Visibility of eTwinning Projects Groups July 2019 Newsletter Newsletter 9 | Page 69

Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2019 Newsletter
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Celebrating UNESCO Days with eTwinning
by Lina Maria Pereira
eTwinning has been part of my personal and
professional life for more than 10 years now and I
am very grateful for it!
My students are already used to eTwinning, and
when school starts they ask with a smile on their
faces: “Teacher, are we going to collaborate in an
eTwinning project this year?” And I can proudly say
that they have participated enthusiastically, they
have acquired intercultural competences, are more
aware of the democratic values, the importance of
social inclusion and active citizenship. They have
also had very positive interactions with their peers.
In fact, even in a short-term project, it is very
rewarding to watch the students happiness and
curiosity when they get in touch with real stuff from
their European school partners, for instance a
simple postcard, leaflet or bookmark that transmits
in a simple way the language and cultural diversity
of each country and shares a piece of their school
lives.
This year we engaged in a new challenge with our
eTwinning project: “Let’s celebrate UNESCO days
together.” We started a healthy partnership with
schools from Albania, Germany, Italy, Poland,
Portugal and Spain and it is amazing how eTwinning
and UNESCO can match and work together for
specific purposes. They both promote the
understanding of inclusion, the development of
common values and a positive response to diversity
by fostering acceptance and respect.
rewarding. Among other activities and a healthy
interaction in the Forum of the TwinSpace, they
collaborated in a Wall of Wishes, did important
research work about Human Rights Day, Nobel
Peace winners and the refugees’ drama, expressed
their feelings and pointed out some solutions. They
also offered bracelets with human values decorated
by them to children with disabilities of our school.
Human Rights wall:
http://linoit.com/users/lpereira/canvases/What%27
s%20your%20hope%3F.
Mother Language Day was celebrated with a nice
collaborative Padlet containing proverbs, sayings
and quotations selected by the students as well as a
magazine and phrase book where the richness of
our language and cultural diversity is evident.
Most of the schools involved in this project were
awarded with the eTwinning School Label and are
Members of UNESCO Associated Schools Project
Network (ASPnet Schools). In my opinion, this is a
great chance for teachers to enhance their skills
and knowledge. It is also a benefit for schools to
connect with relevant organisations and gain
greater visibility at local, national and European
levels. It is also very useful for students because
they feel helpful and appreciated as human beings.
The students got in touch in TwinSpace, exchanged
ideas while they participated and voted in their
creative logos and decided together which UNESCO
days they were going to celebrate in common and
how. They chose Human Rights and Migrants’ Day,
Happiness Day, Mother Language Day and World
Ocean’s Day. Meanwhile, all the schools agreed that
they would celebrate other dates according to their
interests and school plan, such as: eTwinning and
Europe Day, Safer Internet Day and Woman’s Day.
The activities were very diverse, interesting and
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