About Us.
Organisers of the project is Saint Anthony's Lyceum, in Limassol. More details about the school you can find in partners in the webpage ccafaf.webnode.com/partners-participants-/cyprus/
Project Content and Methothology
All partners involved are concerned with the environment in general and the effects of global warming either through formal education or through other actions carried out in their own organisation, in relation to these topics. The environment has always been an issue which interests young people, so there is a great response from partners. Problems related to the Environment and the new order in relation to global warming, as well as climate change is a matter of concern for all partners. Therefore, deeper knowledge and understanding of the subject is a high priority for all the promoters.
Under the guidance of experienced instructors, the young participants will learn through their own initiatives and discussions from the internet and discussions with experts in their respective countries about global warming and climate change, make research about the topic, and try to reconstruct their knowledge in the form of posters, which will allow for them to express their vision. Through non formal learning, the young people will be given the opportunity to approach the phenomena of global warming and climate change. During the exchange in Cyprus, they will have the opportunity to gain further understanding through informative sessions/ workshops, games, field trips, other visits, as well as by means of informal learning. They will share their knowledge and opinions, and ultimately draft proposals for ways to reducing this climatic phenomenon.
Youth participation is evident in every stage of the programme. The original base design of the programme was done through discussions with partners and with the young people themselves. The final programme has been drafted on the basis of such discussions. It is also evident that a large part of the program has been built to be heard and taken into account in discussions and to get the young people's views during the exchange through feedback.
The young people involved will also be in charge of preparing and setting up the social networking page as well as the website, which will be a vital part of the project, also in view of communication between the participants, and in view of the dissemination of the project's results and findings.
The programme gives great importance to non-formal and informal learning, and generally to Youth Participation by providing space for them to be able to express their views on the subject. All programme materials, including the website, posters etc will be the work accomplished by young people as part of their non-formal educational path.
Our users - Key Competences
During the project the participants will acquire important knowledge and will improve their skills in many different ways. Here is a discrete analysis of this knowledge and skills planned to be covered during the project.
1. Communication in mother tongue
They will learn new ways of interactive in learning processes which will make them to feel more comfortable to express their thoughts and feelings. Actually the necessity of communication in a foreign language due to Youth Exchange will make them think different ways of expressing in their mother language (they will see different ways of expressing the same thing with the one way that they already knew)
2. Communication in foreign languages
The project will see the participants communicate with each other in a language which is foreign to all, but which is being studies by most (English). Through this process they will improve their level of expression and their ability of talking in a foreign language. Our project involves six different countries so the young people will gain awareness of intercultural communication, by means of using a universal language.
3. Mathematical knowledge and basic knowledge in science and technology
Through their research they are going to be informed in depth about Global Warming and Climate change, about green jobs related to the environment and the importance of saving energy. This information will cultivate their ecological conscience and in turn they will be able to influence others.
Moreover, they will have the opportunity, through Non formal education approaches used throughout the project, to increase the following skills:
• The ability of solving problems. In many cases when a young person is engaged in a task, he/ she faces problems which are difficult to confront. Through discussions, group reflection or even his own personal work, they can succeed in solving the problems and carrying out a task in the best possible way.
• The ability of creative concepts. They will have the opportunity to propose and present any thoughts that were not envisioned, thus presenting their own ideas. Furthermore, they will make their own structure in their presentations since there will be no limitations set to what they can learn, provided that the learning programme will not be based in a strict curriculum (as is the case of formal education).
• The ability of critical information processing. Through the plethora of information that they will find on the subject, the participants will be able to learn to select the appropriate information for their project, rejecting the information which is not that useful.
4. Digital competence
They will learn to use or improve their knowledge of different computer software. They will be exposed to new technologies through the use of the Internet for research or communication. They will therefore be provided with the opportunity to learn how to use the internet for other things besides the social networking sites (Facebook, messenger, etc.). More specifically they will learn how to use computer software such as:
• The text editor (word) for proper written of presentation of their research
• Data analysis programs (excel, SPSS), so that they can properly present the results obtained through surveys.
• Programs presentation (power point) to be able to showcase their work through an online presentation
• Photo editing and movie editing software;
In many cases where the young people will want to present their results either through posters, videos etc., they will spend many hours working on a specific program.
• Website creation. They will get informed on how to built a web page and to share their results.
5. Learn how to learn
They will develop the following skills about learning how to learn:
• The skill of using diverse sources of information. Through literature review, research on the internet and generally any form of information that they can get through interviews, discussions with teachers or with a competent person engaged in the topic, etc., the young people will learn how to use several sources of information in order to get knowledge about the required subject.
• The skill of communication. Through the presentation of their work young people are required to write down on paper their thoughts, knowledge and generally to be able to present them orally or writing them in paper style in order to edit and improve their suggestions. At the end they will be able to discuss about Global Warming, Saving Energy and Climate Changes in general.
6-7. Social and civic competence and Sense of initiative and entrepreneurship
• They will acquire confidence and improve their self-esteem. Their self-confidence will grow through their experiences and knowledge that they will gain, and by learning to trust their own thoughts and ideas.
• Better communication with their trainers and generally with older people. Through the many hours that they will be communicating (personal contact) with trainers who coordinate the programme, they will establish a better, more approachable relation to them.
• Active Citizenship: They will learn through the actions of the programme and get ideas of what it is to be an active citizen in areas of common interest.
8. Cultural awareness and expression
They will discover cultural expression through interaction and building of interpersonal relations with foreign youngsters and leaders. Also they will be able to appreciate the importance of creative expression of ideas, experiences and emotions and they will learn how to be more respectful and tolerant towards the ideas brought in common forums by people from different cultures and backgrounds, thanks to the contact they will have during Youth Exchange.
Concluding this section, we can say that there are benefits in all areas for the involvement of young people during the whole project.