integration and cultural identity

"Our project entitled ""Integration and Cultural Identity"" aimed at the social inclusion of the participants as well as the acquisition of knowledge about the social and educational value of the world cultural heritage. Two vocational schools with an economic focus (17 students and two teachers each) from two EU countries - Poland and Germany - worked on this project. The target groups of the project were students and teachers of the partner schools, as well as regional institutions dedicated to the presentation of cultural heritage and national culture. Originally, the project was planned to run for 15 months, which was extended by 3 months due to the pandemic.The main objectives of this project were to raise the participants' awareness of the diversity of Europeans and to increase their knowledge about European culture, especially of the partner countries and on the common cultural heritage. In addition, the focus was on improving the communication skills of the participants, especially in the field of foreign languages by learning German from Polish participants and using English as a bridge language for both groups. The promotion of tolerance between nations with different cultures and mentalities and the support of the participants in integrating into a multicultural society as well as the formation of a European identity through the recognition of diverse values and the development of the independence, (self-)responsibility and creativity of the students through project-oriented methods were also important. These goals were achieved during the course of the project, especially in the preparation, implementation and evaluation of a student exchange in Jena. By getting to know traditions and values, exchanging experiences, opinions and knowledge through presentations or in the team-oriented development of various materials, they were able to perceive the diversity of the group. They assumed social responsibility for themselves and their group members. Joint school and extracurricular activities supported the integration of participants with migrant background as well as physically and mentally disabled people. The city tours and sightseeing helped to understand the concept of world heritage and its value for society, to explore cultural similarities between peoples of different countries in Europe and elements of their common world heritage. The comparison of the diverse cultural heritage could only take place to a limited extent, as a planned second meeting in Zielona Gora was not possible because of existing travel restrictions due to the spread of the Corona virus. Despite everything, a sense of belonging to Europe was developed and the connection to the neighboring country involved was fostered. The participants identified with the history of the world heritage. The acquisition of communicative skills succeeded. They gained self-confidence with language animation and smaller presentations during a city tour. The recognition of this and the successful presentations reflected in their self-confidence. The students had good opportunities to exchange opinions and participate from each other during the common work phases in English. Participation and co-determination could be effectively achieved in mobility through language skills. The chosen forms of communication made it possible to overcome uncertainties, created trust between the participants and thus made a contribution to democracy education. By evaluating project results in the form of direct feedback, they expanded their self and external reflection skills.A cookbook with regional dishes was produced and a questionnaire entitled ""My home, my school, my city"" was created, a survey on the basis of the questionnaire was conducted and evaluated. However, due to the pandemic situation, the planned work results could not be developed to the full extent. Due to the pandemic-related closure of schools and travel restrictions, only two of the four planned mobilities could take place. In addition to the project meeting in Jena, an advanced training on digital education in vocational training by means of interactive lectures and practical applications took place at the same time.The developed materials will be used in both schools as information documents for the preparation of further student exchanges, other projects, as well as for presentation purposes in lessons in the subjects history, culture, tourism, professional communication and areas of lifelong learning, but could not be presented to regional partners due to the closure of public institutions until the end of the project."