C3Portugal meeting minutes.pdf

EUROpean Sustainable Tourism And enTrepreneurship (EUROSTAR)

(219-1-CY01-KA229-058244_2)

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM, CULTURE AND LOCAL PEOPLE

1st Day (Monday, 8-11-2021):  At school

• The Erasmus teams were warmly welcomed by the teachers, school board and students of the hosting school. The headmistress of the school and the Portuguese coordinator gave a speech to the whole group expressing their feelings and expectations about the project meeting and introducing sustainable tourism, culture and local people as the central topics of the transnational meeting. Students were told that, during the visits that would take place throughout the week, they should work in collaborative international groups, defined beforehand, to collect information, take pictures and shoot videos, so that, on the last day of the visit, they could make promotional videos of Porto as a sustainable destination.

• A typical Portuguese breakfast was offered by the hosting school at the cafeteria, a prelude of local cuisine.

• Students and teachers were guided through the historic building of the Carolina Michaëlis complex, which has modern facilities combining the historic architecture with modern educational needs;

• A group of  host students presented some particularities about their country and city as well as  simple words and expressions of the Portuguese language. The guest students practised and translated them into their own language.
• The afternoon was devoted to the countries’ presentations on local culture, including food, dances, music, festivals and arts & crafts.
• During the presentations, the students from the other countries took some notes and filled in a grid to help them carry out TASK 1.
•  After the presentations, the students worked in mixed groups and created digital posters about the differences/similarities and uniqueness of the countries, concerning cultural sustainable activities in the five regions.
• While some of the participant teachers were supervising the students’ work, the coordinators held the first meeting on the latest organisational details of the mobility.
• In the evening, the four delegations were welcomed with a cheerful party at school where they could experience local food, local dances and local music.

2^nd Day (Tuesday, 9-11-2021): Porto Historic Centre: local culture and UNESCO World Heritage sites, preserving cultural heritage

• The day started with a guided tour of Porto City Hall, where the group was welcomed by the education deputy.  The group climbed up to the top of the tower of the building, where they could enjoy a breathtaking panoramic view of the city!
• Another guided tour followed, this time through Porto Historic Centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Throughout this tour the group took the chance to experience the unique atmosphere of the places and learn about monuments of historical and cultural interest, such as São Bento railway station, voted one of the most beautiful train stations in the world, with its more than 20.000 Portuguese typical tiles (“Azulejos”) that adorn the main hall walls, telling about some of the most important events of the history of Portugal and the evolution of the means of transport.

• Then the participants walked through Ribeira, the old city district located by the Douro River and part of the Historic Centre. There, the group could enjoy the unique settings along the river banks, including the 18^th century colourful buildings all around the main square, a carefully preserved heritage throughout the Portuguese History.

3^rd Day (Wednesday, 10-11-2021): local people, local culture and sustainable tourism: preserving our heritage

• The group visited Gaia, on the other bank of Douro River, opposite Porto.  They first stopped at the Afurada fishing community, which has been preserved through sustainable policies. At the ancient community washing tanks, filled with rainwater, the group met local women, the fishermen’s wives, who still wash the laundry there, singing old popular local tunes all along.

• Then teachers and students visited the Afurada Heritage Exhibition Centre, a tribute gallery to the people of this fishermen village, created to keep their cultural heritage and showcase it in a sustainable way.
• Afterwards there was a visit to the Rabelos boats shipyard, an example of sustainable practices. The participants talked to the owner and learnt about the history of this shipyard, the only one in the country to build the original wooden Rabelos boats, the ancient means of transport of the famous Port wine that came from the Douro’s Demarcated Region to be deposited in the well-known cellars located in Gaia. Currently, this shipyard concentrates great part of its activity in the adaptation and building of these vessels, duly modernised as a way of answering the touristic demands of our days, while faithfully preserving the characteristics of the original Rabelos.
• After lunch, the group went on a guided tour of The Caves Ferreira, one of the most typical wine cellars in Gaia. Established in an old convent, it is the only Porto Wine company that has always remained Portuguese through all its history. The participants were taken on a trip through Porto wine history and the majestic building, steeped in tradition, where hundreds of wine barrels and casks have been ageing the internationally recognised Porto Wine for over two centuries.
• Finally, the team went on a boat trip, on an original Rabelo boat, along the Douro River and the six bridges that connect Porto and Gaia. While admiring the views, the group learnt about the history and the cultural significance of each bridge and of some surrounding landmarks.

The day ended with a walk along the beaches of Gaia, the Portuguese municipality with the biggest number of Blue Flag beaches, where sustainability and tourism go hand in hand.

4^rth Day (Thursday, 11-11-2021): a trip to Guimarães, the “birthplace of Portugal”

• At school, the Erasmus team attended a talk by experts from Porto City Hall Tourism and Commerce about sustainable tourism and the preservation of Porto cultural heritage.  
• Then the group headed to Guimarães, “The birthplace of Portugal”, in the 12th century. There, the participants were guided through the Ducal Palace and Guimarães Castle, UNESCO World heritage sites, on a journey through the Portuguese history and cultural heritage.
• After lunch the students participated in a peddy-paper activity to discover the exceptionally well-preserved Historic Centre of Guimarães, also listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
• The visit ended at Serra Penha, the home mountain of Guimarães. The summit offers a variety of sustainable tourism activities such as mini golf, horse riding or trekking. The group climbed the mountain and enjoyed a breathtaking panoramic view of the region.

5^th Day (Friday, 12-11-2021): project  activities at school

• The students got together in collaborative groups and created the 2- minute videos promoting the region of Porto as a sustainable destination, based on the data collected during the local excursions that took place throughout the week and on the criteria supplied by the participant teachers.
• While some ICT teachers supervised the students’ work, the coordinators worked on project issues, such as   project management and implementation issues, the next meeting in Lithuania and dissemination strategies. An overview of ongoing work was carried out.
• Then the final outcomes – digital posters and promotional videos - were presented and evaluated, according to the given criteria.
• Afterwards students and teachers filled in a google forms questionnaire to evaluate the visit.
• A Kahoot followed and everybody could have fun and check what they have learned from the activities and the visits held during the week.
• The final activity was dedicated to music as each team sang their project song and shared the video clip previously made.
• The morning ended with the closing ceremony as the participant students and teachers received their attendance certificates.

• In the afternoon a farewell party was prepared by the host students to their guests.

• The day ended with a typical Portuguese dinner offered to the teachers by the host school.
• The 2nd Transnational Learning, Teaching and Training Meeting was successfully completed. During the five days of the programme, students and teachers from the five European countries had the opportunity to interact and strengthen the already excellent climate of trust, co-operation and friendship. At the same time, they increased cultural awareness by learning about the countries, their cultural heritage and ways of preserving it, particularly through sustainable practices.
• All  the  produced materials  were posted on  twinspace for further dissemination.