| In European societies we nowadays experience a complex situation: on the one hand we are living in
multi-ethnic societies, and on the other hand there are new nationalistic tendencies. A school is a
microcosm of society. We teach students from different countries of origin, refugees as well as thirdgeneration
migrants, and we are confronted with the various values that different students have
taken over from their parents. At the same time schools have the chance and the obligation to
educate our future citizens. We can help them to become tolerant and open-minded adults.
Our project´s name is EVA, which stands for “equality, variety and acceptance”. It focusses on the
idea that every human being has equal rights. Nobody should feel superior because of his or her
heritage, religion, sexual orientation, or skin colour – to name only a few examples. We have equal
rights, but we are not all the same! Our school (as well as our society) comprises a great variety of
individuals. No-one should feel the need to hide who they are from other people. This is why we need
tolerance and acceptance. We must respect each other as we are - and we must also make sure that
everyone respects these values.
The participants in the EVA-projects will be schools from Estonia, Portugal, Turkey, Bulgaria, France
and Germany. All of these schools have experiences when it comes to teaching students from
different countries of origin, minorities or refugees.
In the project we will first introduce our schools and towns to each other in short films. Our various
cultures will be represented by performances of traditional music and dance. In a workshop on
tolerance we will discuss our different attitudes with regard to “variety”. This will finally result in a set
of rules and values that we can all agree upon, and that will become the preamble to our respective
school regulations. At the same time, we will be working on developing and staging a play on the
topic "equality
variety
acceptance" , which will be performed on our final meeting.
The preamble to the school regulations has to be approved of by students, teachers and parents
alike. The performance of the play will be a public performance to which representatives of the press
will be invited. Thus, our ideas will be spread in the school and the community.
The long-term effects that we are aiming at, are an increased awareness and a heightened sense of
tolerance that will make living together much easier – at school as well as everywhere. |
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This
Project is sponsered by Erasmus+ within the Education Programme of the European Commission. Thank you!!!