"United in Diversity" - description of the project.

  • United in Diversity (U.in D.).

    It is a Project that will last 2 years and involves schools from Greece, Turkey, Italy and Poland. Project come from disadvantaged backgrounds and all schools have lot of things in common, that is the main reason of the partnership. The main objective is to bring the people together, combine their needs and find solutions, accept one another and involve all parts in actively participating in the society by engaging them in collaborative activities. All these different students, as they immerse into

    a society unknown to them, need to feel the security of being included in everyday life in all aspects. Improving European education, training system quality and inclusion, has been set as a key target in Europes strategy to become a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy by 2020 (Council of the European Union, 2010). These objectives are more specifically defined in the so called Modernization Agenda (EC 2011).

    We aware that our students without these values, they won't be able to live in peace in multicultural society. The 21st century requires gaining cultural awareness competencies, communication, collaboration, social and civic responsibility and digital literacy competencies. All good teachers build a bridge between what students know and what they need to learn.

     

    We have focused on the following objectives:

    To reduce the school drop out rates in the communities involved in the project.

    To develop the key competences, such as ICT skills and linguistic competences using ways of teaching and learning focused on children.

    To improve the linguistic competence in children in order to develop techniques and skills which will be essential for them in the world of work in a close future.

    To encourage in children the capacity of work in Europe since early ages by working on linguistic and social competences.

    To implement the European dimension among all participants, encourage in them

    internationalization and be open-minded, which is so important to be integrated in a common Europe to prevent our communities members of social exclusion in the future.

    To use ICT a tool of communication, elaboration, evaluation and diffusion of the results.

    To improve students and teachers communication, group working skills, the use of English as common language.

    To compare methods of teaching and learning, values of education, school organization and curriculum in order to look for innovative ways of teaching and learning and introduce pedagogical innovations.

     

    We will have 5 main products: A dictionary with basic functions in our mother languages, the ''dictionary of diversity''.

    *A multicultural newspaper.

    *A theatrical drama about an inter-cultural Europe, ''The myth of diversity''.

    *Composing a new song about European identity and making a new dance from our tradition folk dances, ''U in D'' song and dance.

    *Producing a video documentary ''Me and U in Diversity'' about European and human values, in order to promote solidarity, tolerance, acceptance and empathy.

     

    This project in which action-learning proccess is fundamental and role of the student as an element of it, is basic, the methodology its based in inter-cultural collaboration, non-formal activities, ICT research, workshops, differentiated teaching. Aiming in a deeper understanding of the diversity,broadening the knowledge base, improve communication and strengthen interpersonal, inter-cultural

    and social skills, improving tolerance, acceptance of the different and increasing creativity and innovation, through cooperation and learning by doing.

    Children and teachers will promote the linguistic diversity and inter-cultural awareness, tolerance to diversity, break down the prejudices, promoting new teaching learning methods. Students will become more European citizens and able to interact, feeling more familiar at their school's with the difference, with a high awareness of citizenship. All people involved in the project will get an open mind of the globalized world. It will be certainly an immaterial added value, plenty of inter-cultural

    experiences and activities. The sharing the experiences of the different cultural lives, the knowing and doing will be multiplier to other partners and peers and added to the community not directly involved, by the spread words and produced works disseminated at school, community and website.

    The project described here is an inter-cultural one. Our main objective is to facilitate the inclusion of all these different students and their families in the school life and in the community as well. We prefer the word "inclusion" than "integration" as it is a word that means acceptance and recognition of one's culture and identity rather than "integration" that for us has the meaning of losing the identity of the culture that one brings to a new country and embracing a new identity. So, inclusive education is what we aim for.We have focused on these priorities because all schools involved in the project have a high number of students that come from disadvantaged backgrounds. It is due to different factors: they live in rural areas, because of economic reasons or high rates of unemployment and they are from disadvantages background.Our schools come from different levels of the educational system,

    from primary to secondary. For us this is of utmost importance as our target groups are the students no matter in which level or age they are. Young students or older students will be equally addressed by this project as the problems and difficulties they face are common. They need to adapt as well their everyday life to accept the changes that the new situation brings and to learn how to coexist with other people of different cultures.