Apprendere, vivere, costruire a scuola ogni giorno la nostra Europa di armonia e di pace. “Gioia bella Luce Tu sei scesa dall’Elisio…” Un’interessanteApprendere, vivere, costruire a scuola ogni giorno la nostra Europa di armonia e di pace.
“Gioia bella Luce Tu sei scesa dall’Elisio…”
Un’interessante attività di Laboratorio di Educazione alla Cittadinanza Europea si è svolta mercoledì 30 settembre 2009, dalle ore 14.15 alle ore 15.45 presso il Laboratorio di Tecnologia e Informatica della Scuola Primaria Internazionale “San Filippo” di Città di Castello, Alta Valle del Tevere, provincia di Perugia, Umbria, Italia centrale.
Il Laboratorio è stato condotto dal dott. Matteo Bruno, Università di Perugia della Facoltà di Scienze Politiche – Diritto dell’Unione Europea con l’aiuto della dott.ssa Diletta Paoletti e vi hanno partecipato trentuno studenti e tre insegnanti – Stefania Ferrini, Sabrina Ferrini e Andrea Mennella - delle due Classi Quinte Sezione A Tempo Pieno e Sezione B Tempo Normale.
L’iniziativa è stata programmata sin dallo scorso anno scolastico nel quadro del Progetto del I Circolo ‘Cosmopolis – D.eur.e’, progetto dedicato alla promozione e allo sviluppo della dimensione europea dell’educazione, al dialogo interculturale, alla fratellanza universale tra le Comunità del Mondo. Il dott. Matteo Bruno, con la supervisione del Prof. Raspadori (Università di Perugia) ha messo a punto un interessante piano di sensibilizzazione e di comunicazione sulle tematiche riguardanti l’Unione europea rivolto ai giovani studenti e alle scuole della Provincia di Perugia. La prima tappa di questo percorso ha avuto luogo proprio presso la scuola di Città di Castello e proseguirà nei prossimi mesi in altri istituti secondari.
Il Laboratorio si è articolato in tre fasi distinte ed ha previsto l’impiego della Lavagna Multimediale. Nella prima, Matteo e Diletta hanno mostrato alle Classi una serie di slides e illustrato il significato della nascita delle prime Comunità europee, i Padri e gli Stati fondatori, i Trattati, i momenti fondamentali, la cittadinanza come volontariato e dono di sé, le prospettive future. Gli alunni del “San Filippo” hanno cantato le strofe dell’Inno europeo – l’Inno alla Gioia nella versione di Donato Franco: ”Gioia bella luce / tu sei scesa dall'Elisio, / pien d'ardore o divina / noi veniamo al tuo altar. / Col tuo nodo tu affratelli / chi disgiunse vanità, / tutti al mondo siam fratelli / quando aleggi su di noi / Col tuo nodo tu affratelli / chi disgiunse vanità, / tutti al mondo siam fratelli / quando aleggi su di noi”.
Nella seconda fase, le classi hanno potuto approfondire e riflettere grazie alla proiezione di brevi ‘cartoons’ educativi tratti da EU Tube, il canale informativo dell’Unione europea presente su You Tube. Solidarietà, dialogo interculturale, parità di diritti, uguaglianza tra i generi, valori, atteggiamenti e comportamenti rispettosi verso la natura e il nostro ambiente di vita,: questi gli argomenti proposti all’attenzione dei ragazzi e degli insegnanti.
Nella terza fase dell’attività gli studenti hanno posto varie domande ai loro interlocutori: dal significato della diversità culturale europea, al plurilinguismo, dalla protezione della natura ai diritti dei bambini e dei giovani al problema delle droghe, dalle Istituzioni dell’U.E. all’esplorazione dello spazio.
Notevole la partecipazione e il coinvolgimento dei giovani allievi che hanno dimostrato di apprezzare l’iniziativa invitando Matteo e Diletta a ritornare a far loro visita magari in occasione della Primavera d’Europa 2010.
Il nostro grazie a Matteo e Diletta che hanno voluto interagire con noi e condividere con la nostra scuola il loro percorso di studio e di ricerca.(more)(less)
We asked Mr Francis Whyte from DG Communication some comments and impressions about the Conference "Future of Europe: The Citizens' Agenda" and about ourWe asked Mr Francis Whyte from DG Communication some comments and impressions about the Conference "Future of Europe: The Citizens' Agenda" and about our project "Radio Web Europe". He says that people have had the chance to express their feelings and that there has been a genuine citizens' participation. The European Commission in the next wave of Plan D projects will develop the internet component and will adopt an internet strategy very soon, so he thinks that Radio Web Europe has been a very interesting project because it opened the way for the development of citizens' participation on the internet.(more)(less)
Pat Cox, Former President of the European Parliament, was the moderator of the Conference "Future of Europe: the citizens' agenda". He says to Radio WebPat Cox, Former President of the European Parliament, was the moderator of the Conference "Future of Europe: the citizens' agenda". He says to Radio Web Europe that it has been wonderful to meet people from many different backgrounds, countries and age groups. He thinks that an important step has been taken: for the first time, in a very deliberate way, the EU institutions went out to find its Europeans and the Europeans responded. And it is a big message for the future.
http://www.radiowebeurope.eu/uk/news/record.php?tit=Active-Citizenship-Open-Letter-Recommendations&id=131(more)(less)
As part of the RWE UK debate we asked young people whether we know enough about Europe in the UK, and how should we learn about it? They felt that it hadAs part of the RWE UK debate we asked young people whether we know enough about Europe in the UK, and how should we learn about it? They felt that it had to start at primary school, and be part of the education curriculum – it’s important to know that there’s a world outside where you live. Emily talked about an event where she asked children and young people to identify the EU member states on a map – some young children knew all of them, but some only knew the UK and Ireland and couldn’t even find France! She thinks it’s awful, because France is our closest country. But the participants thought that they could do it themselves ………..we hope so!(more)(less)
Debbie Croucher, facilitator of the RWE UK workshops and focus groups, reflects on the experience of RWE in the UK. We tried to find effective ways toDebbie Croucher, facilitator of the RWE UK workshops and focus groups, reflects on the experience of RWE in the UK. We tried to find effective ways to engage with young people in the EU, to create a better understanding about the EU and the involvement of young people in its future. We talked to young people from a wide range of backgrounds and abilities; to community organisations which already involve young people a lot; and to local decision makers, who want to get young people more involved and encourage them to speak up. We wanted to involve young people with disabilities; they identified some key issues, in particular the need for better, and more accessible, communication. There’s a huge agenda around social inclusion – but if we want to be truly inclusive we have to find ways of involving young people who are hard to reach. Ultimately we are talking about citizenship for all young people. We still have more questions than answers, but we hope that this project is the start of a process, not the end…..(more)(less)
Andrew, a student from Oxford University, says that EU enlargement doesn’t seem to be well planned – or maybe the process of planning has not beenAndrew, a student from Oxford University, says that EU enlargement doesn’t seem to be well planned – or maybe the process of planning has not been made clear. He visited Bulgaria recently and says it felt very distant from the Western Europe that he is familiar with; there was a lot of poverty, and it seems strange that they should be part of the EU from an economic point of view. Andrew feels that there should be clear limits on EU enlargement – a more conceptual debate about what the EU should really be is needed before any more enlargement should happen. He is very concerned about the human rights issue; he is concerned about Turkey joining the EU because it has a very bad record of human rights abuses. But he also thinks that Turkey isn’t part of Europe, either geographically or culturally. He also thinks maybe there could be a ‘mini EU’ for the Balkan states to see if they can get along together before they join. Andrew says that there must be clear conditions for countries who want to join the EU – especially commitment to free trade, to open, democratic government, and getting rid of human rights abuses.(more)(less)
Andrew, a postgraduate student at Oxford University, says that illegal immigration should be an issue for each member state to tackle; but he is very concernedAndrew, a postgraduate student at Oxford University, says that illegal immigration should be an issue for each member state to tackle; but he is very concerned about racism, which seems to be prevalent across the EU and growing. He thinks that the EU should impose economic sanctions, or reduce subsidies, for member states who are failing to tackle this problem effectively and make things change. Andrew says that everyone has a role in promoting equality, but the EU is well placed logistically to tackle the issue; but he sceptical about campaigns like the European Year of Anti-Racism – he thinks that money is far better spent funding organisations like charities which are trying to tackle the problem of racism ‘on the ground’.(more)(less)
Lisa says: if you want encourage people to live in a more sustainable way you have to make it simple for them to do it; for example at the moment door-to-doorLisa says: if you want encourage people to live in a more sustainable way you have to make it simple for them to do it; for example at the moment door-to-door recycling varies depending on where you live – how much you can recycle, what you can recycle, how often it’s collected etc. It would be much easier if it was the same system for everyone, then everyone could do the same and feel like they were all working together for the greater good.
Harsheek says: to encourage more people to live in a sustainable way, tools need to be marketed in a way where people see the benefits to themselves on a personal level, e.g. ‘bike to work’ which in the UK gives people tax breaks for cycling to work for a particular number of miles over a certain period of time. It means people have more money, and illustrates the cost benefits of living in a more sustainable way – it’s cheaper to have no car or to use the car less often.
Rohit says: what most people want is a bit more money in their back pocket – so we should do just that. For example there are two green electricity providers in the UK – people should be encouraged to use them by being given tax rebates. This would create a financial incentive for people to be more sustainable.(more)(less)
Mike says: I’d introduce two things: firstly, a system of carbon auditing, so that whenever someone buys a product or a service they can tell the amountMike says: I’d introduce two things: firstly, a system of carbon auditing, so that whenever someone buys a product or a service they can tell the amount of carbon emissions generated by that product or its manufacture; secondly, a system of carbon rationing so that everyone is given a carbon allocation for the year and when they pay their gas, electricity or oil bill, the amount is deducted from their allocation. In a similar way, corporations would have to bid for their ability to emit carbon; so that a market would be generated, and the more heavily carbon emitting processes would be more expensive.(more)(less)
Mike: there’s only so much an individual can do; the rest has to be picked up by governments and corporations. For example, recycling is difficult becauseMike: there’s only so much an individual can do; the rest has to be picked up by governments and corporations. For example, recycling is difficult because packaging is difficult to recycle – so we need a standardised product for packaging which can easily be recycled, and which has to be used across the whole of Europe. It would need to be imposed and enforced across the EU to be effective. Another example is the motor industry and how much oil is being used to fuel cars across the whole of Europe; we could use electric cars which can run for 250 miles instead of 30 miles for one gallon of petrol. This would also require a centralised initiative to create the right infrastructure across the EU.
Harsheek: I think it’s good that there’s a lot of emphasis on personal responsibility to live in a sustainable way, but at the same time businesses should be more accountable for their actions; the majority of carbon emissions come from industry and I don’t know how much governments are pressurising them to reduce their carbon emissions.(more)(less)