3. Why did we apply for this project?
“As advocated the use of cultural heritage can be a valuable tool for teachers to efficiently
mediate civic education, and regards school communities as ideal environments for
promoting intercultural dialog and social inclusion. Further elaborating on this approach, the
project draws inspiration from EU policies with a strong focus on preserving built European
heritage (cf. the INTERREG policy on the Built Heritage, announced in June 2020) and aspires
to direct the attention of school communities towards heritage buildings in order to serve a
dual purpose:
1. Raise awareness of European cultural continuity and our shared values.
2. Motivate community members to engage in collective action for built heritage
preservation.”
4. Our Objectives as a multicultural school
1. Help our students develop valuable cognitive and social skills, necessary for real-
life challenges, including critical thinking, synthetic ability, communication skills and
creative expression, through practices focusing on intercultural education and active
citizenship.
2. Promote social integration and inclusion.
3. Motivate primary school students, regardless of their sociocultural background, to
engage into collective level.
4. Support students in acquiring knowledge and skills regarding urban architectural
heritage.
5. Increase awareness of European identity and values.
5. Implementing the project at the 22nd Primary School of Athens
For the implementation of the Young Archers project :
1. 50 students have been selected, the fourth and the fifth grade (aged 9-10 and
10-11 respectively).
2. The activities were integrated in the curricula of Greek language, English
language and Art.
3. All the activities were conducted within a bilingual frame work. The students
were encouraged to communicate or write either in Greek or in English.
10. A. Pre-visit Activities
1. Discussing about Architectural heritage and the importance of the preservation
of endangered buildings
2. Discussing about architectural styles and their main characteristics: Modernism,
Eclecticism, Neoclassical and Gothic
3. Empathy Map: Expressing orally our feelings about old buildings
4. Listening to Audios referring to the five buildings selected
5. Reading of the scripts of the Audios in both languages.
12. B. Visit Activities
1. Visiting the selected Buildings.
2. Listening to the audios on the spot.
3. Filling the Building recording Forms on the spot.
4. Trying to spot relevant architectural styles while walking on the way back to
school.
14. C. Post-Visit Activities
1. Writing short essays in Greek mostly about their most favorite building.
2. Writing short essays suggesting ways of preserving the buildings or making the
buildings known to their community.
3. Making drawings by depicting architectural details showing the style of the
building selected.
4. Giving interviews to the English language Teacher (Audio).
5. Discussing about other historical buildings in the area.
6. Evaluation of the program and the Teacher.
15. D. Dissemination Activities
1. Making drawings for a dissemination poster.
2. Making the poster
3. End-of School year Party: Presenting the project and the students work to the
parents, Parents and Teachers Association, Colleagues and the Community
18. Descriptions and comments
- “I feel shocked to see all kids just destroying all the buildings with graffiti”. (Artiom, 5th
grade)
- “When I see a building I always think that the building is very old and some people when they
pass it they just ignore it, I don’t know why. I think that they don’t care”. (Anisa, 4th grade)
-“Εγώ όμως σκέφτομαι, άμα ένας ανάπηρος που είχε αναπηρικό καροτσάκι, πώς θα
ανέβαινε; Έτσι σκέφτηκα πως θα ήταν τέλειο να βάζαν ένα ασανσέρ. Νιώθω τόσο περηφάνια
γι’ αυτό το κτίριο……” (Ιωάννα, Δ΄ Δημοτικού)
- “The building is located at 54 Thiras Street in Athens, Greece. It is a big Neogothic house that
looks like a castle and it is called Typaldos mansion. Around it there is a beautiful garden with
many plants. It has a “metal” door and two Columns (pillars) next to it. It has two windows and
two balconies. It is built with three towers, one at the back and two “ahead”. It is very
beautiful. I like this building that looks like a castle. I like the cactus in its garden and I imagine
that in the past in this building used to live princesses and knights”.(Katherine, grade 4)
19. Conclusion
-The implementation in relation to the approach applied for the Young Archers piloting part
proved to be far beyond any expectations. The children regardless their cultural background
showed a great interest as far as Architecture and Architectural Heritage is concerned.
Moreover and most importantly, they showed a great sensitivity on accessibility issues and
proved to be willing to contribute in sensitizing and raising awareness to both their ethnic and
school communities.
-The main ideas of the project triggered their imagination, gave them the sense of belonging
and being responsible for the community and inspired them in suggesting ways of action for
the protection of Architectural Heritage as part of global heritage.
-The bilingual approach gave the opportunity to every student to equally participate to the
activities since language constraints were eliminated.