The rationale of this project
The topic of Green tourism is relevant in secondary schools and other educational establishments partly because it also encompasses a range of subjects including science. Overall, Tourism, Environment protection, ICT, Natural science, : Geography, Physics are all relevant to the project which in itself is highly relevant and topical in this day and age. We are all aware of the dramatic impacts of Global warming and we also know that transportation, travelling and tourism are also contributors to the greenhouse effect. The aim of eco-tourism is to reduce the impact that tourism has on the natural environment.
The project idea comes from real requirements and demands. All of the partner schools are situated in tourist areas ( the island of Crete , Istanbul, Sicily, Scotland, Tenerife ,Feijó, Malta, Nyíregyháza )so they are all directly affected by the adverse consequences which are created by tourism activities. On the other hand both tourism and the conservation of the environment are essential for the future of our students so they should do something about the deterioration of tourist destinations. Moreover some of our schools are specialised in tourism.
The main issues are to provide students and teachers with a deeper understanding of responsible tourism and to widen their knowledge in subjects connected to culture, history, traditions, tourism, gastronomy, English language and ICT while integrating students who come from different cultural backgrounds. By undertaking the project tasks (visiting each other ‘s countries, making mini–tour guides and itineraries, etc.) we aim to prepare our students to become open-minded, culturally aware citizens and skilled travellers who are consciously protecting the value of their tourist environment and we intend to motivate them to take an active participation in social life too. The students will be involved in the study of the tourist values and tourist sights of their own countries and of the other partners’ countries; the aim is to encourage them to appreciate the different cultures, develop the pleasure of travelling and and encourage them to consciously search for ways of protecting the valuable tourist sights and traditions.
In addition, this transnational partnership will encourage young people to become responsible citizens within Europe, and make them aware and respectful of the different cultures, In so doing they will also need to work together as part of a larger community to ensure the future and sustainability of their world. Being subjected to different cultures will help to develop their own identity as well as making them more tolerant towards other cultures. All this will result in developing a sense of belonging to the local, national and European community.
It will also promote the relationship of friendship and a spirit of welcome and respect among students while enlarging students’ cultural horizons and letting them understand that every society has its complexities and diversities.
Cooperation with other schools from European countries on a Tourism project will help us create a European model of education which will contribute to our students understanding of the European community. Additionally the project provides an opportunity for parents and the whole community to be actively involved in and become conscious of the European dimension of Education and Pedagogy while enriching the cultural, tourist and economic sensitivity of all partners involved. This partnership will be beneficial for improving ourselves as both individuals and institutions while contribute a lot to the internationalization of education. It is important because several students are planning to continue their further education ( university/colleges studies ) abroad and this initial experience of international education – even in this informal can contribute a lot to their future studies.
The students will be able to compare their ideas and skills with students from partner countries and the project will make the participants aware of Europe’s economic, cultural and linguistic diversity. In particular they will gain a better understanding of the differences between different types of communities – for example little communities as opposed to large ones – and benefit from being exposed to a full range of their skills, talents and ideas. Consequently they will benefit from the contributions of the European cooperation activities on international, cultural, educational, linguistic, economic and social scales.
We can raise the competencies and motivation of students by giving them a chance to be integrated in an international partnership which provides them with various challenging tasks and activities while gaining practical skills in collecting materials, making presentations organizing events, creating web-pages. All of these skills and competencies will enrich and improve both the private lives and professional lives of students’ and teachers’ alike.
One for all, all for green 