Comenius project news updates

A round-up on various EU-sponsored projects and related overseas meetings in which local schools have taken part with the help of funding allocated by the Maltese EU Programmes Agency (EUPA) under the Lifelong Learning programme.

Getting a taste of other countries

St Thomas More College's Fgura Primary A is currently taking part in a two-year Comenius project entitled '3eees , e-Counting, e-Culture, e-Communications' together with partner schools in Italy, Spain and the UK.

The project focuses mainly on the use of mathematics in kindergarten and primary school in a creative and innovative way as well as sharing national culture, traditions, costumes and stories.

Last month the school held a 'Comenius Day' that focused on traditional food from all the countries involved in the project. In preparation for the day, pupils conducted research, looked for pictures of prominent places and beautiful scenery in these countries, drew pictures and made crafts and hats. They also learnt some basic phrases and words in the languages of these countries.

Teachers and children worked together to prepare Sicilian bruschetta, Italian pizza, Scottish shortbread, Spanish tapas, and Maltese pudina, among other typical foods.

On the day, tables were laid out with the food, and the pupils wore the various hats and costumes they had prepared, and tasted the different foods.

Together with other activities throughout the project, this day helped the children learn more about the culture of the other countries. For more information about the project view the website: http://3eees.wikispaces.com .

Preserving the environment - our moral duty

The last meeting of the three-year Comenius project 'Preserving the environment of Europe' was held earlier this month at St Ignatius College Girls' Junior Lyceum, Blata l-Bajda, which has initiated the project. The meeting was attended by the heads, teachers and students from all the partners schools in the UK, France, Greece and Poland.

Throughout the meeting, participants stressed it was a moral duty for the present generation to preserve the environment not only to ensure its own existence but also that of future generations.

An exhibition was inaugurated depicting highlights of all the activities held and material produced during the project, and college principal Horace Caruana planted a tree to officially mark the opening of a 'wildzone' area winthin the school precincts. Ex-school head Maria Debono who initiated the project and Birdlife officals who contributed to the wildzone's development also attended the event.

The involvement of the schools and students in such projects helps to make the younger generation more aware of the urgent need to preserve the environment.

Overcoming insularity, respecting differences

St Martin's College, Swatar, together with five other partner schools in Italy, Spain, Denmark and Turkey, is taking part in a Comenius school development project entitled 'Insularity'. The project brought teachers and students from different cultures together to examine and learn from their different attitudes rather than see only from their own perspective.

Teachers from the participating schools have held meetings in each partner's country during which they compared their different socio-economic and political realities and how these could affect their educational systems. They also reported on the progress of the project, which included student exchanges, student work and special mobility campaigns, and planned future activities.

St Martin's College is encouraging its students to overcome the effects of insularity by facilitating intercultural dialogue between local and foreign students. Through its bilingual programme, Italian students are being taught English so that they can fully integrate with other Maltese students in mainstream classes. The students also analysed subjects such as Europe's linguistic diversity, the development of active citizenship, and immigration. Among the activities of the other partners schools, the Spanish school produced a booklet of useful words and phrases in every language of the participating schools while the Danish school is working on colonialism and is studying what it was like in the Malta under British rule in World War II.

Through such projects students in partner schools can broaden their sense of understanding of and respect for cultural differences.

How are human rights protected in Malta?

Malta is protected by the Constitution of Malta and by the European Convention on Human Rights, which is part of Maltese law. EU law is also compatible with the principles of human rights. Maltese law has to be in conformity with human rights law.

The same applies for EU law. Thus, if one feels that his/her human rights are infringed, enforcement is by recourse through the Maltese courts. If the matter is protected by the European convention, one may have recourse to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg only after all possible local remedies have been exhausted.

If the issue relates to EU law, the local court may or should (depending on the stage of proceedings) refer the issue to the European Court of Justice of the EU in Luxembourg for interpretation.

The Strasbourg and the Luxembourg courts are not related to one another. The former falls under the Council of Europe (which is unrelated to the EU) while the other is an EU institution.