Hello Europe! Welcome Europe!
Title: Hello Europe!
Educational stage: Primary Education
Subject: Interdisciplinary
Famous, functional, easy to remember...the English voices Hello and Welcome have become the main characters of an artistic project where schools from 12 European countries have taken part, such as the CEIP Argantonio school from Sevilla. Like actresses do, these two words have been touring around classrooms in European schools, where they have also casted with their equivalents Ciao, Merhaba, Benvenuti, Hola, Sdravo, Bienvenidos, Bonjour, Γεια σας καλώς ήρθατε, Bienvenu, etc., The whole cast has worked together to promote cultural richness and variety all over the continent.
The objective was quite simple at first: the idea was for hosts to simply greet each other using the different languages of the participating countries; but as it became increasingly popular amongst the public, it also became more ambitious and the teachers in charge of the tour have used the most relevant celebrations in Europe - Christmas, Carnival, Easter, Peace Day, Mother's Day, Saint Valentine's Day, amongst others - to introduce the characters in the different events organised by schools to celebrate these days. Therefore, Hello and Welcome have been present in gastronomic events, religious processions, declarations of love, carnival parades, art exhibitions and/or with the Three Wise Men.
The artistic skills of students-helpers in the project, combined with the ICT tools they had at hand, have generated a series of materials to accompany the students during their stay at schools: postcards, posters, puzzles, greeting cards, symbols, videos, photos, images and the song Hello Europe have created a nice atmosphere for the classrooms-stages where students have performed.
Critics have made a positive assessment of this European adventure, which has required months of intense collaborative work, and have highlighted two relevant aspects: there has been no translation service, so those in attendance and participants have had to make an effort to communicate in the language arranged: English. In addition, the presence of this show has not distorted the work plan established months ago by the Board of teachers-organisers, but has rather become perfectly integrated.
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