ERASMUS KA1 MOBILITY TOOL IN SWEDEN

 

The Environmental Education Center of Vamos implements the Erasmus + KA1 program "Nature and culture as tools for Intercultural Education" (approval number from the State Scholarship Foundation 2019-EL01-KA104-062085)1-. 

Europe is facing a wave of xenophobia and racism, which is being exacerbated by the displacement of too many people, whether refugees or migrants, due to climate change and war. Thus arises the need for intercultural education for the peaceful coexistence of different people and the conservation of nature and cultural heritage can be important tools in this endeavor. Monuments of nature and culture are a common heritage for all mankind, necessary for our survival both natural and cultural. The diversity of nature and culture can become tools of mutual respect and understanding of the different people who are called to coexist in the new conditions after wars and natural disasters.

With this program the Environmental Education Center gets ideas and tools to develop educational programs in the countryside or indoors using nature and cultural heritage as tools for intercultural education.

As part of this program, Konstantina Papadogiannaki, Deputy Head of KPE Vamos participated in a multi-day Seminar (Structured Course) on "Nature as a fantastic classroom" in Brokind, Sweden from 15 - 21/08/2021 

The seminar was organized by OUTDOORED.ED, an internationally recognized organization based in the Czech Republic. This organization specializes in Outdoor & Environmental Education and has been active for the last 20 years providing multi-day seminars for teachers of all levels in the Czech Republic, Sweden and Portugal. It also has seminars on School Unit Management for Principals and Principals.

The seminar was attended by teachers from  8 European countries (Greece - Cyprus - Spain - Czech Republic - Italy - Slovenia - Slovakia - Croatia) 

 During the Seminar, in a part of Sweden with amazing natural beauty, next to lakes, we dealt theoretically and practically-experientially with Outdoor & Environmental Education. Outdoor learning brings with it the benefits of formal and non-formal education - the most essential learning happens through real, practical or hands-on activities.

Outdoor learning addresses social mobility, giving children new and exciting experiences that inspire them to realize their true potential. Outdoor activities are useful for educating refugee children, children with disabilities and intercultural classrooms.

It is well known that extracurricular learning contributes significantly to the improvement of students' personal, social and emotional development. Outdoor learning is a field of interdisciplinary education, the external environment is great not only for the subject of Physics or Biology but also of Mathematics, Art, History, Language or even a second language - anything!

The training included learning methods based on experience and sensory awareness. We actively participated in all activities that were mainly implemented in nature and visited a school in the area where we were informed about how it works.

 

 It was an amazing seminar with highly qualified trainers, which offers essential theoretical and practical training to teachers of all levels.

Participation in Erasmus+ Seminar "There is No Planet B" in Porto, 18-23 July 2021

The Environmental Education Center of Vamos implements the Erasmus + KA1 program "Nature and culture as tools for Intercultural Education" (approval number from the State Scholarship Foundation 2019-1-EL01-KA104-062085).

Europe is facing a wave of xenophobia and racism, which is being exacerbated by the displacement of too many people, whether refugees or migrants, due to climate change and war. Thus arises the need for intercultural education for the peaceful coexistence of different people and the conservation of nature and cultural heritage can be important tools in this endeavor. Monuments of nature and culture are a common heritage for all mankind, necessary for our survival both natural and cultural. The diversity of nature and culture can become tools of mutual respect and understanding of the different people who are called to coexist in the new conditions after wars and natural disasters.

With this program the Environmental Education Center gets ideas and tools to develop educational programs in the countryside or indoors using nature and cultural heritage as tools for intercultural education.

As part of this program, Adriana Basiou,(English teacher,member of the pedagogical team) and Fotis Pontikakis (teacher,Head of Environmental Education Center of Vamos) participated in a multi-day Seminar (Structured Course) on "There is no planet B" in Porto, Portugal , during the period 18-23 July 2021.

The seminar was organized by Learning Together / Sinerconsult. .

Learning Together is an operating division dedicated to training under the Erasmus + program.

 Founded in 2000 and accredited by the Department General for Employment and Labour Relations (DGERT) since 2001, the management company is an education and training institution with over 20 years of experience and has its headquarters in Porto (Portugal) . Since 2001, more than 400 trainers, 18 project coordinators and 9 administrative have cooperated with the organization

The seminar was attended by teachers from Spain, Slovenia, Hungary and Greece.

During the Seminar, visits were made to the Environmental Centers of the city where their operation and methodology were explained, as well as to the Interactive Museum of Natural History, the Lipor Solid Waste Management Center, Cimar Marine Research Center and the interactive Water Museum (Water Pavillion)

All the above institutions implement educational programs with students and train the citizens of Porto to be more environmentally aware and to participate in actions that promote the ecological balance and the proper management of waste and natural resources in the area. The teachers had the opportunity to attend presentations and to solve relevant questions as well as to be provided with relevant material for their schools. The participants were also guided to important monuments of the city as well as to local wineries that are an important part of the tradition and economy of the area. There was also an extensive presentation of the city's Water Management Agency and a discussion on good practices for saving and maintaining good water quality in everyday home life.

The teachers interacted with each other, exchanged views and experiences and got ideas and materials to be applied in the schools of their country in order to better explain to the students ,theoretically and practically, the concept of sustainability for a more ecologically balanced planet.