aces Newsletter 05.2012 | |
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Dear teachers, students and project partners, Contents
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aces news
The overall theme of the project contest 2012/2013 was “Reality Check – How we perceive and construct the world through media“. A total of 178 applications were submitted (174 of them were eligible) from a total of 415 schools. With the available grant budget aces was able to award 44 projects involving 107 schools from the different partner countries. You can look up the details of the involved schools in the section “School Network” on the aces website, and a few project details and photos in the section “Awarded Projects 2012/2013”.
Thoughts for aces:
Each year the section “Thoughts for aces“ has been increasing thanks to new texts written by authors from the partner countries. These views have enriched the debate on main aces topics, supporting participants’ reflections and discussion processes.
In 2011/2012 five personalities from different partner countries contributed to this section with their short reflection texts.
Since these contributions completed the goal to have texts from all 15 partner countries in the collection a print booklet was published in June 2012. This booklet can be downloaded from www.aces.or.at/thoughtsforaces.
Videos: On www.aces.or.at/acespublications you can also find a few short films (produced by Redaktionsbüro Ost on order of ERSTE Foundation):
o How aces works
o European Faces
o Europa kennen(lernen)! / Ta njohim Evropen! / Evropu (poznat) učit! / Spoznat Europu
These videos show how the aces world is perceived by participants and program coordinators.
There are two new sections on the aces website:
• aces Code of Contact: Over the years, aces has developed its culture with some written and unwritten rules that are fundamental for interacting people. The so called “Code of Contact” contains six rules: 1. Be open to meet other people. 2. Live diversity. 3. Participate actively: talk and listen. 4. Respect the material. 5. Appreciate what others give. 6. Appreciate what you give. Students and teachers can use this model for their own meetings, partner meetings and workshops or when working with whatever groups.
• aces Special Achievements: Here you can find more information on the "aces Special Achievements" which honor, appreciate and celebrate various kinds of learning. The new section on the website also provides information about projects awarded as good practice examples by a special jury at the aces Academy. We would like to remind you of our aces-tools website, www.aces-tools.or.at, which is an online resource that provides a wide range of information, advice and support materials for the successful management and realization of international school partnership projects. Also the “topics” section (www.aces.or.at/topics) is a useful resource for those who want further information and inspiration for working on the themes of the aces project contests. New entries, including workshop descriptions from the Kick-Off Meeting 2012 on media literacy and project management, are available on www.aces.or.at/methods.
Please also remember to use our social network sites on Facebook, Youtube and Vimeo; we already have more than 2.000 followers on Facebook!
The aces dance was created and choreographed by Ruby Worth in 2012. It is now possible to make your own video of the aces dance and upload it on Vimeo. Please send the link to aces@iz.or.at by end of January 2013 the latest! From all your videos we will edit an aces dance film where all participants from different countries will be dancing together! Everybody who was ever involved in aces is invited to contribute (not only those with an awarded project in 2012/2013)!
Find more information, the videos and the music of the aces dance on www.aces.or.at/acesdance.
The aces Council is an advisory board within aces composed by four students and four teachers from different partner countries. It is for aces like a bridge between the participants (students and teachers) and the aces management, voicing needs, opinions, feedback as well as new ideas and giving recommendations for improvements and further strategic planning. Furthermore, during the aces events, the Council members also act as peer consultants and resource persons for students and teachers. The mandate of the appointed Council members lasts for two years. Due to a rotation system, fundamental to ensure continuity in the Council work, each year 4 of the 8 members are newly appointed by the aces management. Further details and FAQs on the Council can be found on www.aces.or.at/acesCouncil.
New Council members selected for the period 2012–2014:
Council members still in duty for the period 2012-2013:
In 2011, aces has decided to install an extra fund for the reimbursement of schools affected by additional visa costs. Schools that need to pay visa fees for visiting their project partners can get the related costs reimbursed up to a maximum of 300 Euro. The special report form was disseminated on 6 September 2012 together with the project report form and an infoletter on the Kick-Off Meeting. After some schools have notified us about difficulties in prefinancing project costs we have decided that the reimbursement of visa costs can already be requested from now on (you do not need to wait until the Academy 2013 as originally announced). The visa cost request has to be handed in separately by each concerned school, not by the coordinating school only (as for the rest of the report).
Teachers and students of completed aces project cycles (from the aces project cycle 2008/2009 onwards) can request a certificate attesting the participation in an aces project online by following this link and filling in the form: www.aces.or.at/start.asp?ID=241165.
Certificates of the current aces projects 2012/2013 can be requested only after the aces Academy, from April 2013 onwards!
aces events and reminders
This year, the Kick-Off Meeting had 270 participants and took place in Laško, Slovenia, from 24 - 28 September 2012. The delegations of 44 aces projects (project cycle 2012/2013), composed by 214 teachers and students from 15 countries participated and met each other for the first time. They had the opportunity to further develop and plan the implementation of their projects, to work and cooperate together on the topic of the year, "Media Literacy". This meeting gave them an opportunity for getting to know the project partners and making new friends from all 15 aces countries as well as having fun together.
The report of the Kick-Off Meeting (www.aces.or.at/networkevents) and detailed workshop descriptions (www.aces.or.at/methods) from all workshops are available on the aces website. You can also find lots of pictures of this connecting and inspiring event on the aces Facebook page.
If you are taking part in a current aces project you are requested to upload information and pictures to your project’s site on the aces website. You find all project sites on www.aces.or.at/awardedprojects. Please complete or update your school’s profile on the aces website, you find it on www.aces.or.at/schoolnetwork. Finally also remember to post important project events and partner meetings on the aces web calendar.
Instructions on how to do all this and login information have been sent out from IZ after the Kick-Off Meeting.
The next aces Academy will take place from 9-12 April 2013 in Senec, Slovakia. It will be attended by approximately 290 participants: teachers and students from aces projects 2012/2013, Ministry representatives, jury members, Council members, trainers, journalists and aces team members. Unfortunately this time we won’t be able to invite delegations from previous project cycles due to limited financial resources.
The new call for proposals (project cycle 2013/2014) will be launched on the aces website (www.aces.or.at/projectcontest) on 1 February 2013.
Schools that have been awarded and received grants from aces already 3 times in a row, need to take a break of one year before applying again in order to give newcomers more chances.
Obviously we hope that many schools will apply for the new aces project cycle!
Other information from:
Thirty-three school classes participated in the kick-off event of the international school environment competition „European Schools for a Living Planet” (schools.foralivingplanet.eu) of WWF and ERSTE Foundation in Austria. Pupils and teachers from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Moldavia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Ukraine gathered at the one-week pupil-teacher academy held in Illmitz in Austria’s Seewinkel region. Via workshops and outdoor actions WWF eco-pedagogues and various nature conservation experts introduced the 12 to 17 year old pupils and their class teachers to the project topics „Danube – Europe’s lifeline” and „Ecological Footprint – Consumption’s global effects”. Afterwards, until the end of the school year the classes are realizing individual eco-projects. The winners await a nature camp week in Romania. The project takes place on an annual basis, with the call for applications open over summer. Please find pictures showing the fun atmosphere on http://tinyurl.com/b696tqm.
Changes in the aces team: Rebecca Zeilinger will be on maternity leave from spring 2013 onwards. We wish her all the best! In the meantime she will be replaced by Carmen Teubl. Carmen studied International Development Studies and African Studies at the University of Vienna and lately she worked on some projects and informational activities regarding African-related and anti-racism topics. She has been supporting the aces team for almost a year and during the last two meetings in 2012.
Further information: Interkulturelles Zentrum has been celebrating its 25th Anniversary! Therefore a “Month of Celebration” with various events and activities took place in November 2012. The official start began with a ceremony on 25 October 2012 which included special attendance by Richard Kühnel, Head of the European Commission Representation in Austria and Barbara Prammer, President of the National Council Austria. The celebrations ended with an Open House Party at the office of Interkulturelles Zentrum on 30 November 2012.
The 5th Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (organised by the Austrian Foreign Ministry, Interkulturelles Zentrum and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations) will take place in Vienna, Austria, from 26 to 28 February 2013. This forum will bring together a vast array of participants including youth, political and corporate leaders, civil society activists, representatives of faith communities, journalists, etc. to work together and agree on joint actions to improve relations across cultures and religions and build a lasting peace. 3) Shaping a new narrative for migration, integration and mobility in the global economy. Further information on youthforum.iz.or.at
Changes in the team: VČELÍ DOM has a new colleague, Svetlana Križanová, who is responsible for organizational issues and PR support within aces as well as for the projects in Slovakia.
Further information: In 2012 VČELI DOM has supported Trampoline 2012, a series of educational activities for non-profit organizations, which was initiated by the non-profit organization Voices. VČELI DOM within its partnership contributed to the Slovak NGOs conference Jump 2012 aimed at the creation of a platform for networking, informal education, motivation and inspiration for the representatives of NGOs in Slovakia.
As a contribution to the year 2012, which has been designated by the European Commission as European Year for Active Ageing and Intergenerational Solidarity, VČELÍ DOM supports the project „Literary competition – Children and their grandparents write a book“, which was initiated by SOCIA Foundation in Slovakia.
Useful links and resources
At this point, we would like to suggest some websites which could be of interest for you.
Revised COMPASS Manual The revised version of "COMPASS - Manual for Human Rights Education with Young People" has recently been published in English language by the Council of Europe. COMPASS is a practical tool and resource for citizenship and human rights education. It is an essential companion for all those who are curious and interested in making the right to human rights education a reality for everyone. The fully revised and updated edition from 2012 includes new activities and information about human rights issues such as disability and disablism, migration, religion, remembrance, war and terrorism. COMPASS was originally published in 2002 and is now available in more than 30 languages. A version specifically designed for human rights education with children – COMPASITO – enjoys a similar success.
Downloadable pdf-versions of the new COMPASS and of COMPASITO: eycb.coe.int/compass/download_en.html COMPASS in other languages: eycb.coe.int/compass/other.html
Share and connect (shareandconnect.theewc.org) • New teaching and training resources; • Calls for seminars, conferences and other events; • Organizations and what they do;
European Network of Awareness Centers, Safer Internet: Insafe is a European network of Awareness Centers promoting safe, responsible use of the Internet and mobile devices to young people, currently the biggest user groups of online and mobile technologies in Europe.
The Safer Internet Programme aims at empowering and protecting children and young people online by awareness raising initiatives and by fighting illegal and harmful online content and conduct. The Safer Internet Programme launches calls for proposals to select and finance projects with the purpose of creating a safer online environment for young people. It also supports two annual events, Safer Internet Day and Safer Internet Forum.
Check out if you have an Awareness Center in your country!
MediaEd, Teach Film, Media and Filmmaking (mediaed.org.uk), the UK media and moving image education site, contains information about using film in schools, filmmaking by children and young people, media literacy and education in the UK, Europe and around the world, events, workshops, screenings and conferences. Furthermore, it is possible to find information about where to get support, advice and training and where to easily find media education resources and publications.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Friendly Schools Project aims to strengthen young people and encourage the active participation of the school community to integrate human rights values and principles into all areas of school life. Through these activities, young people and the school community learn more about human rights by putting them into practice every day. The approach used, commonly called a ‘whole-school approach,’ a ‘holistic approach’ or ‘rights-based approach´, goes beyond the classroom and reaches all aspects of school life; in this way, schools and young people become powerful catalysts for change in their wider communities.
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; "Lasko Game - Kick-Off Meeting 2012 in Lasko")
; "Web of Learning - Kick-Off Meeting 2012 in Lasko")
; "A project group of 2012/2013 in Lasko")
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Academy of Central European Schools
an initiative of ERSTE Foundation
coordinated by Interkulturelles Zentrum
in cooperation with VČELÍ DOM
coordinated by Interkulturelles Zentrum
in cooperation with VČELÍ DOM
