The European program ERASMUS + KA2 “Let’s say stop to violence together” realized the first mobility face to face in 2o Gymnasio Geraka, Athens, from March 31st to Monday April 4th 2022. 24 students and 12 teachers participated in this mobility from the partner’s schools: Anamur Ortaokulu schools (Turkey), Istituto Compensivo Statale “Aldo Moro” (Italy), Scoala Gimnaziala Aurel Pop (Romania), Židikai Marija Pečkauskaitė Gymnasium (Lithuania).
The European program ERASMUS + KA2 “Let’s say stop to violence together” aims to raise awareness against the phenomenon of school violence, its prevention, the cultivation of empathy and recognition of the innate value of man, the development of anger management skills and the cultivation of a peaceful spirit in everyday school.
On Thursday, March 31st 2022, after a rich Greek breakfast prepared by the Greek families, the school’s choir welcomed the partners with songs by Mikis Theodorakis and Manos Hatzidakis, while Mrs. Kassi and the student Daniel Kolonian played the piano. After the greetings from the Principal Mrs. Pertsinidou, from the Deputy Mayor of Education, Mr. Sotiropoulos, from the President of the School Committee, Mr. Liakopoulos and from the representatives of the Students’ Council, a presentation of Greece, Athens and 2o Gymnasio Geraka was made.
The groups in turn presented their own countries and their schools. After exchanging presentations, the Greek lesson started, with an emphasis on the Greek alphabet and the fact that many Greek words are used in all the languages of the world. The students sat in a circle on the stage of the amphitheater and held the experiential workshop “Find the emotion”. Then they played the game of rights based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. After a relaxing game in the courtyard, they had lunch with great appetite with traditional Greek food prepared by the Greek families. The students were hosted until late in the afternoon in the Greek families.
On Friday, April 1st 2022, the partners were welcomed to the school with a Greek breakfast prepared by the Greek families. Divided into two groups, they attended the theatrical play, which is based on the book of the author Mrs. Tasopoulou, “The louzeraki” and which created the conditions for a constructive discussion between the students. They also created a digital story telling in the Scratch programming environment base again on the book “The louzeraki”, after they were introduced to the scratch platform and the basic commands were explained to them. The day ended with the hospitality of the students in the Greek families while the Greek teachers guided the teachers to the beach of Artemida.
On Saturday, April 2nd 2022, the partners had a guided tour to the Theater of Dionysus, the Acropolis and the Ancient Agora. In the Stoa of Attalos the Greek students presented the meaning of Democracy in Ancient Athens and all students played with the cards of Democracy. The walk ended in Monastiraki with the most delicious Greek street food, the souvlaki.
The “Cultural evening held at the premises of 2o Gymnasio Geraka with traditional dances. The dance group of the school left everyone with the best impressions and in the end all partners ended up dancing in the courtyard all together in a huge circle that united all. The flashmob, the dance created by the Greek team, was performed by all the students, since everyone had been practicing the steps for a long time. The Principal, Ms. Pertsinidou, thanked all the teams for the excellent cooperation, and awarded the certificates of participation to all students and teachers. The evening ended with traditional Greek food from the families of our students and with delicious souvlaki prepared by the school cantine. The cultural evening was attended by the President of Parents Committee, Mr. Delinikolas and the parents of Greek students.
On Sunday, April 3rd 2022, the Greek students guided the students of the partners to nearby destinations, while the Greek teachers guided the partners teachers to the Acropolis Museum.
On Monday, April 4th 2022, was dedicated to the Cultural Center St. Niarchos with a tour of the National Library and the garden, which is the largest public Mediterranean garden in the world. After returning to 2o Gymnasio Geraka at noon, the students held an experiential workshop “I I were..”, adopting roles which aimed at strengthening their empathy. The partners teachers and students evaluated the mobility and the results were very satisfactory both in terms of organization, exchange of cultural characteristics between the countries, as well as in terms of strengthening relations between partners and raising awareness against intimidation. After the students of the partners left for the Greek families, the Greek team coordinated the discussion for the next steps of the project.
In a very emotional climate, the students said goodbye to each other. Great friendships were forged while the intercultural dialogue, cooperation and common vision will continue remotely through our common program and the next face to face mobilities.
The 2o Gymnasio Geraka thanks the partners for their cooperation, unity, mutual understanding and commitment to the common goals of the program.
The school also warmly thanks the Municipality of Pallini for its continuous support, the students of the choir and the dance group as well as the students of the program with their parents for the warm hospitality they offered to the partners, but also for their effort to offer them the best in every aspect.
Evaluation of the meeting by the partners
