"In Cooking with Colour, we focus on raising motivation in students. Students teach fellow-students from their partner countries about their own food culture and cooking techniques. Teaching staff and students therefore see themselves more as 'resources of knowledge and skill' and thereby gain self-confidence, pride and self-esteem. This - in its turn - rubs off on motivation, attendance and study results in our three nooks and crannies of the world: Hudiksvall (Sweden), Vieste (Italy) and Paphos (Cyprus). Though very hands-on in its nature with the acquisition of specific skills on the menu, the partnership works towards the high aims of improved vocational education, digitalisation and international strategic collaboration. We are convinced that teachers are the best resource to improve students' results in vocational training, a statement supported by present day research. We are also convinced that knowledge passed on from one person to the other is a double gain. The partnership's teaching staff and students share the experience of remoteness, poor aspiration, low education levels and restrained economic environment. It takes self-confidence and grit to be successful - professionally and in life as a whole - in these circumstances. Education plays the key role here. Teachers play a key role here. Students too. The methods applied in learning, LTTs and videography as key features in everyday teaching and training to present skills to others, will help students become more motivated. To improve attendance and results, students need to develop more 'grit'. Motivation creates grit. To make this materialise, students and staff engage in a set plan and be provided mindset methods and tools to improve in a hands-on way. Personal improvement will also raise an interest for work-based learning and further international collaboration. PartnersBromangymnasiet (Post-16), Hudiksvall, SwedenI.P.S.S.A.R - Hospitality Institute P. E. Mattei (Post-16) , Vieste, ItalyMIEEK (Post-16), Paphos, CyprusTeachers and students will present their way of working via digital storytelling in a lookbook (i.e. an ebook) with updated, interactive elements that urge students to perform better, aspire more and broaden their horizons between the three cultures involved. Methodology to be used in carrying out the project:1. Staff and students working together in a cross-setting of tourism, restaurant and food - at home between visits as well as during visits abroad. Three student visits abroad are limited to four students and two accompanying teachers per organisation. These will be restaurant and food students and their staff. The small numbers are necessary to be ""doable on our premises"" and give the project the applied learning and drive needed to raise expectations and thereby motivation. 2. Working together to build content on the digital platform’s Lookbook where writing, interviews, photo and videography together build content around each countries culture and foods as well as the cooking techniques and skills required.3. Applying the ‘growth mindset’ (Dweck) to create a positive learning environment built on the students’ innate desire to do well and to advance, do better. With this teaching technique, we reduce the risk of failure in education (and early drop-out) from education due to a higher degree of expectation and excitement in learning in both staff and students. School management have their LTTs to learn and apply our methods in their teams and schools.The project affects all students in tourism/restaurant and food in our respective schools. The three year groups within our schools have different areas that they are responsible for in the project to increase pride.Impact chain:Input - three experienced schools with common challengesActivities - LTTs resulting in creative digital movesOutput - improved attendance, a public platform showcasing Cooking with Colour, but also our methods to fight failure in vocational educationOutcomes - more active staff and students, work-based learning abroad, improved digital competence in students and teachersImpact - modernised vocational education in our schools serving as examples to inspire others, a platform for strategic development We were recommended to apply for a sharing of best practice project to allow us to get to know our partners to see how we can build a future strategic project out of our experience in this partnership. We believe in the idea. In a nutshell, Cooking with Colour will: Strengthen the profiles of the teaching professions, and,Develop partnerships aimed at promoting work-based learning in all its forms by focusing on the content Creativity and culture as well as Cultural heritagein a challenging, creative, motivation-raising way in LTTs and online, and thus reduce the risk of Early School Leaving and failure in education by applying a mindset in the project producing 'grit' in the project's staff and students."

"Nowadays, it has become imperative to adjust our teaching methods to the requirements imposed by the rapid development that we are experiencing. However, it should not be omitted that there are skills and methods which have started to lose ground in the technological era and it would be a pity to assist passively to them. Having this in mind, we have set out on the journey of discovering and rediscovering the pleasure of reading, as a way of improving students' basic competences - language, communication, as well as skills such as interpretation, critical thinking and analysis. Alarmingly high numbers of students have never read an entire book in their lives, while others state that they only read out of obligation, but less than a book per year. Therefore, teaching English as a foreign language through stories can be a challenge as much as it can prove a source of endless inspiration and entertainment.BENEFICIARIESOur target group includes students of the ages 13-18 with basic English skills (minimum A2 level) from our schools. We chose this age group as they are old enough to read in English and young enough to still show enthusiasm for it. Therefore, we are addressing a number of approximately 400 students (the others, who do not have a working command of English, but are in the same age group, will be involved in artistic activities, cultural activities or activities which involve their mother tongue.The project also addresses teachers of English from our schools who will update their teaching methods and exchange experiences and practices with their peers, thus contributing to the creation of a professional network of English teachers. 110 students and 32 teachers will participate in the 4 exchanges we have planned, participants who will be selected from the target groups.GOALS1.to develop students' taste for reading and motivate them; (minimum 50% of target group);2.to develop students' creativity and language skills; (minimum 80% of the target group);3.to develop students' critical and creative thinking, personal and social capability; (min. 60% target group);4.to develop understanding of their own culture in connection with other European cultures; (minimum 70%);5.to promote European values and develop cohesion among European citizens.6.to exchange teaching methods and improve the material bases of the English teachers.7.to produce sustainable teaching materials and share them with foreign language teachers in our countries and others.ACTIONWe have planned 4 exchanges:C1- November 2019 – Italy: For teachers to start on the project and the topic;C2 - February 2020 – Spain: Developing literary and interpretative skills through stories.C3 - May 2020 - Poland: Teaching reading and critical thinking skills through stories.C4 – November 2020 - Romania: Teaching writing skills and creativity through stories.C5 - April 2021 - Turkey: Teaching speaking skills through stories. Developing self-confidence in the use of English.The exchanges will comprise topic-related seminars and workshops, cultural activities, attending lessons. For the purpose of project management and evaluation plan, we will organize 1 meeting: in the beginning, in Turkey.APPROACHProject management implies planning, organization, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and dissemination of results. In the planning stage - we identified the needs and established the aims and objectives of the project. In the organization stage, we will elaborate dissemination and evaluation plans, action plans, timeline of events, distribution of tasks and resources. In the implementation stage, we will organize the selection, preparation and participation in exchanges. We will produce the final results of the project.The dissemination plan is created to share the results and activities within our partnership and beyond it, so as to impact the target groups, the institutions, local/regional/national/European target audiences. The assessment is done at every stage of the project and its results will be included in the impact study.DEVELOPMENT•Students are expected to become more motivated, improve their language skills and intercultural competence; they will become more self-confident in their ability to use English, improve their literary competence, their reading, speaking, writing skills as well as their interpretive, critical thinking skills and creativity.•Teachers as well will become more motivated, improve their leadership, team work, presentation skills, improve their material base, and develop language, communication skills, interpersonal and intercultural competence.•Schools become more visible in their community, develop their human resources.Tangible project results include: Compendium of literary theory for secondary school students; Collection of story-related activities and lesson plans for secondary school students; Curriculum for optional class ""TESS - Teaching English Skills through Stories"""

School units are institutions where teachers and students are in continuous learning, professional development, where everyone needs to feel safe. Discrimination, harassment and aggression are present in schools, although there is legislation to counter these phenomena and to provide safetyand comfort. To reduce the number of cases of violence, aggression and discrimination, all partner schools need to spend time and resources. The schools will share their experiences, measures, good practices, similarities and differences between prevention plans will be identified, the authorities' involvement insolving these problems will be analyzed.Our objectives are:1. Active involvement of teachers in the issue of violence, harassment and discrimination in schools2. Identify a common strategy to combat violence3. Promote a sense of respect and tolerance4. Encourage the inclusion of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds5. Create the context for equality between students6. Encourage self-expression and creativity7. Development of communication, organization, coordination skills.ParticipantsThe project targets two target groups:The one of teachers who are concerned with issues of violence and harassment. They will share experiences, share their practices on the subject, analyze similarities, differences, identify good practices they will apply in their own schools. The second target group is pupils whose negative attitude we want to change. The objective will be to raise awareness of the causes and effects of violence and discrimination. They will be persuadedto respect, accept and create a pacifist atmosphere in schools. We will organize 5 LTTAs with a total of 120 students and at least 50 teachers.Activities (all students exchange):C1 –Discrimination and violence in schools – common and different aspects C2 –Let’s be against stereotypical thinking and discrimination C3 – Let’s be against violence C4 – Let’s be against bullying C5 - Say Yes to Equality Results:Concrete results - A detailed report on how to tackle violence and discrimination at school level. There will be written: a calendar of the most important moments in the project, a site that will contain all the activities, information about the project and its objectives, the works of the students during the LTTA, stories CDs, photos, films, pictures, video journals and a magazine. Planned results - Participants will increase their awareness of the concept of equality, community sentiment, become more open to differences, increase respect and tolerance towards others, develop their communication skills in English, interpersonal relationships and abilities as a result of direct collaboration between partner teams and time sharing in host families. In addition, participants become more aware of cultural differences, more prepared to deal with aggression and violence.EffectParticipating in this project will be a real benefit to our institutions. We want the number of violent incidents among pupils to be considerably reduced due to their conscious involvement. We hope for immediate awareness of them.We will involve as many students as possible so that they transfer their acquired knowledge to other students.In the long run, teachers:-To develop their communication, organizational skills, English speaking skills, coordination.- It could better deal with these issues at the institutional level, initiating collaborative projects withlocal education authorities.- They will cooperate and collaborate with their peers in their partner schools, which will allow them todiversify the methods they will then adopt in their own schools.- They will benefit from intercultural exchange by participating in courses during LTTA, by tracking presentations of other partner countries' educational systems and by participating in discussions with their colleagues.All participants will better understand the reality of their country compared to other European countries and will develop a sense of European identity, continuing cooperation in online projects after the completion of this project.

- CONTEXTThe Erasmus+ experience includes a partnership between five countries all across Europe. These schools aspire to create an experience that allows their students to gain professional experience, personal development, opportunities to utilize critical and creative thinking, and an entrepreneurial mindset that they can utilize to assist their communities. Of the participating schools, three have vocational profiles (GR, PT and IT) and the other two schools have general education profiles. By having a variety of profiles represented, the Erasmus+ experience will be even more meaningful because it will expose students to different methods of entrepreneurship. An in-depth look at local economies and their needs will provide insight for the students and offer an opportunity to work together to find solutions to address the needs of the economies. While the countries taking part in these projects are all part of the EU, each country is diverse and represents a unique social and economic experience that contains different needs and interests. Therefore, making the Erasmus+ experience not only an appealing initiative, but a rewarding one as well. PARTICIPANTSThe Erasmus+ experience addresses a specific group of students. The group is composed of 500 high school students aged 17-18 years old. Of the 500 students involved, only 100 of these students will be directly involved in the exchanges. The involvement in the exchanges can be in the form of participants or as hosts for the other students. To maintain a level of stability in the projects, each country will send five students to attend each exchange, which allows 20 students overall to be involved in each initiative. These projects are gender inclusive and both boys and girls are allowed and encouraged to participate. Additionally, 30% of students in the group of students come from challenged backgrounds, low-income families, or dismembered families. OBJECTIVESThe objective of the project is to facilitate an opportunity for students from various EU countries a chance to collaborate to achieve a common goal. But there are five specific objectives: 1.Provide participants with the prospect of getting acquainted with new cultures and allow for cultural exchange through gaining intercultural competence. 2.To contribute to the entrepreneurial mindset of the students by allowing them to develop joint business ideas that will provide a smoother transition to the world of business. 3.To promote soft skills and improve the professional development of the students through the promotion of critical thinking, communication, analytical thought processing, and creativity, which will improve their transition to the work force. 4.To enhance the self-confidence of students while managing unfamiliar contexts and language skills 5.To collaborate and transfer the best practices across European schools to other schools to improve the European dimension of education.MAIN ACTIVITIESThe exchanges are meant to achieve the desired objectives through five main student exchanges. These activities are meant to allow students to meet other students from around the EU, learn more about local economies, meet various entrepreneurs, and visit businesses in the local area. The aim of the project is to allow students to collaborate and create innovative business ideas that are tailored for the local economies in the partner schools. The business ideas will then be adapted for the student’s own local needs. Each exchange will include a different topic to address specific areas and are as follows: 1. C1 - Portuguese economy and startups in IT2. C2 – Greek economy and startups in agriculture3. C3 – Bulgarian economy and startups in small scale manufacturing enterprises 4. C4 – Turkish economy and startups in the beauty industry5. C5 – Italian economy and startups in outdoor activities and sportsRESULTSThe end of the exchanges will result in local economy presentations made by the five partner countries, student-made brochures regarding businesses in the local area, 20 startup business ideas and plans created by students in multicultural teams, business plan evaluation forms finalized by entrepreneurs, workshop materials, testimonials from students, evaluations from the initial stage and final stages of the project, feedback and self-assessment forms, a “Business ideas for students” project brochure, website for the project, eTwinning space, 137 Europass mobility documents and certificates of attendance, and five reports from the interim and final stages of the project. The project will have an impact on the participating schools on various levels including: - human resources development - development of partnerships with local businesses- expansion and development of institutional and personal collaboration between European countries - promotion of the schools in local communities as well as in European communities