IMAGINE

Project IMAGINE is a project primarily aimed at promoting equality, tolerance and human rights. Hence the name IMAGINE, which was inspired by John Lennon’s song which promotes the same values. The title is also an acronym for the following values: I = impartiality, M=magnanimity, A= altruism. G= good-heartedness, I= idealism, N=nobility and E=equality.The goals of the project were raising awareness for the topic of (in)equality for different (minority) groups, promoting tolerance, empathy and open-mindedness, teaching basic human rights, taking responsibility , active citizenship, encouraging critical thinking, encouraging most suitable candidates for the teaching profession, encouraging reading, improving reading and speaking skills, improving English language skills through direct communication in English language and improving IT skills.The participants in the project were six high schools from Croatia (Gimnazija Dr.Ivana Kranjceva, Durdevac), Sweden (Björknäs Gymnasiet, Boden), Italy (Istituto Tecnico Economico Per Il Turismo “Marco Polo”, Palermo), France (Lycée international Charles-de-Gaulle, Dijon), Spain (IES Pedro Espinosa, Antequera) and Romania (Liceul teoretic Mihail Sadoveanu, Bucuresti). The schools are a mix of vocational and general education high schools.The project was thematically divided into six modules as follows: 1. Let’s meet2. Let’s focus on gender3. Let’s focus on religion4. Let’s focus on groups with fewer opportunities5. Let’s focus on origin6. Let’s focus on languageThe main method of achieving set goals was creating and implementing pedagogical workshops related to the mentioned topics. During each module (except the first, introductory one), each team had to create two pedagogical workshops and implement them within their school. Later, one of the workshops was implemented during the short-term students’ exchange. Consequently, the students included in the exchange participated in six workshops on the given topic. More than 70% of the students think that creating and implementing pedagogical workshops was the most useful activity in promoting tolerance and equality, while 65% also think that it was the most useful activity in promoting teaching professions. Other activities included reading books and watching movies related to the topic, exploring and presenting national laws, creating posters on prominent individuals in the field and visiting different voluntary organisations in the community. As a result, 63 workshops were created in the project as well as a dozen videos, 30 presentations and 30 posters. Hundreds of students participated in at least one workshop because the workshops were implemented in partner schools, other schools in the region and within the exchanges. This resulted in more than 60% of the students stating that they are now more inclined towards or more interested in the teaching profession. Furthermore, the majority of the students estimate that their knowledge about other cultures, religions, languages, LGBTQ community and the position of the women in the society is much better now. Most of them also state that they have significantly improved their communication skills in general, public performance and English speaking skills and also fairly improved creative thinking, presenting arguments to others and critical thinking. The long-term benefit of the project is primarily the impact on the students who have been directly involved and who recognize that after the project they understand some issues better, they are more open-minded and ready for intercultural dialogue. Additionally, the set of workshops created in the project is a valuable tool for all the teachers who will continue promoting equality, tolerance and human rights with other teachers. All of the materials are available in digital form and a selection of the workshops in paper form as well, which means that anyone interested in using them with young people is able to do so.