FINAL REPORT SOCRATES COMENIUS SCHOOL PROJECT
B O R D E R L I N E
THE FRONTIER: A NO MAN’S LAND, A PASSAGE WAY, BRIDGE AND BARRIER BETWEEN PEOPLE, COUNTRIES, STORIES
SCHOOL YEAR 2006 – 2007
ACTIVITIES
After the numerous activities carried out during the school year 2005 – 2006, many others were accomplished in conformity with the project during the current school year. Each partner school continued studying the border theme and doing researches on it. Everywhere the ‘Comenius’ teams organised in-depth meetings, events open to the public, surveys and interviews, contests and workshops and each activity was documented through photos, videos, reports, essays, the materials which were then to be shown during the final exhibition, the concluding event of the project.
Both students and teachers exchanged individual mails or participated in blogs and e-groups, thus granting communication and the spreading of up-to-date information. The achievements of the project were disseminated by being mentioned in the web pages of the participating institutions, in newspapers, school journals, sometimes in short interviews on local TVs. Worth noticing in connection with many activities is the link established with the territory as a place to investigate and also as a place where to start cooperation, find and introduce new enriching contributions.
TRANSNATIONAL MOBILITY
With no changes to the original plan, the project teams organized two international meetings, the first in Baia Mare (Romania), from October 24th to October 28th, the second in Belluno (Italy), from May 8th to May 13th, travel included.
In Romania the participants came from Liechtenstein, Italy, Slovakia, Vaslui (Romania) while Poland (Tarnow) and France (La Ravoire), for different reasons, were unable to attend the meeting.
No missing teams in contrast were registered in Italy where the last reunion was held in the presence of students’ and teachers’ representatives coming from all the partner schools.
The record of attendance and the objectives achieved in both cases are given in the minutes enclosed herewith. But it is probably useful to state in this context that due to the emotional and cultural impact, the motivational power, the immediacy of results, no other moment of a partnership project is comparable with an international meeting in which students and teachers belonging to different nationalities can communicate face to face, work together, compare their views of life.
PRODUCTS
In compliance with the task they had taken on, the partner schools combined their efforts to create several joint products. As suggested by the school from Košice (Slovakia) the group contributed to the making of a mathematical calendar, available on both paper and on-line format, with questions related to History, Geography and the traditions of the countries participating in the partnership. Also the single issue of an international magazine, BORDERLINE, assembled and designed by the Romanian team from Baia Mare, was the result of the cooperation of the seven schools, all of which sent articles, photos, comments to be published.
The other products, in different shapes, sizes, formats, were exposed in the final exhibition opened in Belluno during the last international meeting (May 2007). The effect was gratifying, widely appreciated for the lively atmosphere of the inauguration, for the quantity and quality of the works on display, for the way the exhibition had been mounted in such a suitable place kindly lent by the Council of Belluno. Computers and screens were available for the consultation of the multimedia material produced, while proper areas were equipped for the display of panels and posters, and large tables were provided as support for the albums and objects chosen to interpret the theme.
There is no point in listing here all of the products shown in the exhibition, since they will be described in detail or sent by each school to its Socrates National Agency or loaded on the site of the European Community through the EST system (European Shared Treasure).
A few ones will be anyhow mentioned as an indication: Liechtenstein for instance brought a video and a large painting giving an original interpretation of the border topic through the language of dance and music; France exhibited several posters, all of which were of great visual impact, on the French-Italian relationship in different fields (e.g. art, economy, former jobs); while from Romania (Baia Mare and Vaslui) came some interesting presentations on the history of the frontiers and on the new role of the country inside the European Community, with the social, economical, cultural consequences implicit in the event.
Some other multimedia material and lots of photos, well arranged in colourful posters with captions, were exposed in the Slovakian stand: they especially visualized such themes as the Holocaust, the commitment of the students in favour of disabled people, minorities and refugees, the historical – and human – vicissitudes of a country, which, after the parting from the Czech Republic is one of the youngest in Europe.
The dialogue with minorities, fostered also through festivals, dances, moments of joyful sharing of experiences, was documented by the posters and CDs prepared by the Polish team, while border images and literature represented the object of many panels devised by the Italian students, who were also the authors of many videos (interviews, meetings, etc) and of a large-size book telling the story of the project, from the origin to its ending phase, through texts and pictures.
Quotations taken from border writers of different nationalities were displayed in panels on the walls and also written on the handmade bookmarks given as presents to the visitors of the exhibition.
LANGUAGES INVOLVED
English was used again as the working language of the group, for communication from a distance, exchanges during the project meetings, drafting of written texts (the products). The students, obliged to put themselves to the test of many different tasks (letters to partners, oral speeches, translations, conversations, essay writing, etc), were given the chance to improve their knowledge of English and their communication skills.
But other languages were practised too, French or Italian for instance, and others. The posters prepared by the ‘Lycée du Granier’ were written in three different languages, the students from France and Liechtenstein participating in the last meeting could express themselves in Italian, a few Romanian girls seemed to be able to understand it, while Slovakian and Polish people could communicate to each other, owing to the likeness of their languages, without having to resort to English. And some Italian girls were proud of their knowledge of German.
What was noticed was an interest, a curiosity about all the languages of the partnership. Before taking leave, each team presented the others with a CD collecting the most famous songs in the language of their own country: it was a nice suggestion from Slovakia immediately taken up by every group.
COOPERATION AMONG PARTNERS
Extremely good. All the participants really believed in the project and showed a positive attitude by sending proposals and keeping to the tasks taken on. Notwithstanding some contrasting points of view, never was it difficult to mediate the differences and reach a satisfactory agreement.
People always kept in touch: the international coordinator and the other partners were constantly informed (individual mails, e-group messages) of what was going on elsewhere, of problems if any and special achievements.
The realization, a bit arduous but finally rewarding, of several joint products (the calendar, the magazine, the final exhibition) should be considered as a clear indication of the success of the partnership, as tangible evidence that the work carried out was really a joint one, not just a parallel one.
FINAL EVALUATION
The project attained the expected goals: it served the purpose of enriching knowledge, developing positive attitudes, overcoming stereotypes and prejudices, making people conscious of problems and possible solutions, promoting international friendship; it was a great opportunity for students to acquire critical awareness and new skills (standing up and speaking in front of a public for instance) and to spread the main message connected with the border theme, a message of cooperation, solidarity, respect among people.
Really motivating on a didactic level too, useful to suggest learning strategies different from the traditional class lesson, it contributed to the improvement of ITC and language competence of both teachers and students, and also to the experimentation of less used methods of study and research.
Finally, not to be forgotten is the influence that the project had on the reinforcement, in the protagonists, of planning skills, together with abilities connected with management, evaluation, budgeting, correct relations with people.
Even if the final result is extremely gratifying it is in fact worth mentioning that now and then the group had to face some difficulties, all overcome thanks also to the tenacity of the participants, to their willingness to reach the objective. It was not that easy for instance to reconcile the ordinary school activity with the commitment required by such a project, so very demanding, and it was necessary to solve with appropriate choices some logistical and financial problems, to overcome the initial resistance of uninformed people and spread a more European mentality in each school.
What remains is anyhow the memory of the final outcome, the success of the international meetings, the colours of the final exhibition, the willingness of teachers and students to be involved again in new experiences which, like this one, could enable them to acquire knowledge of people, places, things and self-knowledge as well.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Lots of students of the BORDERLINE group have planned or already made visits to their foreign partners (from Poland to Liechtenstein, from Italy to Poland for instance and from or to other destinations too), determined to keep alive the friendships born out of the project. Similar promises of visits and contacts have been exchanged by the teachers belonging to the different teams, ready to take also into consideration new professional ways of cooperation for the future (class correspondence or possible exchanges).
It is already in progress a new form of partnership involving the ‘Liceo G. Galilei’ (Belluno) and the ‘Lycée du Granier’ (La Ravoire) within a ‘Comenius Pilot Project’ of ‘Individual Pupil Mobility’ promoted by the European Community: the application was declared successful last April and starting from next September an Italian girl will be hosted in France while, vice versa, a French girl will be hosted in Italy for a period of three months.
Ms Rosanna Mattia
International Coordinator of the Project
Ms ElenaZaglio
Headmistress of the Coordinating Institution
