9th-12th January / 2017 – First Transnational Meeting of the ERASMUS+ Project Combatting Discrimination and Bullying, in Vidin, Bulgaria
In the First Transnational Meeting the partners´coordinators of the project met in Bulgaria. It was an excellent opportunity to meet each other, face-to-face, and to discuss the implementation of the project, namely: the dates of the mobilities, the selection of participants and the activities to be carried out by each partner and during the LTTA. The coordinators brought with them some drawings so that the official logo and slogan of the project could be chosen.
Considering that the Italian partner had withdrawn, it was agreed that the Bulgarian partner would host the mobility.
February -March 2017 – First LTTA
27th February – 3rd March 2017 – The first LTTA mobility (Learning, Teaching, Training Activity)
ERASMUS+ Project | Combatting Discrimination and Bullying – Barcelos | Portugal |
The first LTTA occurred in Portugal under the topic «Sports to Combat Bullying and Discrimination».
Program: erasmus programmes PORTUGAL Feb2017
During the Carnival week and while the ESAF school was having a 3-day break, it was easier to use the sports facilities and develop a wide variety of activities carried out by the hosts and the students and teachers of the partner schools, 32 guests in total. All the guest students were hosted by Portuguese host families. The Bulgarian teachers were hosted by Portuguese teachers too.
The Portuguese team included not only the host students but also a group of 6 SEN students who took part in the sports activities and cultural visits. The coordinating teachers were supported by the school staff and other teachers in the logistics, sports and cultural activities and visits. There was a great involvement of the host families in the preparation and during the length of the activity.
The official opening ceremony was attended by the School Director, the Municipality representative, the Parents ‘Association, the hosting teachers and students and their hosts and families.
After the coffee-break, the host students organized ice-breaking activities which involved all the participants in a very enthusiastic and energetic atmosphere.
DISCUSSION GROUPS – students were organized in mixed groups which included the partners´students, their hosts and other Portuguese students who were the moderators to lead them to the creation of the final product.
These groups had different tasks but they all start by discussing the types of discrimination and forms of bullying and reported their conclusions. Then, they had to define strategies to eradicate bullying and protect the victims. To achieve this goal, they had to:
- Create of a web tool to report bullying and discrimination
- Make a video / a booklet with advice and strategies to combat bullying and discrimination
- Use Art to prepare a performance to alert to bullying and discrimination problems
SPORTS ACTIVITIES – GAMES WITHOUT BORDERS
The program included adapted sports and games which are usually performed by people with disabilities. This choice was intended to make the participants aware of the difficulties the disabled have to deal with when they want to practice sports activities. In fact, they had experience the reality of the disabled population when they want to practise sports. The teams included students and teachers of the different delegations and they scored according to their performance.
The sports included boccia, goalball, bicycle obstacle, seated volleyball, athletics for the blind.
After the lunch break and a karaoke session carried out by the students, the participants played some typical traditional games of each country.
PERFORMANCE – Concert-Café:
Before the concert there was a shared dinner attended by all the participants, the host families and friends, the teachers and students involved, the school board and the parents ‘association members. It was a wonderful opportunity to taste not only the Portuguese gastronomy but also some delicious salty and sweet samples of food brought by the guest countries.
The concert was one of the most remarkable moments of the week due to the great involvement of the participants and the attendance of the school community.
The Erasmus group of students have prepared a musical in which they presented a bullied student and how the problem should be approached by the surrounding community. Through music, singing and drama, they conveyed a strong message against bullying and discrimination.
The concert also presented dance, music and singing performances by the guest countries and the ESAF students.
WORKSHOP – SEN STUDENTS
At the AEAF schools the SEN students have their own curriculum according to their needs and capacities. They are part of regular classes, attend some general subjects together with the other students and have a teacher(s) to help them following the adapted curriculum, following a task-based and project-work methodology.
The partner teachers followed a presentation that a teacher of SEN students prepared and presented what the situation was like in their countries. This sharing of ideas and good practices enabled a very enriching discussion about the situation of SEN students in the different countries.
CULTURAL VISITS
The programme included a guided tour to the most important cultural and historical sports in Barcelos and to the weekly market on Thursday.
During the weekend, the host families guided their guests in a tour to the most remarkable landmarks in Braga, Guimarães, Viana and Ponte de Lima. They were also taken to a walk in the protected zone of Esposende coastal area.
The visit to Porto included a historical tour to the city, a visit to the Porto wine cellars and a boat tour in river Douro. It was a wonderful experience where all the participants showed how much they were connected to each to each other no matter their special requirements, nationality or cultural background.
MEETINGS
During the week, two meetings were organized: the first to present the details of the programme; the second to assess the activities, to discuss the project follow-up activities, to decide further details for the following LTTA and to deal with formal documents.
DISSEMINATION
During the week, the local media ( Jornal Barcelos Popular; Jornal de Barcelos ; Rádio Cávado) followed the activities and published the news about the project and the developed events. This Erasmus+ LTTA was fully promoted among the school members, parents and the local community.
Local newspaper: Barcelos Popular – 2 March 2017
RADIO INTERVIEW:
8th -12th May /2017 – 2nd LTTA in Slovenia, Sezana
The 2nd LTTA was held at the Šolski center Srečka Kosovela Sežana, in Slovenia, under the topic of Arts and Crafts to stop Discrimination.
The Portuguese delegation had seven students of Arts and Multimedia.
During the programme, the participants carried out a number of activities which enhanced how Arts and Crafts can be used to convey messages against discrimination and bullying. A wide variety of arts workshops were carried out and they included patients with mental disabilities enabling a full involvement of the participants. The final products were displayed at school.
There was a visit to a school-centre where refugee students were hosted and we could experience how they are being integrated in the Slovenian school system and community.
The programme also included cultural visits to important, historical landmarks in the region and in the border neighbour, in Italy.
October 15th – 21st /2017 – Turkey , Serik
The 3rd LLTA was heal at Serik Yunus Emre Anadolu Lisesi under the topic of multimedia production.
The Portuguese delegation had two students who had prepared a video with their classmates, which they exhibited together with a presentation about Portugal.
While there, they were integrated in mixed groups of the partner schools and developed collaborative work to produce multimedia content. They used their previously researched material to produce a script and shoot a video. Students used their skills and imagination to produce a video about how bullying affects teens and how it can be stopped. The final product was presented to the participants and to the school community.
The programme also included visits to important, historical landmarks in the region which enriched our cultural knowledge of the country.
