Migration Matters
The meeting in Puerto Real, Spain
6th - 10th May 2019
The meeting in Puerto Real has been declared in our Erasmus+ application as a "transnational meeting" so that organizational issues of our partnership are addressed. Originally it was scheduled as the mid-term meeting of the partnership so that we review the progress of our project, we arrange issues related to the mid-term report -for those partners who are obliged to fill in such a report- and we arrange the remaining implementation of our partnership. However, we decided to change the time schedule and exchange the trans-national meeting in Greece with the one in Spain due to organizational issues of the Greek team. Since it turned out to be the final meeting of the project we made the final arrangements for the conclusion of the project. ,
Moreover, as foreseen in our application, we had students participating in the meeting. The need for their participation was twofold. First, we needed students to address migration matters as they are presented in statistics, media, in public and political debate. Second, we wanted to involve them in the evaluation and dissemination of our project.
Before the meeting, each partner school studied both official statistical data and articles in the media. Our intention was to contrast these two sources and conclude whether the press presents unbiased the facts or they are somehow manipulated (highlighting either the positive or the negative aspects of migration). In this way, special attention has been paid to the phenomenon of "fake news", present in all the countries participating in the project.
Finally, the common product that we produced during the meeting in Spain was a synthesis in the form of video, collage and poster of the material collected by each national team. The material that was presented by each national during the meeting and the comon products created during the meeting are available at "Migration in statistics, media, in public and political debate" link of our twinspace.
Monday, 6th May 2019
It is the first day of the meeting for students and teachers from the schools participating in the project. After a welcome by the director of the Spanish school: IES Manuel Falla, various activities were carried out with teachers and students in order to get to know each other and break the ice.
The first one consisted of a performance of students of our school who encouraged all the participants to dance some traditional local dances.
Then the students continued in the playground with one more activity while the teachers carried out a visit around the school where they could see the facilities and participate in some classes with a double objective, to make the participants know the school and at the same time the Spanish students had the opportunity to know them.
To disseminate the project to the municipality, a theatrical tour to Puerto Real was made. A group of students from the school dressed in traditional costumes of the 18th century presented our city and its different symbolic buildings to the teachers, students as well as to the general population of the city. (link)
After having lunch, the teachers held a first meeting, where a review of the evaluations of the previous meetings was made and some reflections about the practices and methods used.
Wednesday, 8th May 2019
In the morning, students continued making different posters, collages, videos, ... that they had begun the previous day.
Afterward, we departed for a daily visit to Seville. The Spanish hosts guided us to several historical sights and we were fascinated by its magnificent palace Real Alcázar de Sevilla which is a preeminent example of several architectural styles depicting the influence of different rulers over several historical periods.
Tuesday, 7th May 2019
In the morning, students attended classes with their local mates, so they had the opportunity to interact with the rest of the students of the school.
Subsequently, students were organized in different international work groups to make different materials related to different aspects of migration, highlighting the geographical situation of Cádiz as the southern gate of Europe.
The teachers had a second working session. The program was reviewed and the general lines of the final report were presented. A Project’s Twinspace evaluation was also made.
As a recreational activity on this day, we moved to Cádiz, where a Gymkhana was held in the city, in which both the students and the teachers participated.
In the afternoon teachers held another meeting in order to discuss weak and strong aspects of the project and highlight best practices for future reference.
Thursday, 9th May 2019
As part of the project, a visit to the NGO Red Cross was organized in Tarifa, so that all participants had the opportunity to see for themselves the reality of migration through the Strait of Gibraltar.
A conference was organized by Gestión Voluntariado Dispositivo CAED Campano y ERIE Ayuda Humanitaria a Inmigrantes, given by Juan Manuel Fernández Ahumada.
After the conference, we had the opportunity of visiting Tarifa and some of the beaches where immigrants arrive. This experience allowed us to understand why Tarifa and its beaches have become a gateway to Europe.
The day was completed with a cultural visit to the City of Vejer, a typical example of an Arabic city.
Friday, 4th May 2018
In the morning we gathered at the Spanish school so that the students finish the works they had been doing during the workshops in the meeting.
Then, the students presented both the work that was done by the national teams in the respective countries and the one done here in Puerto Real. After the presentations, a debate on migration and the "fake news" was held.
Then, all participants filled an evaluation questionnaire about the meeting.
At noon, we visited the Town Hall. There, we were greeted by the mayor of Puerto Real and we informed him about our project.
In the afternoon, students performed sports activities while teachers met for a new work session.
This teachers' meeting focused on issues related to making the project's final report and filling in the Mobility tool. The more experienced partners provided guidance and suggested good practices to the less experienced. Participants provided their impressions related to the development and implementation of the project, as well as the achievements and materials developed. We tried to resolve pending issues and make a "to do" list for the documentation needed for concluding our project and presenting the activities and the deliverables of our partnership,
Proposals to improve were collected after identifying the weak points of our project, in order to be taken into account in future collaborations.
Finally, all the participating schools made contributions and agreed on the common points that should be included in the Final Report.
In the evening we had a party. Spanish families offered us local delicacies and we were all emotional saying goodbye to each other.
