Becoming European citizens through an Erasmus+ Web Radio

The Manzoni High School in Caserta participated several years ago in Erasmus projects focused on linguistic subjects, CLIL methodology and Debate. For the Hungarian partner, the project represented a continuation of the Erasmus KA2 projects – Fake News and Caring4Sharing – aimed at raising awareness of European values. As an experienced partner, it helped the newcomers. The Spanish partner, already familiar with Erasmus+ projects, aimed to improve the school's radio station. For the Maltese school, this was their first Erasmus experience. We all applied primarily because 2022 was proclaimed by the European Parliament as the "European Year of Youth" to restore a positive outlook for young people, one of the groups most affected by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The project addresses the following needs: -Engaging teenagers (aged 15-18) from 4 European schools (Italy, Hungary, Malta, Spain) in an international partnership; -Internationalizing the school radio; -Using innovative teaching tools; -Facilitating in-person student meetings for the production of podcasts and broadcasts; -Educating students on news source verification and combating fake news; -Promoting cultural and linguistic understanding among European nations.

- Highlight cultural and background differences as strengths to promote a borderless culture, tolerance, and intercultural dialogue through European cultural heritage; - Promote the collaborative and inclusive use of webradio in participating schools, helping students develop key skills; - Improve students' conscious use of digital technologies, as they are often passive users or victims of fake news; - Encourage critical thinking about the media; - Provide students with a well-rounded cultural background that integrates both humanities and STEM skills; - Enhance the communication skills of students and teachers in multiple foreign languages, especially for Italian participants who are not used to international school settings; - Contribute to the European Year of Youth: the European Commission has recently launched a project to promote the use of Internet radio across Europe. We wanted to demonstrate that, despite cultural differences, we share common values that define us as European citizens. In particular, the key objective was to teach students the process of creating a podcast — a highly popular genre today — while collaborating in an international environment.

-Student competition to select the logo and jingle for the webradio -Website creation and updating for project sharing and dissemination -14 virtual activities: radio programs (podcasts) produced by partner countries on various topics at different times along the school year -4 practical activities: live radio programs (broadcasts) during the 4 mobility events, also recorded as podcasts -2 staff mobilities: an initial meeting in Budapest and a final meeting in Caserta for two teachers from each participating country -4 weekly mobilities: for 10 students and 3 teachers from each participating country per mobility -Cultural and historical visits: Caserta Royal Palace and Naples historic center, monuments of Budapest, Úbeda and Baeza, Malta’s main attractions -Lesson observations, seminars and workshops for teachers (led by Tibor Prievara and Ádám Lajtai, Giuseppe Landolfi, Caserta Planetarium) on innovative teaching methods -Pre-mobility meetings with families to provide project information and encourage their involvement -Socio-cultural and recreational activities: welcome activity and farewell party Dissemination: Erasmus Days, Pasaréti Szakmai Napok national conference, STEAM Discovery Campaign 2023, meetings and social media.

Here there are the outputs of our project: - Logo and jingle for the BEC (Becoming European Citizens) WebRadio, a collaborative and inclusive digital radio station. - Dedicated project website: https://sites.google.com/liceomanzonicaserta.it/eplusradio/home or http://bit.ly/eplusradio. - BEC WebRadio website: https://sites.google.com/liceomanzonicaserta.it/erasmusmanzoni/become-european-citizen-through-a-web-radio?authuser=0. - Checklist for producing radio programs and podcasts. - 18 thematic podcasts, including 14 recorded and 4 live, produced by partner countries in English during the school year and mobility events. - Theoretical-practical manual and video tutorials on how to create a school webradio. - Photos, videos, interviews, posters, and press releases about the activities. - Various dissemination and outreach activities, including the final international seminar held on October 19, 2024, in Caserta. - eTwinning page: sharing all project activities. Additionally, each mobility included assigned tasks. Participants created podcasts by interviewing students and teachers, kept a mobility diary to record new learnings, and wrote articles for the school yearbook.