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Project management for cross-cultural exchange projects in Europe
Start date: Aug 2, 2014, End date: Aug 1, 2016 PROJECT  FINISHED 

In our days, the European Union’s existence is based on diversity. In an era when multi-culturalism and differentiation are taken for granted, cooperation and harmonious co-existence are considered to be necessary tools for society’s progress. Taking the above beliefs into consideration, our school the 3rd General Lyceum ‘Odysseas Elytis’ participated in a staff training course entitled: ‘Project Management for Cross-Cultural Exchange Projects in Europe’. Our ultimate objectives included sensitizing the members of the school community to the concept of differentiation with a view to total integration of all minority groups and, at the same time, instilling in the students and staff respect for different cultures, creeds, civilizations, physical and mental abilities etc. After all, it has become evident over the course of time, that humankind, and students in particular, can only thrive through joint effort, equal contribution and mutual support. Therefore, our school realizing that in order to meet the demands of the European labour market we definitely need to prepare our students accordingly, took part in this staff training mobility in Porto so as to enhance the teachers’ intercultural and project management skills significantly. There is no doubt that cross-cultural skills are a multi-disciplinary competence and an essential part of a European open school. We strongly feel that these competences and skills can and should be learnt through intercultural training and project management courses, like this one since it is of utmost importance for us that our teachers attend the courses together with teachers from other countries, so that the cross-cultural learning will not only take place during the seminar time but also within the whole school community as the teachers selected for the training course will act as disseminators and convey what they have learnt to the rest of the staff and, of course, to the students as well. Through this learning and then dissemination process, the teachers participating in the course have already managed to boost their language, computer and social skills too, since they have been obliged to socialize with people of different national origin, family background and culture, thus enriching their experience and making their teaching methods much more effective, especially when dealing with students coming from different ethnic minorities (quite a common occurrence in our school). At the same time, our participating teachers have had the unique opportunity to meet potential project partners and plan school exchanges, an e-Twinning Project, called: ''Songs - more than Music'' with 5 different schools from 5 different countries and have even succeeded in finalizing a new trilateral school project together with Germany, Poland and our own school through the Organization EVZ entitled "Roma- from exclusion to integration, education and development'', which will last for 1 year and will initially involve 6 teachers and 60 students, but eventually more members of the school communities are expected to join. As for the teachers’ selection itself, it was made according to their knowledge of foreign languages, English and German in particular, since these two are the official languages of the training courses, along with their willingness to integrate the European standards of teaching into their own teaching methodology, implementing in this way their newly acquired intercultural and co-operational skills. In conclusion, the seminar experience has definitely reinforced the motivation for intercultural learning and co-operation and has ultimately enabled the trained teachers to inspire the rest of our teaching staff with regard to the European projects. Consequently, the long term benefits for our school will be tremendous because the extension of the teachers’ skills to their students’ training will undoubtedly broaden their horizons, develop their critical thinking and mutual respect for one another, regardless of gender, national identity or social status. As we see it, this is the only path that leads to autonomous, independent, suitably-equipped and well-trained teachers and students of tomorrow.
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