2018, the first Report for Sustainable Equality (2019-2024) was published. In successfully dealing with these crises, Europe needs to endorse a different approach to European Governance that draws upon sustainable development and equality. Ultimate victory is the proof that Europe may empower critical voting among youth that will allow for better decision-making across the EU.PROJECT OBJECTIVESThe first objective of this project is to empower youth to act as agents of change for building a Europe of sustainable development and equality by enhancing their critical-voting literacy that includes: (a) media and news literacy; (b) socio-emotional literacy, and (c) social-justice literacy. To do so, this project draws upon the strategies of critical literacy and experiential learning, by using new technologies, and innovative methodologies, such as collaborative role play and simulations, problem-based learning, critical-incidents analysis, and virtual communities of learning and practice. Another important objective of this project is to promote youth’s and teachers' training to enhance their competences in using such methodologies so as to meet the first objective.PARTICIPANTSFour schools, 2 pedagogical departments of 2 Universities, a confederation of education and training centers, and an association focused on developing new strategies for quality management in education, youth and society across 4 participating countries: Cyprus, Spain, Greece and Italy.METHODOLOGYAn iterative methodology under which 2 versions of the Resources and Activities Toolkti will be produced. After the completion of the 1st version, ‘Resources and activities toolkit’ will be validated in workshops with youth and teachers and based on the conclusions the next version will be planned. All other results will be planned according to the validation process.ACTIVITIES AND RESULTSThis project will produce a methodological tool for enhancing education for critical-voting literacy, including: media and news literacy; socio-emotional literacy; and social-justice literacy. The tool will be developed according to a comparative analysis of both teachers' and youth’s needs analyses in the participating countries, but also on the basis of the state-of-the art analysis in each participating country. According to this methodological tool, the consortium will produce a Toolkit of ‘Resources and Activities’ aiming to empower youth in critical-voting literacy. This Toolkit will be tested through workshops carried out with teachers and youth aged 14-18 and then localised and translated in national languages. As the project also envisages the development of teachers' and youth’s competences to work accordingly, a Teacher's Handbook and a Youth’s Handbook will be produced in the English language, and then localised and translated in national languages. A Group of Experts will contribute by sharing their ideas, expertise, and evaluative feedback to the development of all project outputs. A transnational joint-staff training event will be carried out in Greece to train teachers to use the project outcomes. All the project's products will be promoted through international and national multiplier events that will have the form of conferences organised by the consortium. The project's results will also be disseminated through other venues such as websites, social media, EU platforms, newsletter, publications, etc.TARGET GROUPSThe target groups in the life of the project comprise of youth aged 14-18 and teachers working with youth of that age. Apart from these direct target groups, the beneficiaries include also indirect target groups such as schools, youth’s associations and organisations, NGOs working in the area of voting education, policy makers and educational stakeholders making decisions about school curricula, parents, curriculum developers, teachers training institutions, universities with pedagogical departments. BENEFITPromote sustainable development and equality in Europe by reinforcing the development and implementation of successful initiatives in critical-voting education. The project will help in counteracting the detrimental consequences of populism to the values that define us as Europeans, and mainly sustainable equality, respect for human rights and freedoms, tolerance, pluralism and non-discrimination. Raise youth’s voices and active involvement in decision-making through innovative methodologies.

CONTEXTThe EU is facing several severe crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the subsequent socio-economic crisis, the refugee crisis, and tensions between some of its Member States and third countries. To successfully deal with any crisis, ultimate victory is proof that Europe can successfully overcome any cultural or other differences between its people to become socially cohesive and resilient to meet current and new threats and challenges. Cultural diplomacy can be the vehicle leading to this victory, as it has the unique advantage of helping people to adapt more quickly to the demands of rapid change and the increased speed of change. Cultural diplomacy entails a type of public diplomacy and soft power that refers to the exchange of ideas, information, art, language, and other aspects of culture among nations and their peoples in order to foster mutual understanding and cooperation. The goal of cultural diplomacy is for people coming from a foreign nation to develop a rich understanding of one nation's ideals and institutions so as to build broad support for social, economic, and political goals. Cultural diplomacy is a course of action based on the exchange of ideas, values, traditions, and other aspects of culture or identity, to strengthen relationships and socio-cultural cooperation, to promote national interests and beyond.PROJECT OBJECTIVESThe first goal of the project is to enable children to become cultural diplomats so as to act as agents of change in order to build a socially cohesive and resilient Europe capable of meeting new threats and challenges. The achievement of the goal is based on the approach of cultural diplomacy, and the use of new technologies and innovative and creative methodologies, such as collaborative art-making, collaborative storytelling and poetry, and digital-cultural pedagogies. Another important goal of this project is to promote children's and teachers' training to improve their skills to become agents of the cultural diplomacy approach, in order to achieve the first goal of the project.PARTICIPANTSFour schools, two Universities focusing on teachers' preparation, two NGOs focusing on professional development, active citizenship, and other social goals across 4 participating countries: Cyprus, Spain, Greece, and Malta.ACTIVITIES AND RESULTSThe EURODIPLOMATS project will produce a methodological tool for the cultural-diplomacy approach according to a comparative analysis that will result from both teachers' and children's needs analyses in the participating countries, but also on the basis of the state-of-the-art analysis in each participating country. According to this methodological tool, the consortium will produce a Toolkit of Resources and Activities that will promote the objective of the project; that is children to become cultural diplomats to act as agents of change for a Europe of social cohesion and resilience which is ready to meet new threats and challenges. This Toolkit will be tested through workshops carried out with teachers and children 9-15 and then finalised. Partners will translate their own activities into their languages. As the project envisages the development of teachers' and children's competencies to work accordingly, a Teacher's Handbook and a Children's Handbook will be also produced in the English language, while including multimedia in the consortium languages. It is notable that a Group of Experts that will be created for the purposes of this project will contribute to the whole of both developing the methodological tool and the Toolkit of Resources and Activities, but also the Teachers' and the Children's Handbooks process by sharing their ideas and expertise, but also their evaluative feedback. A short transnational joint-staff training event will be carried out in Greece in order to provide the opportunity for teachers to be trained to use the project outcomes. All the project's products will be promoted through international and national multiplier events that will have the form of conferences organised by the consortium. The project's results will be disseminated through venues such as websites, social media, EU platforms, newsletters, publications, etc.TARGET GROUPSThe target groups in the life of the project comprise of children aged 9-15 and teachers working with children of that age. Apart from these direct target groups, the beneficiaries include also indirect target groups such as schools, children's associations, and organisations, policymakers, and educational stakeholders making decisions about school curricula, parents, children's curriculum developers, teachers training institutions, universities with pedagogical departments. BENEFITPromote, through cultural diplomacy, social cohesion, and resilience in Europe in order to become able to meet new challenges and threats. Raise children’s voices and active involvement in education via the innovative methodology of cultural diplomacy.

<< Objectives >>By implementing the project we want to increase the awareness of inclusion at the level of intra and interpersonal communication, socio-emotional in the schools following the pandemic period in the context of distance learning including the development of a quality education in our school. Also, we want to increase the professional development of the teachers including a specific curriculum development by implementing 5 new interactive teaching methods from the European educational space.<< Implementation >>We are going to implement different categories of activities:- learning activities for teachers through mobilities in Malta;- learning activities for students and teachers through mobilities in Greece and Romania; - disseminations activities: workshops and debates at local levels for students and for teachers, before and after the mobilities;- teambuilding activities in the the class; - coordinating activities: the project management activities on the whole duration of the project.<< Results >>Tangible results: a theatrical piece with decorations items and costumes made from recyclables materials; a guide with 5 interactive teaching methods, 10 lessons plans; one printed magazine with stories which tackle inclusion in four languages: Romanian, Greece, Maltese and English; 4 workshops at local levels.Intangible results: the increasing and the development of a quality education in our schools, the growing with 7 to 10 percent the motivation of students regarding educational activities.

"Името на проекта е „Моята Европа, Вашата Европа, Нашата Европа“. Това е стратегическо партньорство между седем училища, което започна на 1 декември 2016 г. и продължи 24 месеца. Ученииците, които бяха пряко включени в проекта са на възраст между 8 и 18 години. Координатор на проекта е СОУ ""Цар Симеон Велики"" от Видин, България.Istituto Comprensivo Melvin Jones Orazio Comes, Primary school Szkola Podstawowa im. St. Mikolajczyka w Jaszkowej Dolnej, Primary school Scoala Gimnaziala Pietroasa, Secondary school CEIP LUIS CERNUDA, Primary school Darica Namik Kemal Ilkokulu and DE LA SALLE COLLEGE SIXTH FORM. Осмият партньор, училище 3rd Dimotiko Sxoleio Oreokastrou от Гърция се отказа от проекта преди неговото начало. Това не попречи и проектът е успешен със 7 партньора. Някои от училищата имат часове с интензивно обучение по Английски, ИКТ и STEM. Две училища - CEIP LUIS CERNUDA и De La Salle, никога не са участвали в Еразъм+ проект. През 2015 г. Декларацията от Париж е за насърчаване на гражданството и общите ценности на свобода, толерантност и недискриминация чрез образование. Училищата трябва да се адаптират и да развиват нови начини на преподаване и учене, които съответстват на променящия се свят. Целта на проекта е да се подобри „класическото“ образование до „приобщаващо“ образование чрез преподаване на европейски ценности, Правата на човека и засилване на подготвеността за използване на ИКТ.Целите на нашия проект бяха:1. Споделяне и развитие на европейски добри практики и инструменти за промяна на „класическото“ образование"" в „приобщаващо“образование. 2. Подобряване на разбирането на учениците за европейските ценности - свобода, толерантност и недискриминация чрез образование.3. Да се ​​подпомогне интеграцията на мигрантите и бежанците. 4. Повишаване на ИКТ и дигиталните умения на учениците и учителите. Темата е разгледана в различни аспекти и приложена в учебните предмети. Целеви групи са не само ученици от групи в неравностойно положение, но и мигранти и бежанци. ""Интегрирнето"" е двупосочен процес, в който участниците са всички ученици. Партньорите започнаха eTwinning проект. Учителите развиваха чувството за европейска идентичност на учениците, основано на общи ценности, история и култура. ИКТ и дигиталните умения бяха инструмент. Няколко типа дейности: 1. Дейности за създаване на резултатите от проекта - комикс за историята на три семейства и пътуването им от войната до ЕС(""Пътуването към дванадесетте звезди""). - брошура на английски и всички езици на проекта - ""Проектът накратко"". - фотоконкурс ""Имам право да имам приятел"" - филм „Нашата Европа, нашето бъдеще“ за насърчаване на идеята, че да се живее в Европа означава интегриране в европейското общество. - Осем Евро-игри (4 игри на маса и 10 онлайн игри) за запознаване на учениците с ценностите, институциите и правилата на ЕС. Книжка с описание на игрите и снимки (""Games Corner"").2. Дейности за представяне и популяризиране на резултатите от проекта и за честване на Деня на Europe.3. Обучителни дейности за учители. 4. Мобилност на ученици. 5. Дейности за оценка и разпространение на проекта и неговите резултати. За комуникация, сътрудничество и разпространение на резултатите използвахме eTwinning, Платформата за разпространение на резултатите, социалните медии - Facebook, проучванията с GoogleForm, срещите на живо, електронна поща, онлайн дискусии, Padlet, QR код, Doodle, Tricider, PowToon, Pixton и т.н. Четири транснационални срещи за управление и планиране - в началото, в края на първата учебна година, в началото и в края на втората година на проекта. Качествени резултати: Учителите и учениците повишиха осведомеността си и чувство за европейска идентичност, По-добра интеграция на ученици от групи в неравностойно положение, Подобрени учителски компетенции, повишена мотивация на учениците да бъдатактивни граждани, Повишена компетентност на учениците и учителите в чуждите езици и дигиталните компетенции. По-положително отношение към европейския проект и ценностите на ЕС. Повишена мотивация и удовлетвореност в ежедневната работа. Проектът оказа въздействие на местно, регионално, национално и транснационално ниво. Публичността на проект с такива важни цели има положителен ефект и за репутацията на участващите организации. Други организации използват резултатите от проекта. Получихме покана за среща от Националната агенция за бежанците в България и получихме висока оценка за постиженията си. Наградени бяхме от Lions клуб в Монополи с плакет, за активна позиция.Разпространението и използването на резултатите са важна част от нашия проект. Имахме дейности на всички етапи на проекта - преди началото, по време и след края на проекта. Онлайн разпространение - социални мрежи и сайтове, преса и медии, срещи с младежки работници, Официални институции и НПО, работещи с мигранти. Нашият проект оказва влияние върху учениците и учителите не само в нашите училища. Той има дългосрочни ползи. Резултатите ще бъдат използвани и след края му."

The main assumption behind the project “Creating an Innovative Platform of Communication and Teaching in a Digital Society” was that for a number of socio-economic, political and cultural reasons the quality of education has declined on a global scale, especially in Bulgaria. We also believe that the teacher is the key figure in the educational process whose skills and competences are decisive for improving the effectiveness of education. Most of the countries in the world face serious issues in this regard: 1) shortage of teachers because of low economic incentives, hence low prestige of the teacher's profession; 2) inadequate professional skills; 3) insufficient motivation to upgrade qualification.Against this background, the proposed project aimed: 1) To upgrade the language proficiency and intercultural competences of teachers and students by developing an innovative method of foreign language teaching and learning;2) To strengthen the profile of the teacher's profession and thus increase motivation for lifelong learning; 3) To stimulate collaboration between the participating countries through exchange of good practices;4) To encourage partnerships between schools and local educational authorities.The project team consisted of 7 institutional partners (3 schools, 2 NGOs, and 2 regional departments of education) from Bulgaria, Malta, the Netherlands, and Turkey. The coordinator was Association “Education Without Barriers” (www.ewb.bg). In this way, the project included organizations operating in diverse socio-economic, cultural and educational contexts. The direct participants in the project were 22 teachers and 166 pupils. In addition, the project reached about 140 teachers from schools not involved in the project and about 800 school principals, experts, educators, youth workers and other stake-holders. The grand total of project beneficiaries, including partners, is estimated at 1,145 persons.The project involved the following activities:1) developing an innovative platform of communication; 2) training sessions for teachers and pupils;3) mobility activities (C1 in Malta, TM1,2,3 in Sofia, Istanbul, Valkenburg);4) online event involving groups of pupils (C2);5) online meeting with partners, including TM4; 6) dissemination of project results (meetings with stakeholders, trainings, TwinSpace materials, toolkits, publicity materials, info-boards, banners and project corners in schools, posts in social networks, etc.)The project is based on an innovative method of teaching English which consists of 3 components: language study through a topic-related approach, use of ICT tools and non-formal techniques in and out of the classroom. The method’s essence can be summarized as “Learn, (Re)think, Express”: learn new words, expressions, and terms related to a topic selected from real life, actual events, and the personal experience of students; think about the questions the topic raises, and express a critical opinion using the new vocabulary. The final effect will be three-fold: general culture will be enriched, intellectual horizons will be broadened, and critical thinking will be energized. In addition, the creative use of ICT aids and resources from non-formal education will make the study process more interesting for teachers and learners alike. The following results have been achieved: 1) a new platform of communication (TwinSpace, eTwinning, Padlet);2) innovative methodology of teaching and learning English;3) English and German lessons based on the new method; 4) Toolkit I, “Teach Better, Learn More”, and Toolkit II, “Learn, Re(think), Express” available on TwinSpace; 5) productive partnerships with schools, regional educational authorities and NGOs; 6) exchange of good practices among partners.The project activities will have both short-term and long-term impact. Short-term, they will result in enhanced teaching and learning skills of trainees; higher motivation to work and upgrade professional qualification; heightened intercultural sensitivity; stronger partnerships. Long-term: involvement of schools outside the project; more active engagement of regional authorities in projects related to intercultural education. After the end of the project, all partners will continue to communicate. The following activities will be sustained: maintaining the innovative platform; conducting training sessions and open lessons; ongoing contacts with local, regional and national educational authorities; organizing a face-to-face summer school for pupils and teachers, the pandemic situation permitting. The Toolkits may be used as a basis to create an intellectual product which could be periodically updated and enriched.