This project proposal includes LB - Primary school Vladimir Nazor Virovitica; B1 - Croatian Nursery, Elementary and Secondary School and Student Hostel "Miroslav Krleza" Pécs; B2 - Music School Jan Vlašimsky Virovitica.
The project idea was based on joint cooperation with cross-border school from Barcs. By this project, young people, especially school children have a great opportunity to build a new shape of joint education and bilingualism through dancing, playing, singing, playing instruments, excursion, and many other ways that link Croatian and Hungarian people. Good starting point is also a very strong desire from all three schools to improve these links and encourage other to work on similar way as them.
The main challenge and the basic problem that this project contributes to is to resolve the extinction of the cultural herritage, low interest for this field from both sides of the border, and the populary oppinion that the folklor and cultural herritage is only the interest of old people. The project includes activities like organization of cultural and musical workshops for students and teachers of three cross-border schools, which want to overcome language barriers and the barriers of cultural diversity. By including children 7-15 years old, joint activities of cross-border cities will create a common creative space in which young people will remove barriers for future cooperation and the creation of common social and cultural space in the future to increase tolerance and mutual acceptance. The target group of the project are 500 students and 17 teachers of three cross-border Schools. 188 children from LB, 187 children from B1 and 125 children from B2 between the ages of 7 and 15 years.
Overall objective of the project is to foster communication in order to transfer the cultural herritage of the cross-border area using tranings and transmission of traditional values. The specific objectives of this project are: (1) formation of co-operation between schools to improve the role of school to increase the specific knowledge about cultural heritage; (2) enable teacher and children to pass the knowledge of cultural heritage of their city and teritorial area in bilingual workshops (materials will be prepared in language of the holder of acitvity, but translation will be done simultanious with profesors from other beneficiary); (3) empowerment of community without borders and language barrier through joint project promotion; (4) development of the book – Guide through the City of Virovitica in HU, HR, EN language, for promotion of the specific knowledge of cultural heritage; and the "Mini collected papaer in HU-HR language with extract on EN.
The project is expected to raise the level of knowledge and skills in playing musical instruments and learning about cultural diversities; increased motivation of children and young people by organizing music and cultural workshops; improved knowledge and skills of teachers and professors through organized professional workshops; increased involvement of disadvanteged group of children in further education and to increase social inclusion of mentioned disadvanteged groups of children.
Through the jointly organised, developed and implemented activities project beneficiaries will further strengthen co-operation and they will continue co-operation in developing new project proposal on joint meeting or workshops. Sustainability of jointly implemented project activities is possible through the project results and outputs which will be the basisi for future development of ideas.
This project has an important contribution to the cross-border cooperation between Croatia and Hungary. Children and young people who are still shaping their attitudes, are a good basis on which a healthy bilingual connection can be developed, and later on, it can grow into an important cultural, social and economic link in the future. Of course, both Virovitica and Pecs citizens will have its own benefit, because they will be included indirectly in this project, but for sure the children will be the carriers of one better and more effective cooperation. Also, the participants will learn more about natural, cultural and historical treasures that connect these two nations, and that will for sure teach the children to preserve these values, especially in the field of cultural heritage.
