THE ISTITUTO TECNICO PER IL TURISMO MARCO POLO IN PALERMO The Istituto Tecnico per il Turismo "Marco Polo" of Palermo, founded in 1962, meets the need to prepare skilled and trained personnel, ready to enter, with all the required proficiencies, into a growing industry, the tourism, which enables young people to find adequate employment opportunities in public and private companies. The courses of the our Institute, which allows access to all the different universities, are divided in five years and includes many subjects, both from general areas (Italian language and literatury, History, Art History, Geography, Mathematics, Physics,) and from specifics areas as Accounting, Technical Tourist, Transport, Technology; moreover the Foreign Languages (English, French, German and Spanish) are capital subjects of our courses, and learned in a modern way, using ICT and supported by the large contribute of native language teachers. Several extracurricular activities are accessible to the students, and they are free to join one or more of this further courses. The Institute has a great experience with European and International projects, due to several involvments over the years, and maintains cultural exchanges and twinnigs with several countries including France, Spain, Belgium, Holland and Germany. COMENIUS MULTILATERAL PROJECT: WATERHOLIC – A DROP OF WATER, A DROP OF HOPE (COORDINATOR : ROMANIA ‐ OTHER COUNTRIES INVOLVED : ITALY – GREECE – TURKEY LITHUANIA) Summary The project will help students to act in real life situations when they are expected to answer to the specific issue of water management. In the context of world climatic changes, water has become a precious natural resource and the United Nation Assembly has declared the year 2013, the International Year of Water Cooperation. Although the main theme of the project is water conservation, preservation and management, the project is focused on developing students’ managerial skills starting from a problem that will become general in the next few years. Also, this project will help students to become more conscious about their responsibilities as European citizens in the era of globalization. The new elements that the project will bring are the training resources, and the information which the students will give to the local community, and also to the European society. The students will acquire skills on natural resource management, on management, the skills to identify and to solve certain problems which can have a global impact. The students will also improve their communication skills in their mother tongue and in a foreign language because they will have the opportunity to come into contact with people of different cultures thus learning positive skills and consolidating the European dimension of their own identity. Concerning the information part, the students will prepare a number of resources in the classical and the modern format, accessible to all European citizens – multilingual dictionary, a virtual encyclopaedia, an on‐line information guide – concerned with water management vied from the perspective of long‐term development. All these represent possibilities of information and raising awareness for all citizens concerning the problems of environment protection. Rationale This project is destined to develop pupils’ managerial skills in public and private areas. The project starts from a real life situation: the need to preserve and to manage water resources in the context of climatic changes. Many scientific studies show that in a few decades water will become a scarce natural resource. In this case, we speak about drinking water which will be almost inaccessible for a great part of the population of the Earth. Europe itself will be confronted with the problem of water management; in some regions of Europe, water has already become a problem, these territories need to deal with the lack of water resources in agriculture. The main motivation of this project is to make young people aware of the water issue and to teach them how to find solutions for this problem. Today, students need to be aware of the fact that they will be the authorities of the world in the next decades and they will be responsible for water management. Starting from the slogan “A drop of water, a drop of hope”, we want to change beliefs through different actions of informing and making young people and not only them aware of environmental issues in general and the water issues in particular. Furthermore, we intend to develop real environment management skills especially amongst young people. Another target skill is the identification of problems and the finding of proper solutions. By working on this project, the students will develop oral and written communication skills at a interpersonal and intra‐personal level and the students become opinion makers themselves. This means that their training as future active and responsible European citizens, who will be leaders of this new generation. The strategies, the methods and the work instruments used in this project will be in agreement with the common European frame concerning the environment politics. The development of the project presupposes the improvement of trainees’ skills who can work in a team, like: active listening, empathy, assertive communication and leadership abilities. It is obvious that the project considers the development of the necessary skills for the 20th century, especially computer science, communication abilities and linguistic skills. We also have to take into consideration the intercultural aspect of the project activities through which they will widen their cultural views and will become accustomed with the culture and the civilization of other European countries. As a consequence, young people will realize the need for the formation of a common European culture and the connection to a common space. By promoting unity through diversity, young people will become the active and responsible decision makers in a knowledge society. Project Objectives and Strategy Objectives: 1. To make the students from the target group and the community responsible about the problem of water management 2. To identify solutions concerning the responsible management of environmental problems in general and water in particular 3. To develop managerial, communicational, ITC and leadership skills 4. To increase the interest on water problem 5. To integrate students in the European society as an active part 6. To promote cooperation between young people from different European countries Subjects or problems: 1. the main subject of the project is water preservation. The students will need to explain why water has become an endangered natural resource, they will find solutions and alternatives for reducing water consumption and they will identify alternative water resources. 2. the second main subject is European cooperation between students from different countries as active citizens in a common effort for resolving a general problem which will affect Europe in the years to come. Approach to achieve the objectives: The approach on this project is made through various strategies, deductive and inductive, focused on the trainee. All the activities will be active and participative; will use modern methods and digital instruments, educational platforms, virtual work places. Starting with local geographical particularities, but concerning a common problem at a European level, the students will work in international teams with the purpose of harmonizing the suggested solutions. By using brainstorming and student‐centered methods, questioning problems, case study and projects, the students will be able to offer concrete solutions to the identified problems. Added European value The value of the partnership starts from using the environmental policies promoted at the level of the European Union. In this way the target group will be made up of active and responsible citizens at the level of the local community, but also at the level of the European Union. Thus, they will have a responsible attitude concerning environmental protection and they will think about future project for the long‐term development of society. Young people will share common European values, using one of the official languages of The European Union and modern means of communication (ITC means). Another targeted European value is the accomplishing of partnerships at a European level in which schools from different countries unite their forces in a common effort to find solutions for a general problem: the management of water resources. The partnership does not only refer to schools involved in the project, but also the partnership networks with public and private institutions at the local and the European level which will be involved in the project. These partnerships will be able to use the examples of good practice concerning environmental protection and water resources, through collaboration on future partnerships. The participation of young people in the project will make them aware of the way European institutions work, facilitation their future integration on the work market, at a European level. The project contributes to their knowledge of different countries and cultures, adding to their willingness to accept people with a different culture, religion and belonging to an area and to a culture different than theirs. In the end it contributes to the emergence of European values which they all share. The development of the partnership network will allow all the schools involved to get the title of “European School” and an innovative school when it comes to water management. IMPACT General impact: Following the project implementation, all involved in the partnership will assimilate a set of European values, and they will be integrated in society as active and responsible young people. The major impact resides in the fact that the target group will become aware of the necessity of a rational and sustained management of the water resources. In this way they will become active participants in the process of environmental protection in general and water resources in particular. They will also become opinion setters amongst their peers, by the spreading of values and examples of good practice acquired during the project. All those involved in the project will improve their communication skills in a foreign language by close collaboration with others during the project activities. Communication will also be improved by acquiring new computer skills, by using web pages for the project, which need constant updating, but also by using the on‐line communication platforms, to ensure activity development. Regional impact The spreading of project results by participation in exhibitions, educational fares, contests and seminars will attract the involvement of other institutions of regional importance in similar projects. These projects will be able to implement solutions and examples of good practice, which are the result of our project. Local impact: At a local level, the development of the project will determine the raising of awareness amongst the population when it comes to the responsible management of water. This will lead to the reduction of water consumption at home and at school, by rationally using the existing resources and by raising the quantity of recycled water. This will also impose the finding of alternative sources of water, at the level of the local community involved in the project. Cooperation and communication Communication will be realized in English in a virtual environment on Internet. Students will realize and coordinate a blog of the project. Individual communication will also be possible and desired on a personal level via e‐mail or phone. In various contexts, we will manage to communicate not only verbally, but also nonverbally and para‐verbally. For instance, during the motilities’, there will occur various activities such as role‐plays, ice‐breaking, brainstorming which will require the use of such communication techniques. A permanent communication will be achieved by means of online platforms, webpage and socializing group, available for both teachers and students to log on to. This way, communication will be multidirectional, both horizontally and vertically. The participants will exchange materials and ideas and will also provide solutions to improve the final products (common questionnaires to be applied and interpreted at the level of each institution and also at the project level, webpage, online encyclopaedia the project logo, fliers etc). Cooperation during class excanges / Participants involvement Pupils will work in international teams to resolve specific tasks according to the mobility plan. They will need to provide specific solutions to problems such as water preservation; reducing water consumption etc. We will fructify the theory of multiple intelligencies and the potential of each student, offering them the chance to be part of an international team the teams will cooperate in order tomake some common products, as a basis of the virtual encyclopaedia. The cooperation will materialize by organizing workshops within mobilities, some field research or debates requiring teamwork and and pairwork. This cooperation will be stimulatedby means of actively‐involving methods, brainstorming, project work, case study, portfolio, posters, fliers and other informative materials.the result of cooperation will materiaIlize in a multicultural, multilinguistic, multiprospective meant to reflect the unity within diversity. We will employ the method entitled “The Gallery Tour” so that we could stimulate we could stimulate permanent interaction between international groups. Each member of a team will transit each team so that to ensure the knowledge transfer and active cooperation among participants. The cooperation will be achieved formally‐ within project meetings, and also informally and nonformally through field research, interviews, questionnaires to be applied to the local community members. Integration into ongoing activities Knowledges acquired during the project can be introduced in the general curricula, in geography, biology, chemistry, physics, English and TIC classes. These knowledges will be available on an interactive encyclopedic dictionary which will be annually updated. The encyclopedy will include sections dedicated to environment, history and mythology linked to water. All the information will be accessed in the languages of the participating countries. As far as the planning is concerned, it will be extended by actively involving the whole school community. The questionnaires providing the needs analysis will be applied to all the students and their parents. The interpretation of results wil limply all the students` and teachers` participation (from the partner schools). The project activities calendar will be achieved following the SWOT analysis at the local community level, due tot the implication of more public and private institutions. The project implementation involves the realization of several other activities, beside the project reunions, with the involvement of the students and teachers from the partner schools.a series of debates, workshops, seminars in which the project products will be displayed and fructified. Likewise, the extending project addresses to the whole school and local community.the partnerships with other schools will comprise the promoting of good conduct examples,resulting from the project activities. The relationship school‐community will become stronger due tot the parents` involvement, providing not only logistic support but also active participation in the project reunions. The actual realization of some of the project activities –such as the raising awareness within the local community regarding the importance of the water supplies management‐cannot be achieved but through the direct involvement of the local authorities and other interested institutions. The project assessment will actually be accomplished by counting not only the number of the active participants, but also the total of indirect beneficiaries, the number of finalised partnerships, the number of final project products and the actual project activities. The instruments to be used will include questionnaires, interviews, sample surveys.Their role is to closely monitor both the degree of project popularity in school and the local community and also the impact upon direct and indirect beneficiaries. Integration into ongoing activities In the participating organization, the results of the project will be directly integrated in the process of teaching in the general curricula of Environmental Sciences; in foreign languages teaching when using a specific vocabulary and in the field of Vocational Orientation. The experience of planning, implementing and evaluating the project, can be valued as an example for entrepreneurial education classes. The sustainability of the project will be achieved by means of the ongoing campains of raising awareness upon the necessity of a rational and reliable water supplies management and the extension at a regional, national and international level. The promoting of the resulting project products and the good conduct exampleswill be realized throgh the actual participation in events organised in the field, dedicated to European projects and environmental projects. The extension of the school partnerships network both locally and regionally will immensely contribute to the promoting of values, good conduct examples and the project resulting products within some similar institutions. Evaluation The project will be evaluated at an internal level by each school involved in the project and at a general level to survey the degree of tasks achievement. The evaluation of the project will be done with the help of satisfaction questionnaires applied to direct participants to the project – teachers and students, but also to the indirect beneficiaries of the project – members of the local community, parents and local authorities. The main aim of this survey is to measure the level of visibility of the project in the participating schools and in the local community. These questionnaires will be applied at the begging of the project (initially evaluation), after the first year (periodical evaluation) and at the end of project (final evaluation). Another manner of evaluating the project is to make the intermediary and final reports. Each mobility will be ended with a special report to observe the level of achievement of activities scheduled for the meeting. The project can be measured quantitatively by monitoring some specific parameters: ‐ The number of final products resulted after running the activities (min 10); ‐ The number of students (min 50 for each country) and teachers involved (min 20 for each country) in the project; ‐ The quantity of recycled water at home and at school; ‐ The number of visitors of the web page of the project (min 1000); ‐ The number of visitors of the virtual encyclopedia (min 1000); ‐ The number of articles posted on the web page of the project (min 10); ‐ The number of articles published in the local media (min 10); ‐ The number of mobility over the previewed number in the project (min 24 for each country). There are also some quality parameters surveyed during the project, but they are difficult to quantify: The interest of the students for the activities of the project; The increase of the awareness of the importance of recycling water; The participation to other specific activities related to sustainable development; The increasing of students’ interest in participating to different scholars conferences. Other forms of evaluation will be the project portfolio for each school involved in the partnership; the project conference; TV movie for local televisions. For a better evaluation of the project, each country will provide a SWOT analysis after the first year of project and after the ending of the project. Dissemination To ensure the visibility of the project it is necessary to have a permanent communication with the participant schools and with the local media and the local community. The students and the teachers from the participating schools will be informed about the project during special meetings. The indirect beneficiaries, the parents, will be in contact with the project through the questionnaires and the meetings with the parents of each class and with the School Parents Committee. Information about the project will be published on the web page of participating school and on the web page of the project. The local community and the concerned authorities will receive information about the project from direct letters addressed to the major institutions and to the press. Periodically, press announcement will be transmitted to survey the project evolution. The intermediary and the final report will be published in the local media and on the web page of the project and of the participating schools. The dissemination of the project will be realized in local and national media through press communicates and TV programs. These communications will be done after the major activities of the project such as: the launch of the project in each country; the achievement of the mobility; the project conference; periodical information about the evolution of the web page and the virtual encyclopedia. Also the project activities and objectives will be disseminated with the help of a virtual scientific conference which will be accessible every year on project’s web page after the ending of the project. Articles and scientific studies realized during the project will participate to scientific conferences, seminaries and meetings organized by similar institutions or by the concerned authorities. Information about the activities and articles of the project will be available on Internet via specialized web pages, dedicated to Comenius Projects, to teachers and students, on virtual communities such as e‐Twinning, Intel Teach, Facebook or Twitter, the National Agencies web‐sites. The sustainability of the project will be possible with the help of the annual virtual conference organized on the web page of the project. Also, the virtual encyclopedia and the multi‐linguistic dictionary will be up‐dated annually and new students will be involved in this activity ensuring the continuity of the project.