United Europe is the base for the coalition of countries in which the nations are kept together by the fact that they belong to a common civilization and the awareness of the duties coming from this. To be a citizen of united Europe does not only mean the entirety of rights and liabilities one has, but the responsibilities one takes for the development of common values, for close relationships which make cooperation stronger, enhancing the dialogue between cultures and forming the attitude towards our interdependence.
Nowadays, more than ever, we have to place emphasis on the enhancement of tolerance for other nations and nationalities in education, especially in groups having a close relationship with other nations.
In this respect our institutions have great potential. When school is in session 700 Slovak students live in Kassa and 300 Hungarian students stay in Miskolc. Unfortunately, even in these days many young people are burdened with prejudices and stereotypes against other cultures and nationalities. Their tolerance of and relationships with others not of their own culture have been seriously undermined by activities ultra-nationalist groups have carried out lately.
Our institutions – Skolsky Internát v Kosiciach and the Petőfi Sándor Középiskolai Fiúkollégium – have already taken part in a joint project under the initiative of Interreg III.A (“Let’s Study Europe Together”). By means of exchange programmes, that project placed emphasis on the development of relationships based on common European attitudes and through introducing students into the historical and cultural heritage of the neighbouring regions, including the specific features and differences of the two neighbouring countries.
Certain activities of the project, such as cultural exhibitions, workshops and contests, were organized with the participation of the representatives of both cities, regions and counties which thereby contributed to the enhancement of the cooperation.
The assessments conducted at the beginning and at the end of the previous joint project suggest that the attitude of the students towards the neighbouring countries have positively changed, their knowledge of the neighbouring country, and of their own homeland as well, has also been significantly increased. Now they are also interested in the possibilities of finding jobs or attending schools even in the neighbouring country, in this way enhancing the chances of better cooperation between the two regions.
Thus, upon this common foundation built for the long run we would like to lay the elements of our new project in which we are seeking to deepen the cooperation, focusing on the tasks of teaching children the awareness of our interdependence in Europe, a healthy lifestyle and the importance of shaping responsible attitudes towards the environment.
We want to make them aware of the fact that environmental protection requires cooperation on both sides of our border. Our inevitable task is to make the young ones realize that the preservation of the common natural environment will have an effect upon the futures of generations to come. This is why we created the activities mentioned above.
Thoughtless behaviour seems to be more characteristic of the young generation today than it was before. The lives they lead lack motion and sport activities, which are necessary for becoming healthy adults. We hope our project may help change this.
In both of the neighbouring regions the unemployment rate is high. Moreover, the situation of many families has also been seriously aggravated by the current recession. Students coming from such families are not able to join this project without external aid and social support. We would like to give them a chance to join the project as well.
The two institutions are legal entities maintained by the local governments of Kassa and Miskolc. Both institutions have the same mission: teaching and educating youth in a harmonious and comprehensive way. Within such a framework there is a great opportunity for us to have long term cooperation.
Through implementation of the jointly supportable innovative activities we would like to develop in the students and the target groups the following things: a European way of looking at things, cooperation, common values and awareness of responsibility. In addition we want to emphasize the importance of environmental consciousness and tolerance towards other nations and national minorities among the people concerned. We also aim to help the students get acquainted with the common historical past of both nations which will serve as a base for the co-operation in long run.
The primary target groups of the project are all the pupils and workers of the two co-operating educational institutions. When choosing participants, in the application we laid emphasis on equal opportunity, giving consideration to socially disadvantaged pupils and Roma birth minorities as well.
In order for the target groups to get on in life in the future they need information, experience, good command of languages, enhancement of their communication skills and knowledge of computer science too. The programmes of the application help our students deepen their way of thinking and broaden their perspectives, and by means of creating partnerships these programmes open new opportunities for our pupils to work and study abroad .
The secondary target groups of the programme are: all the pupils, teachers, parents who, although, not having a contractual relationship with the two institutions, will be “addressed” by the partners. These are the following: the secondary school pupils, teachers and workers of these two cities and the persons living in the two regions who will get information through the information channels of the project. The target groups of the project again are the Slovak and Hungarian ethnic minorities living in the regions of the two countries. Mediators are: county and town archives, libraries, county and regional educational institutions, regional television, the local press and the Internet. (printed and e-editions).
When choosing the primary target groups we started from the fact that our students cannot have healthy characters and become responsible adults without getting acquainted with the cultures of other nations, and without forming a kind of regional European way of thinking and tolerance towards each other.
For teenagers today the main motivational elements are achievements attainable in the fields of sport, computer science, language studies and tourism. Successes obtained in these areas are good experiences which help adolescents find their own place in the community. The planned activities have these psychological foundations as their base. So, in this way, the interest in these activities by young peoples can be easily predicted. The sound foundation of the planned activities lies in the fact that these activities have successfully been working successfully for years at the institutional level. We want these activities to reach an international level by, to a certain extent, introducing new methods and new activities.
The resources available for us now are not enough to get to an international level. In order to achieve our expected aims it is necessary for us to discover and obtain outer resources too.