PROJECT DESCRIPTION

In this age of individualization we think it is necessary to raise students' awareness of the importance to reach out to others. The countries of the participating schools are different in the way governments can take care of their citizens. We can learn by experiencing these differences during exchanges.
We notice that more and more NGOs (non-governmental organization) are funded. There is a responsibility for everybody toward community to make contributions as good citizens. For instance doing volunteering work in different fields and fundraising activities.
All schools feel the necessity of increasing student awareness and to stimulate them, to become more active and responsible citizens in this issue and making Voluntary Non-profit Work Placement a part of the school’s curriculum.
During the first teachers-training we will make a roadmap for headmasters and schoolboards how to implement this. As the schools involved in the project have different experiences, we think we can learn from each other to obtain a sustainable situation in each school considering charity.
For example:
-In the Netherlands, students do voluntary service during their school period and every year there are different fundraising activities; 
-The school in Turkey is the oldest existing NGO of the country;
-Spain is highly experienced with students in need;
-Sweden is a very experienced country concerning fundraising activities for people in need worldwide, but very little experienced in fundraising activities run by local schools themselves;
-France has no experience with Comenius/Erasmus partnerships, hopes to benefit from this project by learning from good practices. But the students are experienced in entrepeneurship, so this can be seen as a contribution in our project;
-Germany is already involved with NGOs, particularly through the all-day classes. They have close contact with CARITAS and the Youth Centre belonging to Caritas. They are responsible for the activity programme the students have after lunch – before the afternoon classes start.

The school-policy is that every person has talents and also the talent to help and that by using these talents life will be richer. We will seek collaboration with local, national and international NGOs but we also want to create a new NGO run by European students in all participating countries, encouraging entrepreneurship and solidarity.

A part of the project is based upon the question how to increase the learning outcomes of our students. We will use students interest of the internet by introducing elements of e-Learning into the curriculum of selected subjects, using the social networks, providing the e-Twinning projects that motivate the learning of foreign languages, using innovative tools for presentation and communication.
One of the partners is highly experienced with ICT, being able to create lessons for iPad/ laptop/ computer. Since schools are thinking more and more about starting iPad education for all students, it is necessary that teachers are educated first. So during teachers-trainings we will learn to use e-Twinning, learn about e-Learning, to create digital lessons for Internationalization and Voluntary Service.
So the partnership will also be based upon exchange of good practice.

Communication will be in English, during transnational meetings and virtually by the use of ICT- means. We feel the need to increase competence in foreign languages and in digital skills, as well for students as for teachers. To offer more perspective in a European context.
We strongly think that not only virtually, but also meetings in real life, during transnational exchanges are necessary, to bring good sustainable outcomes. Because we experienced that virtual-communication didn’t bring the expected results. This due to different schedules in school, different holiday-periods and problems with ICT platforms and hardware.

Objectives:

• To make a road map for implementation of voluntary non-profit work placement in the schools curriculum.
• To increase ICT skills of teachers to enable them to start iPad/laptop education and create their own lessons during teacher trainings about NGOs
• To increase competences in foreign languages for teachers
• To give the participating students an opportunity to interact and cooperate with NGOs locally.
• To take part in voluntary services during every exchange.
• To make students aware of social and cultural diversities and similarities in different lifestyles and life conditions.
• To make students aware of the importance and the responsibility of being part of the European society.
• To make students exchange and collaborate ideas and experiences in order to get to know each other as global citizens with ICT and transnational exchanges as tools
• To increase students positive motivation of learning English as a foreign language
• To increase ICT skills of the students
• Increase sense of initiatives and social entrepreneurship by funding an NGO