The submission deadline of the 20th of May came quicker than we hoped but the satisfaction at the end was more than worth it. Each year, a growing number of organizations apply for the KA2 Erasmus+ programme with creative educational projects. Education InProgress SPAIN also took part in it and wrote, wrote, and wrote more till the deadline. And we, trainees, took part in this exciting process.
This year, we were supported by amazing partners that helped us to design, we hope, the most innovative projects ever. Among our projects are, “CLIL 4 ALL” that merge CLIL and No-formal learning methods in one in order to allow local youngsters and young refugees to learn languages in a more effective way. But that’s not all, “CLIL 4 ALL'' also proposes to increase the European awareness of young citizens and to empower the social integration of the young refugees.
Furthermore, “Marketing 4 Artists” gives to art teachers the possibility to integrate their teaching-lessons with useful marketing competencies strictly related to the art sector, with the aim to empower the professional future of their students within the Cultural & Creative sector.
As a first traineeship experience, writing projects is the best way to understand how the European Union works. The EU expects projects that are innovative, concrete, organized and with a real added-value at both local and European levels. The Commission also asks for projects that can be extended to other areas…This is, according to me, extremely relevant in order to create projects with a long-term perspective and useful for many.
I guess the passion put into a project is also deeply taken into consideration: who writes better arguments seems to be a dedicated person. This traineeship within Education InProgress SPAIN is a way for me to do what I have always desired: try to make a change and act for concrete actions. I believe in the cooperation between countries, even more if supported by the European Union, to allow positive impacts. Each step, even small, can trigger bigger changes. Of course, the work is very meticulous. Everything written must be coherent in the whole project, and the same has to be very clear and faisable at the same time, with realistic guidelines and timetables. The project must contain a description, a budget, a calendar, objectives, described activities and a follow-up...It is a lot of job to do!
These intense weeks of work did not scare me and, on the contrary, made me realize that I wanted to continue working in this field. Cooperation, especially within the education sector, is very interesting and innovation can always be found and deepened, particularly with new teaching methods aimed at several target groups. Let’s also say that the EU also works towards a greener and sustainable Union, a more integrated Europe, and regional and rural development…! Now, Education InProgress is back to welcoming trainees from all over Europe and finding Erasmus+ mobilities opportunities but, for sure, we will have good memories from this writing experience.
Sarah Menard
International Relations student
(University of Rennes, France)
