The III international meeting of the SUSTAIN project, in which the coordinators and the experts from the partner countries have been involved, was organised by the Centro per lo Sviluppo Creativo “Danilo Dolci” from the 7th to the 10th November 2012.
During the meeting, the results carried out until the current moment were analyzed and the future activities were planned. The discussion about the strategies and the methods to foster the exchange and the experimentation of Good Practices related to the Sustainable Development Education between the teachers from different countries had a big space.
On the occasion of the meeting, the SUSTAIN team took part to the Sagra dell’Olio (Oil Festival), which was held on Friday 9th November at Mirto elementary school in Partinico. The Sagra closes the cycle of the olives harvesting and the oil producing which is renewed from more than 10 years in Mirto with the active cooperation of pupils, parents and school operators.
The day started with the presentation of dances and theatrical representations of folkloristic inspiration. The students of the Palermitan high school which brings the name of Danilo Dolci acted some texts from his writings. Around the school premises, some exhibitions about the ancient works have been put on. The oil produced by the school and some typical products were offered to the large number of guests visiting the school.
The organization of this event is a fundamental training moment for the school founded by Danilo Dolci and his collaborators in the ‘70s. The direct experience and the contact with the ground contribute, in fact, to increase a sense of belonging to the community in the children; children learn to know the popular traditions connected to the ground and the techniques of cultivation and harvest of olives.
Therefore, the Sagra represents an important example of Sustainable Development Education that the SUSTAIN project aims to collect under the form of Good Practices and to spread at European level among the teachers of the kindergartens and primary schools.
In the afternoon, the II Local Workshop of the SUSTAIN project on the theme of the Sustainable Development Education (ESS) in kindergartens and primary school followed to the Sagra dell’Olio. Experts, coordinators and teachers from the partner countries and teachers of the III Circolo didattico of Partinico took part to the training meeting, organized by the Centro per lo Sviluppo Creativo. During the meeting, an important process of sharing and exchanging of experiences connected to the ESS has been activated. The faced issue and the used non-formal approach, have stimulated the interest of teachers and encouraged their active participation to the Workshop.
The 9th of November had a big value for the SUSTAIN project, allowing from one hand the foreign partners to know closely the educational local context activated in the Sustainable Development Education, and from the other the local teachers to know practices and educational realities of the European context.