Walls and Bridges

Motivation of the project

“We build too many walls and not enough bridges” /Isaac Newton/.
The wall is a very strong symbol of collective imagination. It constitutes an obstacle to communication and to movement; it is a symbol of incommunicability between people and generations, a barrier which separates nations of different races and religions; it is a physical and psychological obstacle for disabled people. The bridge, however, is a symbol of linking people, places, ideas, an opportunity to unite them, allows communication between people of same or different nationalities.

The needs analysis in each partner school has demonstrated that the teaching-studying procedure is becoming harder and harder due to the fact that the students are facing more and more inclusive problems/eg. social, religious, cultural, educational, language and communication difficulties, and other barriers. These students are building walls around themselves, do not let the knowledge in, do
not socialize, in this way are always in danger of school drop- out and after all do not succeed in life.

This student society has to be given the proper tools and skills at schools. The knowledge and the course materials background is a very important issue at school, however we should not forget about dealing with the students as persons, as valuable individuals and help them make an active citizen, with many chances in life and the labour market.

From the previously made analysis, in each school there are lots of students having disadvantaged backgrounds and facing fewer opportunities, who have built their invisible walls around themselves.
However, there are the other students, who do not face major difficulties in any sector of their lives, they do not know and even do not want to recognize that the first mentioned group has difficulties, it is much easier for them not to take them into consideration and do not involve them in any social, educational groups and the walls are growing. The successful students have to be taught that facing the disadvantages, dealing with them would lead to better chances for fewer opportunity students and it will also enrich the society.

Both groups have to work on this issue differently, the first has to destroy walls, the second has to help the first building walls between them.
The project Walls and Bridges offers students, teachers and the territory of each partner the chance to study, to reflect and to debate about shared topics and also to work together to use, to find, to share solutions, means and languages which foster communication and union; moreover, it gives the opportunity to overcome limits and divisions.