Sharing cultures in Messina

Ms Josephine Mifsud, headmistress at Lily of the Valley Girls' Secondary School in Mosta, and schoolteacher Ms Fiona Ciangura recently attended the first meeting of the three-year Comenius project entitled "Our Schools in Europe: History, Environment, Traditions" at S.M.S. G. Martino, Tremestieri, Messina, Sicily, under the co-ordination of its principal, Mr G. Crisafulli.

The other participating schools are Pasztorvolgyi Altalanos in Eger, Hungary, and I.E.S. Diego de Guzman y Quesada, Huelva, Spain.

The visit took place between December 3 and 8. The aims, outcomes and methodology of the project were discussed and all the visiting members became acquainted with each other and got to know the different dynamics of each school.

Participants also caught up with students of G. Martino on a day visit to Palermo, with a special visit to a primary school, which they all enjoyed thoroughly.

Members of the hosting school together with Mr Crisafulli showed the visitors around Messina and highlighted its main places of interest. In particular, one can mention the architectural significance of this city and also the problematic history it had to endure, mainly due to the catastrophic earthquake that totally destroyed it in 1908.

The aim of the project is to enhance the national identity of students together with their international identity as European citizens. Students will study the environment, history and traditions of a selected area in their home country.

This will be carried out by hands-on activities, including fieldwork and model-making, and the setting up of an exhibition and research works needed to carry out projects and also to produce a video documentary.

At a later stage, all the works of the four participating countries will be amalgamated through a joint filmed documentary on an online site. This is a unique opportunity for students to mix and share their cultures and to understand the importance of their local identity and to realise that Malta, although a small island, is a significant part of the Mediterranean region.