Current affairsThere is only one Planet Earth, and all of its citizens have one future.“ (Al Gore, „Eine unbequeme Wahrheit“, S. 287) Our project ”World Heritage Earth – Our Common Future“ deals with the current state of our planet. According to a report by the UN in 2019, our planet is in a bad state: The earth’s climate is changing, the average temperature is rising, the polar ice is melting, our eco-systems are about to lose their natural balance and our resources are being used up on an unprecedented scale. Our planet is in danger. Our life-style endangers our health and our planet’s ability to recover from all the human-made damage is reduced. Planet Earth will turn into a desert if humans do not change their behaviour. Young people have realised this recently and gather for the “Fridays for Future“ demonstrations which were first held by the Swedish pupil Greta Thunberg. These protests, which are a form of political participation, cross the borders within Europe and the whole world. They highlight the worries of young people and the importance of climate change. The protesters demand the countries’ commitment to the Paris Climate Deal. They have realised that humankind needs to change its attitude towards life on this planet if this plant is meant to be the living space for future generations. Every one of us can contribute to change and to the protection of natural resources. We have to start with ourselves. This project aims to tackle the issues above together with young people by looking at the facts provided by the UN, by double-checking our lifestyle and by reflecting about how we can make our lifestyles more sustainable for our society and for the environment. Therefore, we will look at topics like:- Naturpark Aostatal: protection of natural resources found in fauna and flora- sustainable ways of creating energy - environmental pollution and its consequences for the society and the environment- dealing with resources and food, sustainable farming - the latest UN report from 2019 Together with the pupils we want to redefine “living in wealth”. We need to define a standard of living that mirrors the circumstances of current generations without endangering future generations. We need a standard of living which is affordable and realistic for everyone regardless of their cultural or national background. We need a standard of living which is based on sustainability. It is our aim to create an awareness of the importance of political engagement. It is only through political and societal engagement that we can have a say in forming our environment. It is today’s European pupils who will shape the future. We want to enthuse young people for the idea of Europe and we want to get the message across that a common European future will be based on values such as tolerance, empathy, respect and a sense of responsibility. We aim to exchange date about current global changes and individual lifestyles using e-Twinning and project meetings. Our results will be published in a final presentation and through a film. There will also be a public forum in which results will be presented in a “market stall” manner. Learning will not only be a cognitive task - pupils will need to research outdoors, engage in practical activities such as baking and building a solar oven. They will also be encouraged to cook regional and local food and create their own recipes using food leftovers. Most of these topics will already have been mentioned in the schools’ curricula of all participating countries. Their importance can be deduced from the fact that environmental issues are a global problem which needs to be tackled internationally.The project enables co-operation between different European cultures and school systems. Pupils will get the opportunity to broaden their horizons and to develop their own view on the European Idea, the importance of responsibility. They learn to use new digital tools and analytic skills. All these form a new foundation for an idea about European Citizenship. Participating schools from Italy, Greece, Portugal, Poland and Germany will be responsible for the organisation of project meetings in their respective schools. Each school is given a specific task and has to involve its school community. The results will be made available to everyone involved. In terms of self-evaluation, we will use www.mice-t.net/mice.html.

"Schools from 7 different countries (Germany, Iceland, Poland, Spain, Turkey) initiate a multilateral partnership and carry out their project idea ""Water - a European task in a global context"". Due to geographical, Social and cultural aspects, each country contributes individually and particularly to the project. Inda-Gymnasium Aachen is the coordinating partner. Water is the origin of life and affects mankind on the whole world. Therefore, we want to deal with the manifold aspects of water and its importance for our daily lives in the context of an international exchange. The participating partners have a different view on the availability of water, providing the students with the experience and the awareness of access to drinking water and a thoughtful reflexion of their own water consumption. Topics covered within the three-year project activities are:- Water conditioning, chemical and physical properties of water - Water treatment and drinking water abstraction- Distribution of water in the geological, geographical and political context- Water and agriculture - Water as a threat: flood and flood control- Infrastructure: economical an ecological issues- water power, geothermics- water as economic factor, tourism, wellness- the intercultural dimension of water:water in Art, music, literatureThe international dimension of the project refers to the UNESCO topics ""water"" as well as ""World Heritage Earth"" as different concepts of life and different perspectives on the dependence of water are being examined from economical, ecological and cultural points of view. Water is part of different curricula in all countries, therefore the project provides the chance to benefit from its results and products to a large extent.Aims of the project are the awareness of the various forms of using water, the exemplification of the international relevance in various contexts and the developement of solitions for problems related to the topic of water. Our students are going to analyse their own water consumption in the light of sustainability in order to realize the European and the global importance of private and public use of water. In this context we also deal with the problematic distribution of water. On the one hand, the aim of agriculture in arid environments is the international market thanks to irrigation, on the other hand politicians discuss the privatisation of drinking water supply. The latter would mean that water becomes a trading good instead of common property. We want to discuss the access to drinking water as a human right. Besides, we intend to work on the economical dimension of water as energy ressource, infrastructure and its importance for tourism, taking the ecological repercussions into consideration, too. The basic aim of the project is the awareness of the cross-border, interdisciplinary importance of water and the resulting consequences and challenges, also for our daily routines. This aim cumulates in a charta on European water protection, comprising a comparision of the national implementations of the corresponding EU directives. According to Europe 2020, the project focuses on the future and on sustainable growth. Our students aquire and extend their presentation and research skills. They learn how to plan, carry out and analyse surveys and other data collection methods. They gain an insight in social science and academic research. They improve their foreign language and intercultural skills.The activities, which mainly take place in the course of the transnational meetings, comprise for example visits to water treatment plants and power stations, analysis of water consumption and the presentation and documentation of working results. Students participate both in a cognitive and holistic way, for instance by cooperating with ""Engineers without Borders"" and by developing filter systems for water treatment. As a long-term result, the students increase their appreciation for the precious resource of water as a basis for a sustainable and social life."

"We carried out the project ""Be a Responsible Citizen in the Digital World of Tomorrow"" (Erasmus-plus-bereci.com) in cooperation between schools in Germany, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Finland and Poland.Our project was based on the observation that despite the distribution and availability of a wide range of digital media, there are still deficits in ICT skills and the awareness of opportunities and risks is not yet fully developed among all school stakeholders. Another challenge for society and for our schools is cyberbullying as an excessive form of bullying.Therefore we focused on teaching strategic and integrated ICT skills. Furthermore, we wanted to encourage and empower students to take over social responsibility in the world of today and tomorrow as ""digital citizens”.The aims of the project were the: the implementation of ICT techniques in the lessons, exchange of experience, initiation and optimisation of digital competencies among students and teachers, improvement of the quality of teaching, competent, reflective use of digital media to improve individual learning techniques, respectful use of new media, use of innovative and student-oriented pedagogical approaches, promotion of innovative and creative thinking, promotion of social cohesion, realization of mobility as well as the promotion of entrepreneurial way of thinking.The participating countries Germany, Finland, Italy, Greece, Croatia and Poland have worked together intensively according to the Erasmus standards “to communicate, to collaborate, to share”. Through intensive joint work not only material results such as films, posters, ebook, learning units and a website were realised but also a performance rehearsed. In doing so, social, emotional and intercultural skills have been acquired and language skills have been expanded. In addition, the students had the chance of an insight into various professions through company visits.An intensive exchange in times of corona times revealed that the project has connected us within these three years. National and particular interests have taken a back seat to our concerns about our partner schools and our pupils.Moreover, the lockdown and the pandemic in general showed us that digital competences are fundamentally important. These competences enabled us to have a virtual exchange, which will continue beyond the project period. We met up every week online in order to discuss, talk about current topics and sew face coverings.For the students, Erasmus+ is more than only a project which enables them to improve their language skills. A student explains it as follows: “It is for sure the best decision I've ever made. I really love Erasmus, its unpredictability and challenges which motivate me to try harder, to do my best, to come out from my comfort zone and to try myself in different areas. It taught me a lot about other countries, languages, cultures and about myself in the first place. It helped me accept my virtues and my flaws and taught me to believe in myself and embrace diversities. I've made a lot of friends who became like family to me. I've realized we are all different but Erasmus+ connected us and taught us we are all worthy.”Thus, the project contributed to education, employment and innovation in line with the key objectives of the EU and promotes in particular the aspects of youth on the move (achieving mobility, promoting social cohesion, encouraging creativity), growth (intelligent, sustainable and inclusive), which reduce unemployment and ultimately improve the quality of life. Both the key qualifications and the subject matter promoted reflection on future career opportunities and contributed to the ability to consciously choose a profession.An orientation towards global tasks such as employment, research, innovation and social justice was the basis of this project.In this way, the project made an important contribution to education for responsible action in a globalized society in the sense of ""European Citizenship""."