Erasmus+ courses

Formålet med kurset er at give kursisterne en bred viden om EU’s institutioner, det daglige arbejde i Bruxelles samt nuværende og fremtidige problemstillinger indenfor det europæiske fællesskab.

Program: Three day program: European Parliament, European Commission, Council of Ministers, The Danish Embassy, European school of Brussels, and the House of European History

Where:  EU institutions in Brussels

When:  November 2025

Participants: Teachers from European lower secondary schools (students age 15-17)

Course fee: 240 Euro
Transport, meals and hotel is not included in the price - participants must book hotel and transport themselves.

Registration: send an e-mail to jcj@efterskolerne.dk

Organizer:
The Danish Efterskole Association
Jakob Clausager Jensen, Head of international relations
jcj@efterskolerne.dk, +45 22361153
Farvergade 27 H, 2., 1463 Copenhagen K, Denmark

The activity is partly financed by Erasmus+

Three days course and contact seminar focusing on international cooperation, class/student exchanges, and Erasmus+ within lower secondary school education – pupils age 15-17.

Program:

Monday October 7th, 2024
Full day program with lunch at the Embassy plus dinner Monday evening 

9.00 Introduction of participants and specific interests
9.45 Official welcome to The Royal Danish Embassy in Berlin
Ambassador Thomas Østrup Møller

10.00  Keynote: EU – what now? 
Lykke Friis,director of Think Tank EUROPA and Co-Chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations
The EU is facing its greatest crisis since World  II – with conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, inflation, low growth, and growing polarization. Unlike previous crises, this one is characterized by Germany also being in crisis and being led by a government that has long lost its majority in the polls. While the EU must maintain internal unity, it is increasingly challenged externally, notably by China but also by a United States where Donald Trump looms in the background again. On top of external challenges, the EU is also grappling with members such as Poland and Hungary, which suddenly question a cornerstone of Western democracies, the separation of powers. And with European Parliament elections ahead, which could turn the power dynamics in the EU upside down. Drawing on her role as a leading EU and Germany expert, Lykke Friis provides perspective on the latest developments and offers her insights into where Europe is heading – all with anecdotes from her many encounters – including as climate, energy, and equality minister – with top politicians and international figures.

11.00 Break 
11.30  Workshop: How do you work with European identity, citizenship, and values at your school?

12.00 Workshop: Best practices of class exchanges/pupil mobility

12.30 Workshop: Best practices of job-shadowing or online coorperation

12.50 Lunch

13.45 Workshop in smaller groups - find partners for:
1. Erasmus+ pupil mobilities
2. job-shadowing opportunities
3. Online cooperation
4. Erasmus+ KA122 / small scale etc.

14.30 Break
15.00 Workshop in smaller groups - find partners for:
1. Erasmus+ pupil mobilities
2. job-shadowing opportunities
3. Online cooperation
4. Erasmus+ KA122 / small scale etc.

16.00 Take the Metro to the TV-tower at Alexander Platz
16.45 We meet in front of the TV-tower

17.00 Dinner at the Sphere Restaurant
Enjoying your meal as Berlin revolves around you. In the rotating Sphere Restaurant, located at 207 meters high, you’ll experience something truly unique: a complete 360-degree panoramic view of the city that rotates twice every hour – an unparalleled experience with its own magic at every time of day and year.

19.15 or 19:45 VR-experience: Berlin's Odyssey - travel through time (in two groups)

Tuesday October 8th, 2024 
Full day program with lunch at the Embassy

9.00 How to work with sustainability in schools?
Michael Thagaard, principal at Langelands Efterskole and sustainability coordinator the Danish Efterskole Association
“The next generation of young empathetic rebels are going to save the world” as quoted by a Danish futurist and what an inspiration for educational institutions. Let us bring them tools to fulfill that task. When we talk about sustainability, it often comes down to things that we are not allowed to do. The climate crisis calls for a new pedagogy and we should see it as an opportunity to act critically, think new and innovate. The keynote will present the best green practice from efterskoles. The keynote will in all modesty make it possible for the participants to start a green revolution at their schools in order to continue the necessary talking and start the needed walking. The participants will experience hands-on practical exercises with different materials such as lemons, sea weed and fishing nets on a smaller scale. On a larger scale they will be introduced to regenerative agriculture and enabling circular construction at a school level. Together with the practical exercise the keynote will introduce fiery souls working with sustainability on a practical level in the Danish Efterskole association; Efterskole Hacks. “The next generations driving force is extensive and is rooted in saving the climate and making the world a better place for everyone to live sustainably” quoted by the same inspiring Danish futurist. As educational institutions we must insist that meaning, hope and change also can be created through the commitment and actions as individuels as well as on a collective level - and it is about time that we start to bring the inspiration to life at our schools throughout Europe.

10.00 Workshop: How do you work with sustainability at your school?

10.30 Break
11.00 Keynote via Zoom: The Future of Europe in the Mirror of Five Crises: Climate, Migration, Economy, Covid, and Russia’s War in Ukraine
Ivan Krastev, chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies and permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences, IWM Vienna.
Over the past 15 years, Europe has confronted five major crises. The climate crisis forced Europeans to imagine a world without them. The global financial crisis made Europeans doubt that their children would live better lives than their own generation. The migration crisis triggered an identity panic that called into doubt the benefits of multiculturalism. The pandemic demonstrated the speed and scale of change in our everyday lives. And the war in Ukraine shattered the illusion that a major war was no longer possible on the European continent and that military power no longer mattered. Which of the five crises has been most critical in shaping Europeans views of the future? How does the crises shape European politics? 

12.00 Workshop in smaller groups - find partners for:
1. Erasmus+ pupil mobilities
2. job-shadowing opportunities
3. Online cooperation
4. Erasmus+ KA122 / small scale etc.

12.50 Lunch

13.50 Agree on your future cooperation with your new partners

14.30 Break

15.00 Agree on your future cooperation with your new partners

16.30 End of program

Wednesday October 9th, 2024 - School visits:
In two groups we visit two lower secondary schools in Berlin

9.00-11.45 Klax Schule - meet outside the school 8.45

9.30-11.30 Deutsche Skandinavische Gemeinschaftsschule - meet outside the school 9.15

12.00 End of today’s program

Practical information
Where:  The Danish Embassy in Berlin, Nordische Botschaften - Felleshus, Rauchstraße 1, D-10787 Berlin

When:  October 7th-9th, 2024

Participants: European lower secondary school teachers and leaders (students age 15-17)

Course fee: 200 Euro - includes course fee and meals described in the program.
Transport and hotel is not included in the price - participants must book hotel and transport themselves.

Registration: https://podio.com/webforms/29176781/2379337

Organizer:
The Danish Efterskole Association
Jakob Clausager Jensen, Head of international relations
jcj@efterskolerne.dk, +45 22361153
Farvergade 27 H, 2., 1463 Copenhagen K, Denmark

The activity is partly financed by Erasmus+