-Project Exploring Cultural Heritage for Entrepreneurial Development is a School Exchange Partnership which is planned to start on 1st October 2018 and last 24 months. The partnership was formed via eTwinning and consists of five secondary schools: coordinator from Poland and partners from Turkey, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

-Project priorities are promoting entrepreneurship education and raising awareness of the importance of Europe’s cultural heritage through education.

 

There are four main project objectives defined:

I. Development of schools as organizations and increase in their abilities to work in international projects

We want our institutions to create and develop European networks, work in cross-border projects, share and confront ideas and practices.

II. Undertaking a mobility project

We want our institutions to promote the values of inclusion, tolerance, language learning, linguistic diversity and multiculturalism.

III. Promoting initiative and entrepreneurship education

Project activities are based on Business Studies methodology to foster transnational initiative, entrepreneurial mind-sets and skills.

IV. Raising awareness of the importance of Europe’s cultural heritage

We want to raise awareness of social and educational value of European cultural heritage, its contribution to job creation, economic growth and promote intercultural approach to heritage.

 

-The participants vary in cultural and geopolitical background, approach towards heritage, motivation and learning capacities. In project there will be included underprivileged participants with educational difficulties, economic obstacles, cultural differences and geographical obstacles. Participants with fewer opportunities will be offered psychological, linguistic, cultural, economic and organizational support.

All project participants include pupils, teachers and other school staff (1500), pupils’ parents (1000 households), local schools and authorities, business people (50 companies) operating in tourism and exploring cultural heritage and local, regional, national tourism boards and holdings.

 

Project activities

-To raise awareness of cultural heritage pupils complete introductory tasks (a video pool research on cultural heritage, seminar classes on the changes in the attitude to heritage protection in the past, animation presenting factors that influenced cultural heritage in the country in the past, data mining on tourism).

Before each mobility, pupils brainstorm ideas for presentation and case study and host pupils are involved in field trip arrangements.

Pupils take part in five short-term exchanges in partner schools where mobility activities are held under main theme (debate on cultural heritage issues, designing enterprise, workshops, field trips). The entrepreneurship techniques applied in the field trip activities include: brain-storming ideas, SWOT analyse, elements of feasibility study including technical, strategic and market analyses, elements of business plan, negotiations, decision tree etc.

 

Project outcomes:

-a more dynamic, committed and professional environment inside involved schools, ready to integrate good practices into school activities,

-successful cooperation of institutions and staff required by the assigned project tasks.

-inclusion of participants with different difficulties,

-enhanced awareness and intercultural understanding,

-increased sense of initiative and entrepreneurship,

-better understanding of interconnection between formal and non-formal learning.

-enhanced intercultural and entrepreneurial approach to heritage.

 

Long-term benefits

-All partner schools will develop as organizations and improve their professional environment, European dimension and readiness to integrate good practices in school activities.

-There are also plans to continue using the results of the project in school activities.

1. The Business Studies curriculum will include a selection of techniques, ideas and content used during project activities.

2. Field trips organized by partner schools will include additional objective of assessing cultural heritage for business activity and job creation.

3. Pupils’ participation at least once a year in events such as tourist fair or entrepreneurship week.

4. .Pupils’ participation at least once a year in a visit to local enterprise and meeting with businessmen.

5. During classes of Business Studies pupils will be offered advice and guidance in connection with the announced EU priority given to projects with long-term impact on cultural heritage. 

6. Due to the Italian partner’s expertise in vocational training concerning Tourist Service, they will select one of the enterprise projects and implement it in virtual reality after the visit at their school.

7. All partner schools will hold annual competition at first at local, later at national level. Other secondary school pupils will create enterprise projects based on national and international cultural heritage.