KA229 - School Exchange
Partnerships Projects
ACTIVE CITIZENS
IN EUROPE
ERASMUS+
2019-1-TR01-KA229-07469
3 rd LTT in Republic of North Macedonia
1 st Day :
The Turkish, Danish and Romanian teams arrived and were welcomed by their hosts. Unfortunately, the Italian team backed out in the last minute, stating sudden changes in the COVID-protocol of their country concerning quarantine etc. Both teachers and students were accommodated in a hotel in Kumanovo. The teams were supposed to be taken to the host school; however, again, there were changes and the teams stayed at the hotel. The reason was there was heavy construction work done in the school (which is being reconstructed) and therefore they were greeted by the principal and the teachers in the hotel’s conference room. Then followed a musical performance by the school orchestra. After that some videos and presentations about Kumanovo and North Macedonia were played. Everyone agreed that it was time for a short coffee break, while the Macedonian team prepared for some ice-breaking activities, more presentations and a quiz on the topic Digital security and online protection. The students mixed during the concentric circles activity, got to know each other better and this only helped for the short tour around the town, for which the students went together later on. In the meantime, there was a visit of the Museum of Kumanovo where some history of the town was shared. With this visit the official part of day one was finished.
2 nd Day :
On the second day the activities continued in the hotel. More workshops, presentations, videos and research were planned and done, focusing mostly on the issue of Computer viruses and anti-virus programs, and generally Cyber security. The guests listened with great attention to these current and trendy topics, they had many questions and ideas of their own, which were successfully fitted in the discussions. One activity involved all of the students and they thoroughly enjoyed it. They were divided randomly in groups, each connected to a certain social network, given questions to think about and answer. After that they had to present their conclusions and explain some personal and generalized experiences with the use of the social media. The students and their teachers expressed great satisfaction with the results from these workshops and presentations. Then the groups separated – the students went with their hosts to visit some of the classes in the school and thus get acquainted with the educational system in the country. The teachers went for an official visit to the Mayor’s office, where the Mayor was absent due to work duties, but we were greeted by the President of the City Council, the Secretary of the Municipality and the person in charge of the Education Sector of the Municipality. When the official work program for the day was done, we turned towards the cultural points – everyone was taken to our school, where there was a special room full of traditional dishes and delicacies prepared by our students and teachers (with the help of their families), plus the orchestra was there, waiting for more entertainment. The students enjoyed singing and dancing together. After the lunch everyone had some free time to just see more of the town. In the evening the guests headed back to the hotel and in this way day two was brought to an end.
3 rd Day :
This day was planned for a visit to Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia. First stop was the Macedonia Square and the grandiose monument of Alexander the Great. On our way there, some other statues and monuments were seen, depicting the historical and cultural values of the country, as well as the Parliament building and the Triumph Arc. Then we went to Macedonia street – a pedestrian zone, where we visited the Mother Teresa Memorial House and the Museum of the City of Skopje – a reminder of the great Skopje earthquake. Then, walking over the famous Stone Bridge, the visit continued in the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle. There was an official tour through decades of Macedonian history. After this, the whole group continued towards the Old Bazaar and everyone was thrilled at the sight of old, traditional, but functional streets and various craft-shops. It was time for lunch and it was planned for everyone to get individual lunch at the East Gate mall, and also browse the shops in this ‘one of the biggest on the Balkans’ mall. Previously arranged, we met at a specific time and then returned to Kumanovo and the guests at the hotel. With this, the third day finished.
4 th Day :
In the early morning hours all the project participants together with their hosts set off towards Ohrid, the town on the shore of the amazing Ohrid Lake, protected by UNESCO and having 365 churches, full of cultural and historical sightseeing spots. The first stop was the Bay of Bones – the museum on water, reconstruction of the pile dwelling settlement form prehistoric times. Then the group had lunch in an authentic restaurant, tasting some traditional specialties, among which is the famous Ohrid trout. The rest of the visit was on foot – walking through the Old Town to the church St.John at Kaneo (dated 13th c.), onto the hiking trails to Plaoshnik or St.Pantelejmon church (built 893 c.e., reconstructed 2002), also quick visit of St.Sophia church (housing medieval architecture and art), then on the way down passed by the Samoil’s Fortress and the Amphitheater (Ancient Theater) until we reached the Old Bazaar and pedestrian zone in the town. There the guests could visit some shops and see the legendary Ohrid pearl, one of the area’s most famous treasures. After some time sightseeing the town center, the group was ready to leave for Kumanovo. This was the official end of day four.
5 th Day :
All the students and teachers met at the hotel’s conference room. Work continued – more presentations and videos, first about our beautiful country and we had the chance to ask the guests do they agree, based on what they saw in the previous two days, second about the ongoing topic of cyber security, this time with focus on file security and personal informations, online gaming, online chats, online purchase and similar. When all activities were finished, the hosts kindly asked the guests to give a short conclusion to these week’s experiences and maybe some background ideas for improvement if they were needed. However, everyone had only the best comments and we were all highly satisfied of the result. Then, since the Romanian team had to go home sooner than expected, the awarding of the certificates took place earlier in the day. This left us, the teachers, with enough time for a cosy lunch, the guest students were given some free time with their hosts. The farewell dinner was the last evening at the hotel, everyone had a great time, and it was a nice event to wrap up the mobility in the best way possible. In this way day five was officially concluded.
Summary: In terms of the goal that was set, it was accomplished successfully. The tasks in the agenda were met and completed, the teams who visited had a chance to learn something more about online security, experience North Macedonia, our lifestyle, culture and history. This mobility was an excellent opportunity to experience an exchange of cultures, improve communicational and organizational skills and point out the most pressing problems of cyber threats and cyber security. Unfortunately, as previously mentioned, the Italian team was unable to participate in the mobility in person. They were offered the possibility to be included through scheduled Zoom meetings, and the host planned to execute this, but then they said that they won’t be able to participate even like that. The other teams were all familiar with these conditions.
