The transnational cooperation facilitated by the KA210 small-scale partnership in school education entitled "Educated in Democracy, United by Common Aims,Teaching with Innovation, Opportunities and Nondiscrimination" - E.D.U.C.A.T.I.O.N. - reference number 2021-2-RO01-KA210-SCH-000049259, has been following the European Skills Agenda and definitely helped the school communities involved in this bilateral project to ignite strong feelings of motivation and self-confidence (which has been not only a reward, but also an opportunity), encouraging participation, engagement, commitment and real progress.
For those who are not familiar with the European Skills Agenda, it is a five-year plan to help individuals and businesses develop more and better skills and to put them to use, by strengthening sustainable competitiveness, as set out in the European Green Deal, ensuring social fairness, putting into practice the first principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights: access to education, training and lifelong learning for everybody, everywhere in the EU and building resilience to react to crises, based on the lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Focusing on inclusion and equity, the project supports the direct and indirect beneficiaries to gain access to life-changing non-formal and informal activities and develop competences and skills such as cultural awareness and expression and intercultural communication which are only possible due to crossborder mobilities.
The Covid19 pandemic revealed a lack of digitalization and digital skills and, by taking part in this project, the two educational institutions have also increased their capacity to explore and exploit the learning and teaching opportunities provided by digital technologies by making the most of both physical mobilities and virtual collaboration. It has also inspired us to distance ourselves from the pressures and limits of traditional teaching and assessment, allowing modern education standards to be built on interdisciplinarity, transversal (cross-curricular) learning, learning through social and cultural interaction, learning by doing, by engaging students in the decision-making process and their own learning progress, by creating meaningful, memorable experiences.
The non-formal educational activities of the first learning, teaching and training mobility were hosted by the French partner, Lycee Pierre Joseph Laurent, located in Aniche, in May-June 2022, and the 16 beneficiaries were persuaded to believe in education as the main means of achivieng their individual potential. Learning and teaching together for the development of social, linguistic, digital, civic and intercultural skills has positively impacted our schools and local communities, enabling us to raise awareness of some risks and challenging issues such as exclusion and inequity as well as gain enough visibility to attract other stakeholders and the necessary experience, knowledge and support to improve the current situation and solve our current and future problems in these areas.
The fact that the transnational mobilities became accessible to students from economically depressed areas unlocked the "investment in skills", bridging gaps, building even more opportunities, changing the participants' lives for ever, while the engagement of the students with fewer opportunities in the learning, teaching and training activities provided by the French partner developed their key competences and improved their skills, motivation and self-esteem.
Cooperating with our devoted European partner also motivated us to promote our best results and practices, which means that some of our most gifted students were also encouraged to participate in the project activities to support their peers and achieve their full potential, strenghtening mutual and peer learning. As well as these, the members of the teaching staff from both schools were given the chance to get involved in EU cooperation and bring their own contribution to the partnership and share their positive and negative experiences and good practices regarding disadvantaged, vulnerable students, provide suggestions, recommendations and pedagogical advice.
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