Wedding Traditions, Cultural Awareness

"In this partnership, to raise awareness of cultural heritage and sustain it to next generations through the wedding traditions is the focus point.What we emphasize is that the cultural heritage of the countries is a rich and diverse mosaic of cultural values which should be preserved for the future generations. As the cultural heritage and diversity are endangered, we have chosen this motto: OUR CULTURAL VALUES ARE OUR MUTUAL MEETING POINTS.We have learnt that our values have an integrative energy for us: as individuals, communities and societies. So, we should struggle to conserve our values if we want to build a strong future for our children. We are able to observe all the elements of culture in the wedding ceremonies. In a wedding ceremony, you can analyse whether how deep a culture lives or not. So weddings are the mirrors of cultures.Today, the most significant issue is being a strong family. We have decided to focus on family structure which shapes aspects of societies, and we assume that different role models should be given to the young. So, from stronger families to stronger futures, Slovakia with its European partners (Turkey, Romania, Spain, Lithuania) will get a variety of gains. Our main theme is the traditions of weddings in which we can find many hidden cultural treasures. We will rediscover the songs, symbols, costumes, dishes, local musical instruments, wedding photos, folk dances in weddings. By the means of them, we aim to compose a social cohesion and sense of belonging among the students. Moreover, we will benefit the power of culture to manage to strengthen the roots of values and international cultural relations. -Obtaining skills: creative, critical and analytical thinking, effective communication, problem solving, self-esteem, respect to the cultural differences-Promoting the sense of belonging to one's own culture-Composing a cultural consciousness -Attracting attention the importance of the family structure-Learning other cultures-Improving students' motivation on lessons-Collaborative work-Communicating in foreign language-Meeting new cultures and being aware of European citizenship-Using English an active communication language-Regaining our endangered traditions-Planning time productively-Having self and peer evaluation-Exchanging experiences with friends and teachers from EuropeIn our project named “WETCA” we are partners from Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Lithuania. Our students are 14-17. We are planning all activities students–centred. In every LTT activities, there will be 2 teachers and 5 students from each school for each mobility. We can also enhance dissemination studies with conferences, seminars and the workshop studies, which will be a part of project. So, the families will participate in our activities such as seminars, introduction meetings. Nearly 2000 people will experience a milestone of their lives, change their teaching, learning technics and share them with others.There’ll be 5 LTTs, 2 teachers and 5 students for each.-1st LTT will be in SPAIN in NOVEMBER, 2020-2nd LTT will be in SLOVAKIA in APRIL, 2021-3rd LTT will be in LITHUANIA in MAY, 2021-4th LTT will be in ROMANIA in NOVEMBER, 2021 -5th LTT will be in TURKEY in APRIL, 2022 ACTIVITIES: Exhibition of Wedding Materials (Dishes, Clothes, Objects, Symbols, Wedding Songs) Folk Dance and Local Music Presentation Video Clips of the Local Weddings A Visit to 'Just Married' Couple Drama Performance 'Henna Night' Workshop on Traditional Dances of Weddings Old Wedding Clothes workshop Workshops about the first step to being family: Weddings Theatre plays about marriage Conference – The importance of family A questionnaire about marriage Wedding photography workshop Creative course - proposals for wedding dresses Excursions to places where weddings usually take place The presentation of Traditional Fairy Tales which have wedding Images Discussions about marriage (now/then) The Presentations about marriage preparationsThe children with a strong cultural background are more aware of the world, difficulties of the life; so they will have the potential to manage to be a benignant citizen.Our schedule will follow exactly what we proposed at the beginning of this partnership. Besides wedding traditions, we will cover other aspects and subjects at school such as: History, Geography, Languages, Literature, and Music. The students’ interest for learning will definitely rise. We aim to make the students realize how important is to learn and why to learn. The most important thing that our students will gain will be the tolerance and acceptance no matter nation, religion, culture is. By discovering the richness of our cultures, the students will be able to realize the roots of their culture, and we will establish the future together. It will contribute to have a visible sense of ""belonging to our own culture."""