Portugal

The last project meeting took place in Portugal in Vila Nova de Famalicão on May 2-5, 2022. The subtopic of the mobility was "Festival of tolerance and mutual understanding".

During the five days spent in the premises of the hosting school Agrupamento de Escolas D. Sancho I students had to prepare for 'the grande finale' of the project - the festival. Students were divided into mixed national groups and were asked to work together and come up with ideas of what to perform at the festival. The broad topic of the performance was "Tolerance"; so, everyone could choose the type of the performance most suitable for them: theatre, artistic performance or video. There was also at least one teacher in each group who monitored the students' work and assisted the whole process. Not only could the groups prepare for the festival during the days spent at school but do it when going on trips in the neighbouring area of the town. As a result, the festival of tolerance was held; spectators could watch videos about tolerance prepared by mixed groups of students, enjoy artistic performances, and compete with each other in a Kahoot quiz organised by the hosting school. The festival ended with a feast held in the school yard where all participants could try traditional dishes of each country and dance to the local music played by the school band.

Students were also given an opportunity to experience local school life; they took part in regular classes according to their age and interests. In addition, all the guests were taken to the city hall, where we were given a tour. Furthermore, there was a workshop organised by the local youth centre, which we also visited, where students could play two games which gave them new knowledge about Europe and boosted their feeling of belonging to the community of the European Union.

Students also participated in making the audio dictionary; preparations for it were made before and during the meeting in Romania. To make the dictionary, students were again asked to work in mixed groups and were assigned to teach each other a set of words in their mother tongue to their peers from another nationality. These words were later recorded and organised into the audio dictionary. Everybody had a lot of fun.

Many thanks to you, Portuguese team, for the awesome week we spent in your country.