Meeting in London (5.-11.March 2017)
Sunday, 5th of March 2017: Journey to London
On March 5th two teachers, Christian Schmieder and Mrs. Kraut and also two students (Paulina Lieske and Ronja Stürmer) travelled to London as representatives of the Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium, to exchange results in the course of the Erasmus+ Project „Democratic Values in a United Europe: Forming Resilient Citizens“ with the other project members. The journey started at 8:00 am. We drove with the bus to the Basel/Mulhouse Aiport, from where we flew to London. Arriving there, we met the other groups from Italy, Portugal, Spain and Turkey and introdruced ourselves to each other. In the evening we all went to dinner.
Monday, 6th of March 2017: First Meeting at Lewisham Southwark College London
We started the day with a breakfast in a little café near our hotel. After that we drove together with the other groups to Lewisham Southwark College. There we exchanged our thoughts and ideas about the project. We were welcomed really friendly by the students of the english school. We also had the possibility to have a tour around the school corner. The school has about 15.000 students and includes two big campuses. It is the biggest school in this project. Another component of the Erasmus+ projects are cultural events, which are intended to provide further insight into the host country. In the afternoon we started a journey to the London Eye which provided us a comprehensive „overview“ over the City of London. We enjoyed the liberty and met people from different corners of Europe and the world. We went for a walk along the River Thamse to our restaurant and had a dinner together.
Tuesday, 7th of March 2017: Presentations about role models and democracy
On this day all five groups, living in the same hotel, drove together to the college. Groups of students hold presentations about human rights, democracy, role models, peace and tolerance, which were critically reflected in subsequent discussions. The UK group was also singing songs about human rights. These songs had been composed by the English Erasmus+ group over a period of several months, and they impressed all of us very much. Many sympathies and appreciation of each other were felt, so that at the end of this second day, first friendships were concluded.
Wednesday, 8th March 2017: Production of a own song by the student groups
On this day we drove to the college again. There we were able to compose our own song, with the participants of the English Erasmus+ Group. This song is about the topic „Human rights“. With a lot of creativity, great joy, but also a high symbolic power, this working phase ended. After that we have visited different sights of London. Including the Parliament (Big Ben) and Buckingham Palace. On this day we experienced a lot together.
Thursday, 9th of March 2017: Imperial War Museum
This day we didn’t visit the college, because we visited the Imperial War Museum. At this out-of-school location, participants were given examples from the recent past, where people didn’t respect each other and where enemies. An English teacher of the college could explain us many details about the history of the museum itself. In the museum, the visitor could encounter various historical examples, where human rights were only partly respected. It was the exhibition on the crimes of the National Socialists that touched all of us. To see the cultural diversity and harmonious coexistence of the historically evolved identity of England, we made a walk through Chinatown, across Trafalgar Square and further to Oxford Street. These many cultural impressions of the afternoon marked this fifth day in London.
Friday, 10th of March 2017: Reflection and view
On the last day we met in the rooms of the new „Waterloo Campus“. We exchanged ideas about role models and presented them for the last time. We had also enough time for a critical review of the past days should be given here. The conclusion of the first student meeting was very positive. Here a group of young people had found themselves, which critically reflected important values of a united Europe. To the end of this week, we went along the River Thames to visit the Tower Bridge. We had the oppurtunity to learned about the history of England during of a guided tour of the Tower of London. This evening we had the last dinner together. All the guests were kindly thanking the organizing team for a sucessful week. After having dinner we had to say goodbye. For all of us it was very hard, because we all wanted to stay longer and we had understood each other very well.
Saturday, 11th March 2017: Return to Germany
On the last day we started with an „English Breakfast“, in a little café near our hotel. Then we went back to the hotel and took a taxi to Heathrow airport. From there we flew back to the Basel Airport. Then we took the bus back to Freiburg, were we finally met our families. It was a unique experience, that we will remember for a long time!
Paulina Lieske