Through the European Charter Classroom Activities (the ECCA project), schools can work on activities from the European Charter for Regional Languages of Minority languages in the classroom. The ECCA project aims to develop classroom activities and bringing young people and teachers from different language regions closer together through an exchange program
What are we going to do?
Developing classroom activities
Exchanging students and teachers
In February 2019 the Council of Europe developed a tool for European schools in order to be able to work more actively on the European Charter for Regional or Minority languages. Meanwhile, this tool, the so-called ‘educational guidelines to bring in linguistic diversity in the classrooms’ is being translated into several different languages. As seven partners of the ‘Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity’ (NPLD) we have started up this ECCA project to further develop this tool into more specific classroom activities suitable for use in the area of language. Schools interested in the educational material can download it here.
The ECCA project brings young people and teachers from different language regions together. By looking at the way language is handled in another country, you also find out more about what you feel and think about your own language. Why do young people in Udine and Fassa Valley still speak Friulan and Ladin with each other in their schoolyard, instead of just Italian? And what is it, that makes Catalan and Hungarian young people of Romania proud of their language? In this ECCA project we will set up an exchange program in cooperation with different schools. By meeting local people at school and at home in a country where a language is spoken that is, like your own language, not the only language in a region or country, you get to find out more about what language can mean.
Which schools are joining?
News
Follow-up on covid-19
Over the last three months, most of the students and teachers who participate in the ECCA project were not able to go to their schools because of the covid-19 virus. All of the participant have been informed that because of the virus we couldn’t go ahead with our planned exchange programme this spring. Together with the NPLD partners involved, we recently decided that we will try to organise the exchange in the beginning of 2021. We will keep the students and teachers informed about further developments through our ECCA newsletter. This summer we hope to be able to get to know each other by arranging some digital ECCA activities. We will publish some of the results of these activities on this website.
Covid-19 comic in our languages
The famous Italian artist Fabio Vettori created a colourful comic about the preventive measures for covid-19. Several partners of the Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity (NPLD) have translated the poster with the comic into their own languages and dialects. Sietske Poepjes, Chair of the NPLD: “We think it is very important that the information about the covid-19 crisis is also available in our own languages, like Furlan, Magyar, Catala, Ladin and my own language Frysk. This kind of relevant information should not just be available in official EU languages, but also in the languages of our hearts.”
You can find the comic in the different ECCA project languages here.
FRYSK FURLAN CATALA MAGYAR LADIN ENGLISH
Overview ECCA activities
Although we were not yet able to realise the exchange programme, some classroom activities have been realised in the first part of the school year. For more information about the ECCA programme so far, click on the links.
Archive
Influence of the corona virus on ECCA
The ECCA project aims to develop classroom activities and bringing young people and teachers from different language regions closer together through an exchange program. Through the corana virus so far our first part of the exchange program planned for the end of March from Spain and Italia to Romania, has been cancelled. The exchange part for other students and their teachers to different language regions is planned for the coming months, April and May. All the involved NPLD partners are in contact about the follow-up with the schoolteachers, students and their parents. If possible the ECCA program will go ahead, but it all depends on further virus-developments in the whole of Europa. If it will not be possible or reasonable to go ahead with the ECCA program before this summer, we will try to do so in the new schoolyear with the same selected students and teachers. We hope one day we will be able to cross borders with our own languages.
Join our contest and win an exchange!
Do you want to cross borders with your own language? If your school joins the ECCA project and you speak Friulian, Frisian, Catalan, Ladin or Hungarian in Romania: make a short YouTube video about the following question: what does your language mean to you, now and in the future? The person who produces the best YouTube video will be invited to participate in a short student exchange program! In cooperation with your school you will get to go on an exchange program to another linguistic region in Europe for a few days in 2020. You will stay with a family who speaks Friulan (IT), Hungarian (RO), Ladin (IT), Frisian (NL) or Catalan (ESP). Join this contest and cross the border of your own region with your own language!
Kick-off meeting on 15 November 2019 in Brussel
On 15 November the kick-off of the ECCA project will take place in Brussels during a special conference. All NPLD partners who are involved in this project will be present in this first meeting. Representatives from the different schools who are joining the project will also be in Brussels. Speakers at this Conference will be: Mr Sixto Molina, Head of Secretariat, European Charter for Minority and Regional Languages, Mr Fernando Ramallo, Vigo University Spain, and Mr Vicent Climent, NPLD. During this conference we will be exploring how to go ahead with de classroom activities concerning the European Charter and teachers will be trained in this meeting.
Kickoff ECCA programme 15.11.19
“Language is not just a means of communication, it is part of who you are. The European Charter gives rights to young people in language regions, something they often don’t even know about. This ECCA project would like to raise awareness about the European Charter and make it better known.”
Sabrina Rasom, project-leader ECCA
Comun general de Fascia – Province of Trento