The French National Agency for Education and Training has approved for funding the European Values Educational Resource for Schools (EVER Schools) project. In the context of the European Year of Cultural Heritage and the commemoration of important anniversaries of the 20th century history of Europe, the project focuses on reflection on the violent past of the wars and division of the Cold War era, as an educational approach towards promoting the acquisition of core values and attitudes by children and young people.
The project aims to foster and promote diversity, inter-cultural dialogue, common values of freedom, tolerance and respect of human rights. An extensive body of research in multiple disciplines and tackling various societal challenges (political, social, economic, environmental, and cultural) has advanced the interconnectedness between values, attitudes, skills, individual and collective outcomes, thus stressing the importance of implementing measures for teaching and promoting individual values and competences leading to personal and professional fulfilment on individual level, and consequently to greater social cohesion and collective welfare.
Teaching transversal competences however, requires a cross–curricular approach, which in its turn requires, trainers and youth workers, not only to change the way they traditionally work, but also demands increased cross–disciplinary and cross-cultural collaboration on developing appropriate training methodologies and agreeing specific learning outcomes.
Therefore, the methodology of the project is based on a holistic view of teaching & learning, personal and collective growth, going beyond subject boundaries, with potential for application in a wide spectrum of curricula and learning environments.
The project is structured around the symbolic representation of the “Wall(s)” and its (their) rise, “life”, fall and “remains” as a visual argument for the political, social, cultural and psychological processes and transformations European societies underwent then and still undergo today. While, historically, the Berlin Wall was built with the aim of imposing a physical barrier against mass emigration from the German Democratic Republic to the West, the cultural and psychological significance of this act transformed it into an emblem of division, which implications go far beyond its presence as a pile of bricks and wire between 1961 and 1989. Less then two decades after the fall of “the Wall”, new walls have started to emerge throughout Europe once again. Through tackling the significance and implications of the recent “walls” in broader historical, geographical, cultural and societal context, we will build on by introducing the debate on the future of Europe, paying specific attention to the role of the individual citizens, the importance of active citizenship and participation in the democratic processes on all levels – from local to European.
The project is funded by the Erasmus + programme, Action KA2 ‘Strategic partnerships for innovation in the field of school education’. The proposal has been developed by Association Redefine team and is part of our consistent effort to support local and European partners in the implementation of innovative practices. The consortium is lead by the Cultural Route of the Council of Europe – Via Charlemagne, France and includes partners from Portugal, Poland, Bulgaria and Italy.
For more informations on EVER – Schools project, please click here.
