All different but all the same: being a Newropean citizen!

This project arose after exchanging information and ideas within a group of highly motivated teachers from schools of France, Germany, Poland, Spain and Sweden. In the process of developing this common project it became clear that we shared the same ideas and values and wanted to tackle the same problems and that each of us (adults or teenagers) would learn and gain skills, knowledge, expertise… from the others. Also, all the partners realised there was a real need to increase their students’ motivation. We thought that sharing our experiences, our skills and visions of the educational and working world would benefit them directly and promote empowerment at various levels and thus stimulate active participation in democratic life. The participating countries are a cross-section of Europe representing the geographical parts of Europe. This also applies to the structure of the different schools in terms of size, profile and outlook. Nearly all the schools came together thanks to the European network eTwinning and some had worked together before. The main topics were linked to the experience of each school, meaning each could contribute to the success of the overall project. We also established a partnership with the French local body, “Conseil Départemental du Bas-Rhin”, highly involved in the domains targeted by the project: education, youth policies and international cooperation.The students involved (aged 13-15) shared and exchanged experiences, opinions and values on topics being at the heart of their concerns: getting to know each other, understanding the different educational systems, the way each country prepares its students for the European job market and stimulates active participation in their education, career choices and voluntary work, their worries and concerns. Working on stereotypes and experiencing multiculturalism through mobilities helped them to become more tolerant citizens able to fight against xenophobia and bullying among others. By striving to reach values like tolerance, solidarity, equality... we hope to have contributed to make responsible, respectful European citizens, sharing common values, ready to work and travel anywhere in Europe.The work on these tasks ran continuously throughout the whole project and was regularly highlighted by the organisation of meetings in all the participating countries. The meetings were used to present, prepare and evaluate the results of the common work. They enabled students to meet and work on these different topics in international mixed groups and experience 'peer to peer teaching'. Five or 6 students per country acted as ambassadors and were the spokespeople for their school abroad and spread the ideas of the project among their peers when back to their school. To make the results of our work public and available for a long time we chose to develop a TV programme including many of our productions (reports, ads, interviews and more) that gives us the opportunity to share the results in schools and with a much wider public (project and school websites, youtube channels, facebook, Etwinning, the European platform…). This project also intended to promote students’creativity, knowledge of foreign languages (English as the communication and working language and all the other mother languages involved in the project) and to promote linguistic diversity. They could increase noticeably their ICT skills through the use of tools like computers, tablets and smartphones and develop communication tools like social networks, instant messages and videoconferences. Students have completely different abilities in using these tools and thus learned from one another.By rising their interest (topics broached, “the ideal European school”, the way the activities were carried out e.g.) we contributed to the struggle against early school leaving, school failure and truancy common among unmotivated students.Students consider now a greater geographical mobility after graduation, for work placements or job hunting e.g.Teachers also had the opportunity to study, experience and compare different educational systems, work on different methodologies, share values and good practice.Overall, this project helped our students to increase their sense of belonging to the same community, to improve interaction and mutual understanding and to master new technologies that will involve them in intercultural dialogue in the long run and will thus contribute to the development of their European identity.