A Collaborative Story

The goal of this activity is to create a digital story that explores the daily actions that bring happiness to students in their specific cities. The story started in Greece, travelled through Italy and France, and reached its conclusion in Poland.

Each country wrote one chapter describing typical moments in their cities that make students feel happy in a challenge in which they enjoy daily life avoiding digital screens.

Our Collaborative Story

Analysis of the Collaborative Story:

The Colours of Happiness

1. Objectives Achieved

• Collaborative Narrative Construction: students from Greece, Italy, France, and Poland successfully coordinated to write a coherent four-chapter story where each section "passes the torch" to the next.

• Promotion of Digital Well-being: the activity effectively addressed the issue of smartphone dependency by illustrating a "Digital Detox" challenge that led to increased personal happiness.

• Cultural Exchange and Localization: each partner school integrated specific local landmarks and habits, such as the Mavra Volia beach in Greece, the town square and beaches of Pesaro in Italy, the Garorock festival in France, and the Witches' Tower in Poland.

2. Competencies Developed

• Literacy and Linguistic Skills: students practiced descriptive writing in English, focusing on sounds, scenes, and feelings within a specific word count.

• Creative Problem Solving: characters in the story (like Chiara and Mrs. Myrto) devised creative solutions to motivate their peers, such as the "no homework" prize or the "mobile phone box" challenge.

• Social and Personal Competence: the narrative explores the transition from isolation and sadness to active participation in sports, arts, and community life.

3. European Citizenship & Life Skills

• Common European Identity: the story concludes that despite living in different countries, students share a "common European feeling of joy" when they focus on real-life passions and friendships.

• Critical Thinking: the project encourages students to reflect on their daily habits and the impact of technology on their mental health.

• Empathy and Connection: the characters (Mina, Chiara, Hugo, and Piotr) maintain a bond that culminates in an international meeting in Spain, symbolizing European mobility and brotherhood.

• Self-Awareness and Resilience: through the characters, students explored how to manage boredom and find happiness in simple actions like walking by the river Garonne or adopting pets.

 Final Observations

The project successfully transforms an abstract concept (happiness) into a practical "Roadmap." By linking the awakening in Greece to the connection in Poland, the activity mirrors the real-world goal of eTwinning: building bridges between cultures through shared educational tasks.