Generation siX | ABC Network | Project



	Home Come together: generation siX Projects / topics Milestones Conference 2006 (Linz) Participants Agenda Speakers Workshops Pictures Feedback Press review Links and downloads Archive Meeting 2005 (Vienna) Agenda Workshops Participants Pictures ABC Network Project Working groups Newsletter Meetings Participant's feedback Contact / Imprint	deutsch \| english Contents Idea Objectives Milestones Contact The basic idea behind the ABC Network The ABC Network (Across the Borders Cooperation)—School Network «Creative Central Europe» is an initiative by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Science, and Culture and invites schools from various Central European countries to cross borders—to participate in an «Across the Borders Cooperation» (ABC). The aim of the project is to finalise future-oriented cooperation models for schools in the area of "creativity promotion and cultural education". With the upcoming Enlargement of the European Union in mind the ABC Network invites schools from both the existing EU countries as well as the future members to joint crossings of the borders. KulturKontakt Austria is responsible for the practical implementation of the ABC Network. Defining one's own position is an important first step and a precondition for such border crossings. Subsequently the ABC Network intentionally asks schools to swap their locations, i.e. change their own points-of-view. Under the title, the general topic of «EUROPE—a common past—a common future» schools shall choose a specific problem / a partial aspect of their common past and their common future, analyse backgrounds, connections etc. on the basis of their own national situations (project phase I) and then, as a next step, exchange the results of their work with a partner school from another country and during project phase II try to highlight and comment on this specific problem/partial aspect from the point-of-view of this country. In the ideal case during project phase III they will then be able to establish a joint solution / a possibility for a future cooperation etc. The integration of external experts (from science, art, etc.) and the approach of strengthening the creative approach of the youngsters, promote independent work and enable a climate where it is possible to learn without fear and where experiments are encouraged has always been a major element for this work. The individual schools have virtual connections to their partner schools and «physical» links to the various experts. Here again the idea of «border crossings» should be taken into account whenever possible. «Re-inventing our Europe» is the task set for the teams of 3–5 schools each. Pupils and teachers are called upon to jointly discuss and present their very personal approaches, ideas and visions for a common Europe. At the centre of the ABC Network we find the pedagogic-didactic challenge of «border crossing» in the geographic, thematic, methodical etc. sense: In the form of an active cooperation of schools from neighbouring countries in Central Europe in the form of school as an open community centre in cooperation with external cultural institutions, artists, scientists, and other experts and in the form of cross-subject, project and topic-oriented teaching particularly through the use of the new communication technologies. Objectives The immediate objective of the project is to create «best-practice models» to develop quality in creative education. The development of quality is the necessary precondition for a discussion that is both comprehensive and profound and that underlines the special effects resulting from creative education in new educational forms for the benefit of a comprehensive elaboration of the personality of European citizens. The ABC Network project in a first phase aims at the continuous cooperation of a small network for the discussion of topics of European relevance. The schools serve as multipliers within their regions and in turn closely cooperate with national and regional administrative institutions (school authorities), educational centres, cultural institutions, etc. Subsequently the network shall also grow in quantity and set sustainable accents for educational policy on a European level. Target group At present between 800–1000 students aged 14–19 from Austria, Italy, Hungary, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, and Poland are integrated into the ABC Network. Plans exist to also include participants from Croatia and Slovenia. For reasons of the necessary mobility preference is given to school groups from years 10–12/13. English or German have been defined by the participants as language options for the Network. What has happened so far July 2001–January 2002: Selection of schools A first step saw the search for and selection of schools from Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, and Poland for cooperation in the project. At the same time topics were identified and methods discussed within a pool of experts. These experts developed a catalogue of topics on issues of European relevance (e.g. European integration, joint analysis of past history, economic and technological development, cultural diversity, social exclusion and even genetic engineering etc.) and possible appertaining action forms. January 2002 The ABC Network was launched with a first event on 31^st January 2002 and a subsequent workshop over 2 days (1^st–2^nd February 2002) in Vienna. Teachers from the selected schools were invited to a workshop in Vienna. There concrete cooperation projects were discussed, established, and cross-country cooperations were concluded in working groups (partnerships of 2–3 schools each). As from March 2002 Subsequent project work in three phases: Phase 1: on-site research (as from March 2002) Phase 2: cooperation with the partner schools (as from September 2002) Phase 3: development of joint models for the future, solutions etc. (as from January 2003) June 2003 Presentation of all (interim) results at a seminar on 22^nd and 23^rd June 2003 at Stadtschlaining (Burgenland). The status quo was presented at a two day event involving all participants (teachers and pupils). The aim is to establish a long-term cooperation of the participating schools. April 2004 ABC-Meeting at 22^nd April in Vienna and «Europe X-large» at 23^rd April 2004 in Kittsee. Due to the EU-Enlargement at 1^st May 2004 the Austrian Minister for Education, Science and Culture invites her colleges from the neighbour-countries at the 23rd April 2004 to celebrate this enlargement together with pupils/students and teachers from various European countries. Thereby the members of ABC network established the heart of this event - the meeting the day before was dedicated for internal discussions of the network activities. April 2005 The final meeting of ABC Network took place in Krakow. All four working-groups presented the results of their three years programme. Lectures have been held to relevant topics concerning network as well as Central Europe. Several workshops offered the opportunity to practice and implement «learning from each other and with each other». The success of ABC Network resulted into the following project: «Generation siX» Teachers from Central Europe shall be prepared to the topic of «Generation siX» in autumn 2005. Prospect Due to the outstanding success of ABC Network the following project «Generation siX» is starting in autumn 2005. Teachers from all over Europe shall work together and prepare «Generation siX» in a two-days-seminar taking place in Austria. Their pupils shall then discuss, share and present their results in a meeting in Mai 2006. Contact Office KulturKontakt Austria Universitätsstraße 5 A-1010 Wien t +43 1 523 87 65 f +43 1 523 89 33 www.kulturkontakt.or.at Contact Gabriele Bauer, KulturKontakt Austria gabriele.bauer@kulturkontakt.or.at