Project Abstract

SAFE is a partnership project between three schools situated in Spa towns that, through cooperation and sharing of good practices, aims to develop a cultural sustainability, which is an essential goal for the future of our planet and has a priority value because of the tourist vocation of the context in which he partner schools operate. The project will involve about many students (aged 9-12) and teachers. It calls for participation of several parents and one Lecturer from the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” (Professor Elisabetta Marino), which has volunteered to cooperate. The project requires 3 teacher meeting (18 people per meeting), 3 student meetings (about 60 students and 9 accompanying teachers per meeting).

SAFE aims to:

- Develop key competencies of students, especially in digital competency and English-language competency;

- Inspire initiative, critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving skills and, in an embryonic form, Entrepreneurship Competence;

- Support a systemic and cooperative approach to the issues of sustainability and environmental heritage protection; - Promote long-distance collaborations made possible by the opportunities offered by digital devices and environments.

The project also aims to raise the level of knowledge and skills of teachers on issues related to sustainability, use of digital resources in teaching practice and use of English. SAFE hopes to empower school inclusiveness, using collaborative practices, the value of personal attitudes and abilities, and the acceptance of diversity as an improvement factor.

Project Outcomes:

1) Organization of Sustainable Tourism Weeks “STWs” realized in the partner Countries during the student meetings and told through the use of a digital diary. The “STWs” will focus on the promotion of the territory of the receiving school: through a 5-day program, students will undertake 5 different sustainability itineraries (folkloristic, naturalistic, cultural, thermal, and gastronomic) making use of prearranged digital contents accessible through qr code;

2) Production of video tutorials in order to illustrate good practices of circular economy and sustainable consumption (re-use, recycling, transformation, etc);

3) Realization of digital storytelling in order to promote locations, events and products in order to widen students’ entrepreneurial skills;

4) Creation of a website that can be consulted in English and in the languages of the partner Countries. This website will contain sections for the eco-news, photo gallery, product portfolio, archive of good practices, forum for debates and exchange of experiences.

Project SAFE hopes to contribute to the development of schools and the qualification of their educational syllabus by influencing in particular:

- The improvement and value of teachers;
- The betterment of quality education;
- The encouraging of cultural diversity;
- The interest, the participation, the diligence, the autonomy and the metacognitive skills of the students;
- The quality of collaboration and active European Citizenship;
- The internationalization of schools.
Project SAFE hopes to continue its course even after its formal ending. It has faith that its purposes will live on and expand through various actions inspired by this work and aimed at the same common goals. This will be undertaken through the use of a database on the website that will allow for future developments. All the products realized (tutorials, storytelling examples, materials and documents reporting the “STWs”) will be available on Twinspace and on the website in OER (Open Educational Resources) mode; their free access will facilitate the repeatability and scalability of the initiatives.