Meeting in Italy

The students knew that the visit to Scandiano meant that this time they, too, would travel. In order to prepare the meeting they started long before to think about some questions to include in a computer game that would test the knowledge every partner country had about each other.

Therefore, groups were created and each one searched for themes that could be the trigger of good questions.

The result was a computer-based cultural game about the European countries, concerning some themes such as national symbols, history, national governments, geography, culture and others.

The game was presented in Italy and played by all partners.

Meeting in Finland

When September arrived and year 2 of the Grundtvig Program begun the whole group got together again, this time in Laihia, Finland. Kyronmaan Opisto received Ana Clara Santos and Andreia Brandão that represented our school - Forave.

The main goal of the meeting was to analyze the results of year 1 and to prepare the tasks of year 2.

Some German learners who are having Finnish lessons in Hannover have also participated in this meeting and in workshops prepared for that purpose.

The group had still time to visit some historical places around Kyrönmaa area by bus, to visit
Terra Nova – Nature Centre in Vaasa, to walk to Palosaari and to taste a wide range of herring dishes.

European Identity

To "measure" the impact of the Grundtvig Project on our learners by the end of year 1a questionnaire about European Identity has been created by the Spanish partners. Here are the results:

100% regarded their nationality PORTUGUESE
100% regard their home country as PORTUGAL

29% are strongly connected to Europe
85% are strongly connected to Portugal
71% are normally connected to Europe
7% are normally connected to Portugal

14% strongly feel European
78% are strongly connected to Portugal
7% don't feel European at all
21% regularly feel connected to Portugal
78% normally feel European

21% strongly felt European 30 years ago
21% strongly felt Portuguese 30 years ago
14% normally felt European 30 years ago
14% normally felt Portuguese 30 years ago

93% find European citizenship important
85% find it important to be Portuguese
7% find European citizenship normal
14% find not at all important to be Portuguese

7% visited 0 European countries
42% visited 1 European country
29% visited 2 European countries
7% visited 3 European countries
7% visited 4 European countries
7% visited more than 5 European countries

64% feel that the experience was positive
36% find the experience negative

86% think that European politics are important
14% think that European politics are unimportant

100% think that European currency is important
100% think that Cultural values are important

78% would like to live/work elsewhere in Europe
14% would not...

50% find the influence of EU membership positive
50% find it neutral

100% say "European identity means something to me"

It is quite clear that European identity is developing amongst our learners now, although they feel strongly connected to their country.
The importance of Europe 30 years ago (for those who can remember) in their lives has deeply changed.

Meeting in A Coruña

The last meeting of the first year of the Grundtvig Program was in A Coruña, Spain.

From left to right: Irma (Finland), Mic (Germany), Leda and Adelmo (Italy), Ana Clara (Portugal), Pilar (Spain), Teresa (Portugal) and William (Ireland - coordinator country).

in Hannover

After a long day in planes and airports the "get-together" took place in the Hannover Zoo, where everybody met and had a snack before they got the deserved rest. The next day would be a long one...

The day started with some ice-breaking activities so that everyone would feel more at ease and it continued in the Town Hall with an explanation of the history of the city, through models.

The afternoon was spent in workshops and coordination meetings and, in the evening, our new Hannover friends had prepared a story telling Café where they talked about their German History through their own stories of life: the war, the reconstruction of the country, the Berlin Wall...

On Saturday morning, each group presented their work. It was time to share experiences and learn some more about each partner country. Here we are presenting our model of the Douro Valley!

The last hours of our visit were spent visiting the city. The whole experience was really great!

Flight to Hannover

Finally the day arrived.

Learners and coordinators were about to meet. Francisco and Vítor (learners) were accompanied by their teacher Inês Silva and by Carlos Paiva, coordinator of one of the Courses they represent.

Preparing for the presentation in Hannover

Three days to Hannover... Students give their best to finish the model that represents the Douro Valley.