GROWING UP
IN EUROPE:
A bilateral Comenius partnership Growing up in Europe: focus on intercultural communication was launched in 2008 by ZSO I LO in Myslowice and ITI A. Monaco in Cosenza. The schools had already cooperated in two successful eTwinning projects; Comenius partnership was a unique chance for them to establish a multidimensional platform for long-term Europe-oriented collaboration.
For two years, students and teachers of the two partner schools got involved in an animated international cooperation which helped to increase their language competence, expand cultural perspectives and broaden educational horizons. Two student exchanges helped to strengthen the ties of friendship between project participants, and the many occasions to work and have fun together left them with unforgettable memories.
On our site, we want to introduce you to the principles that governed our cooperation in the project as well as show you the results of our work. Have a look at videos documenting student exchanges in Mysowice and Cosenza, enjoy our artistic creations such as Romeo and Julia: a school exchange love story theatre performance, reflect on the issues covered by Comenius News, or join us in our Walk through the Ages to explore the cultural heritage of our towns, regions and countries.
Welcome to our site!
A bilateral Comenius partnership Growing up in Europe: focus on intercultural communication was carried out in years 2008-2010 by ZSO I Liceum Ogólnoksztalcące im. T. Kosciuszki in Myslowice and ITI A. Monaco in Cosenza. The participants of the project explored various aspects of culture, communication, foreign language acquisition, collaboration in a peer group, cooperation within the EU framework, and the role of all the above in the process of building intercultural dialogue on the level of towns, regions, countries, and the whole of Europe.
Project participants worked together to expand their knowledge of culture of the partner country and to explore the history and cultural heritage of own regions, always noting their unique contribution to the European identity.
A bilateral Comenius partnership Growing up in Europe: focus on intercultural communication was carried out by ZSO I Liceum Ogólnoksztacące in Mysowice and ITI A. Monaco in Cosenza
The cooperation of the two schools from Mysowice and Cosenza began in January 2005, when they decided to join eTwinning programme. Before launching a Comenius partnership in 2008, ITI A. Monaco and I LO im. T. Kociuszki had already completed two successful eTwinning projects: Young peoples search for personal identity (winner of the European eTwinning Prize 2007 in 16-19 age category) and Intercultural dialogue in a peer group (awarded the European Quality Label).
Students and teachers of both schools have developed relations of true friendship, strengthened through long-time cooperation and enhanced by personal meetings.
We hope to stay in touch and possibly... launch a new project soon!
Students, teachers and parents involved in the project emphasised the value of the intercultural experience and expressed genuine satisfaction with participating in it. Most teachers stressed the fact that the project provided students with a chance to practise foreign languages, parents who hosted foreign students noted the opportunity to get insight into other cultures, while students saw the partnership as a wonderful, unforgettable experience which allowed them to meet interesting people and visit beautiful places, and also enriched them personally.
Both schools undertook efforts to promote the project within and outside their local community. In particular, students presented their partnership to local authorities at a special meeting held at Myslowice Town Hall and a high-profile conference
organised at Cineteatro Italia in Cosenza, where a special programme was prepared with both multimedia presentations and stage performance.
You can see the video footage of the Cosenza conference below:
The interest which Cosentian community showed in the project was such that three different news bulletins informed about the school exchange, showed students performance at Cineteatro Italia conference and broadcast interviews with project participants!
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1.Journey of formation: interpersonal skills for successful cooperation
To give our partnership a flying start, we found it necessary to get involved in a period of training with experts in order to be able to manage emotions and behaviour, and adapt them to different situations that were to be faced. Project team members put special emphasis on interpersonal skills facilitating cooperation in a peer group.
2.The nuts and bolts of successful communication
The ability to communicate lies at the very basis of the intercultural dialogue. Therefore, we didnt spare time or effort trying to understand and grasp the rules of effective communication. The analysis of factors that enhance and hinder communication was an important step towards the acquisition of good communication skills.
We worked on various aspects of communication, for example verbal and non-verbal communication, culture codes in communication, methods of effective communication, freedom of communication, and others. Not surprisingly, the codes and tools used in communication by the young generation were often in the focus of interest:
• Communication codes used by the young generation –[ ppt ]
• IT-based communication – [ ppt ]
Being young people, we didnt neglect inter-generation communication or overlook the inventions that had affected communication methods popular in bygone epochs. We analysed the communication tools preferred by various age groups and reflected on the role the digital media play in communication between generations nowadays.
• Communication across generations [ ppt ]
Since communication takes place at different levels and dialogue can involve individuals with a variety of experiences, we have considered not only ethnic diversity but also biological and social ones:
3.Language as a means of communication
The subject of communication cannot possibly be exhausted without a closer look at human language: an extremely powerful communication tool. The study of languages can also show that our languages have something in common and thus give a boost to our intercultural dialogue.
Language as a means of communication [ ppt ]
Our languages: English, Italian and Polish [ ppt ]
There are many reasons to study foreign languages. They allow us to communicate with people around the world, make travelling easier, and give better job opportunities. There is no need to convince anybody that it is good to know one foreign language at least. Learning a foreign language is a different story, though. How to be a successful language learner? The material below can help you find the answer.
Learning foreign languages reasons, tips, etc [ ppt ]
Learning styles - foreign languages [ ppt ]
4.Peer education principles in practice
We decided to promote some workshops in our schools. We hoped in this way to give our little contribution to fight that dangerous seed of racism which is becoming more and more widespread, sowing, instead, the seeds of tolerance and respect in the warm land of solidarity:
We wanted to bear witness through our actual commitment that young people need and want to be involved, that every experience in favour of others, whoever they are, is values bearer, that no man and no culture can be considered dominant, that 'interdependence of peoples and nations is a matter of fact, that the development of peoples doesnt concern only the economy but also society and culture:
Fierainmensa event - An experience promoting dialogue among different cultures – video
The path taken saw us day after day becoming protagonists of our lives and sharing in the lives of others: we came out of anonymity. We decided to get involved and, defying clichés and prejudices, indifference and fears, we started from our local reality and began our long journey towards citizenship. The commitment turned into volunteering in its many forms:
•Volontariamoci incontro - The ITI Monaco Peer Educators celebrate the event, dedicated to provincial voluntary Action, by first hand experiences!
Cracow of different cultures project showed that peer group cooperation can involve learning and sharing knowledge with others. We began our first intercultural experience with getting some insight into the Jewish minoritys customs, beliefs, and traditions. We also analysed the Polish-Jewish relations in a historical perspective. Then, we presented the outcomes of our study to other students. Finally, we went to Cracow to enhance our theoretical knowledge with a visit to the Old Jewish Quarter of Kazimierz where we could see how two religions and cultures co-existed and thrived together. We learnt that the explorations of cultures and religions could be challenging, interesting, and very satisfying at the same time.
•Cracow of different cultures Can two cultures and religions co-exist and thrive together?
1.Culture as part of identity
A Comenius School Project provides a perfect opportunity for its participants to expand the knowledge about the partner country, get insight into its culture, meet its inhabitants and get acquainted with their everyday life as well as their customs and traditions. While visiting interesting destinations with our project partners, we willingly admit the prettiness of foreign places and in return we often see how enthralled they can be with the beauty of our homeland. Even while choosing the places to show to our guests, we will reflect on their historical or cultural importance and then proudly draw the visitors attention to their unique features. While visiting, we will be told about the special character of a place and will learn to appreciate its contribution to the cultural heritage of Europe. Thus, Comenius partnership may be an excellent occasion not only to have a closer look at our countries and their attractions but also to enhance our identity as Italians, Poles, Europeans.
This is a record of cultural explorations done by students during both exchanges:
•A Walk through the Ages video part1
A Walk through the Ages video part 2
The participants of the partnership are inhabitants of Upper Silesia and Calabria two regions with particularly complex history, characterised by strong local customs and traditions, unmistakable dialects, unique personal characters, and proud of their cuisine. We have decided to learn more about Upper Silesia and Calabria and then to introduce the project partners to the cultural heritage of our regions.
To give our partners a sample of the cultural richness of the regions we come from, we have learnt to perform Trojak and Calavrisella - dances typical to Upper Silesia and Calabria respectively.
You may also have a look at ppt presentations aiming to highlight the most important features of the two dances:
2.Enjoying and appreciating the varieties of culture
We have worked to appreciate other cultures by getting to know them, by discovering how much they have contributed to our own cultural heritage and by learning how much they can still offer to enrich our cultural resources. An important step in these explorations was to find out about nations and minorities that lived in Poland and made their impact on the Polish culture and history. A trip to Wrocaw, often dubbed as The City of Tolerance or The City of Meetings, enabled us to see how the fate of various nations and ethnic and religious minorities intertwined in one place to shape its unusual historical character. Then, a visit to the famous District of Four Temples showed that being open to other religions and values adds to the common prosperity, while a walk along the trail of dwarves gave us an idea of what everyday creativity could mean in practice.
•Wrocaw A City of Tolerance
My difference is a gift to you and your difference is a gift to me the words spoken at the intercultural workshops held by the Community of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Rossano could be a good motto for all intercultural communications. Members of the Santa Maria delle Grazie community support many movements working for peace, and also work to promote the unity of all Christians (Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians together). The workshops Peace as conviviality of differences which they organized for the participants of the exchange, dealt with the subject of interculturalism as a lifestyle:
It is best when being aware of ones own cultural identity is accompanied by the understanding of cultural differences: while we protect our own traditions and mores, we should not forget that other people may accept other values, moral attitudes and ways. Still, we must always emphasise the need to fight any form of discrimination, to ensure equality of sexes, to promote respect for all people. The materials below refer to the uneasy aspects of human rights, tolerance, and varying ways of perceiving the roles of the woman and the man in different cultures:
3.The EU: sharing similarities, celebrating differences
Even a brief glance at the European Union facts and figures brings some truly impressive data: 500 million people living in 27 countries speaking 23 official languages. A host of nations of various cultures, histories, traditions, and lifestyles is thus united in a democratic cooperation built on law, democracy and free market:
Culture is among the most important aspects of European cooperation. The interests of the EU lie in promoting the cultures of individual countries and regions and preserving the diversity of the European cultural heritage at the same time. There is a range of programmes and initiatives promoting the cultural cooperation of European countries as well as a significant number of challenges (e.g. globalisation of culture) that must be faced by the EU in order to realise its cultural policies and objectives:
1.Focus on intercultural communication
Intercultural communication is a complex multi-faceted process in which success is not always easy to predict. However, the benefits of a dialogue held across cultural boundaries can be invaluable and certainly outweigh any possible difficulties; to name but a few: broadening the mind by enhancing knowledge of other countries and getting to know other cultures, or developing personally by meeting new people and getting insight into their customs, traditions and values. As partners in a project aiming at establishing a platform for long-term European cooperation, we have decided to get involved in an intercultural dialogue and work hard for success!
In our intercultural video we have tried to outline the principles of intercultural cooperation and communication to be followed throughout the project:
2.Making intercultural communication possible
To ensure smooth and meaningful communication across cultural boundaries, all partners must be willing to follow a similar path. In particular, they should accept and keep to some principles in all their intercultural dealings: mutual respect, recognition of cultural differences, openness to other points of view, rejection of stereotypes and assumptions. In addition to this, there are some requirements that must be met in any act of purposeful communication such as making the nature and the goal of communication clear. It is also important to share a language code and this may be particularly difficult when the partners in intercultural communication do not speak the same language. Another problem may arise with misunderstandings originating in different communication conventions supported in a given culture. Intercultural communication may involve breaking language and cultural barriers:
3.ICT tools for intercultural communication
In the era of information and communications technologies, launching an intercultural dialogue involving partners of faraway countries does not seem difficult. And indeed, we can communicate regularly online via mails or chats, we can exchange ideas with partners through online forums, we can share the results of our work with the use of various sharing websites and upload the results of our work on the project site. We could not but make a decision to use modern communication tools to promote intercultural dialogue. In this, however, we tried to follow some basic principles: suit the language and the form of communication (e.g. observe the netiquette), and show respect for cultural differences (e.g. in messages placed online).
By involving in a Skype video conference we saw how useful ICT tools can be in building an intercultural bridge:
4.Intercultural communication through artistic creations
The artistic creations that we have undertaken and completed throughout the project may be included among the most challenging tasks of the partnership, but also the most rewarding ones. A play Romeo and Julia, a song We Live in The Same World, an exhibition of art objects, and an intercultural dance involved many months of hard work, but also awakened our creativity, enlivened our cooperation, and finally gave us the thrill of a stage performance to a wide audience. Most of all, all the artistic enterprises allowed almost a hands-on contact with the culture of the partner country, deep insight into the Polish and Italian lifestyles and preferred methods of work. Thus, artistic creations enhanced the intercultural experience.
An exhibition of art objects made us look for similarities:
A play Romeo and Julia helped us to better understand the differences that may divide our cultures, but also showed a path to breaking stereotypes and overcoming prejudices:
The joint performances gave us a great sense of achievement. We joined on stage to sing, dance, and play music:
Mysłlowice saw us truly immerse into intercultural dialogue.
The focus of the first exchange was on creating a mature project team and establishing a strong framework for long-lasting cooperation. In particular, the two series of ICT workshops helped us to recognize the value of modern of modern technologies in communication and also in the construction of tangible products of our cooperation such as multimedia presentations. Most of all, we learnt how to make websites and designed the first draft of the project website using a Flash website builder Wix. Participation in events held at ZSO ILO (Comenius Language Days, anti-smoking happening) enabled Italian students to sample the life and customs of a Polish school and helped us all to search for similarities and differences between teenagers in Poland and Italy. Visiting places of relevance to the subject of the project (e.g. former KL Auschwitz Nazi Death Camp, Cracow – 2000 European Capital of Culture, Wieliczka Salt Mine – A World Heritage Site, etc.) helped Italian students to get some insight into the Polish cultural heritage on the one hand, and allowed all participants to establish close contact of the whole group on the other.
Last but not least, we were provided with a lot of practice in Polish, Italian and English. Our competence in these languages rose. It must be noted, though, that one student improved his language skills to a much greater extent:
Cosenza mostly saw us as artists: the focus of the exchange was on finalizing and presenting our artistic creations which included:
We also took part in cultural workshops (Cultural heritage and creativity in culture and Peace as conviviality of differences dealing with the subject of interculturalism in art held at Community della Santa Grazia in Rossano), and visited places of cultural importance (e.g. Cosenza with a beautiful historic centre, Sybaris an ancient town synonymous with luxury and comfort, Diamante famous for artistic murals, Reggio Calabria with the ancient monuments of Bronzi di Riace warriors).
We worked, we played, we learnt, we had a lot of fun together!
Project financed from European Committee funds within Comenius LLP educational programme.
This publication reflects the views only of the authors. The European Committee and the National Agency cannot be held responsible for the content and any possible use of the published materials.
