5 schools from Croatia (Dalj Elementary School, Darda Elementary School, Zmajevac Elementary School, Julija Benešića Ilok Elementary School, and Vukovar School of Economics) started their work as associates to DANUrB+ educational program this October. With the help and facilitation of Nansen Dialogue Centre, we started our first joint meeting with introduction of the DANUrB+ goals and participative planning of activities, which are tailored to the specific community and to the age of the pupils. Group of 18 teachers created or customized the suggested activities to their needs and compiled intriguing educational program, which will be implemented during the 2021–2022 school year. The pupils will be involved in discovering their community and relation to the Danube in a different and more creative way. А few examples: one school will focus on fishery, by interviewing their parents and grandparents, pupils will compile a book of fishing stories and find out how important was this craft for their community 50 or more years ago. The plan is also to create a fishermen's illustrated dictionary, fishing menu of Baranya, fishing and gastronomic map of Baranya, so to examine all different aspects how fishery can be used nowadays in boosting community development.

In another school, during their language class, pupils will explore how the Danube is described in the poetry of different authors. One of the first activities was workshop with students organized at the “Branko’s Days” cultural event in Vukovar, related to the poet Branko Radičević. The pupils had to guess, which are the poems about the Danube and how was it portrayed, using an attractive methodology - blackout poetry.

As one of the goals of the DANUrB+ is to help the development of shrinking cities, one group of students explored how their city has changed over the years and what are the major influences for progress throughout history. They created an interesting presentation that can be seen on this link:

https://www.canva.com/design/DAEvURtOKog/f8VsEGNrRUnikQAhp1OkZw/view?utm_content=DAEvURtOKog&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=viewer

Many more activities lie ahead for schools, pupils, teachers, and community members. For example, recording grandma’s stories – how people used to live years ago; browsing through various legends and myths of the community; organizing DANUBIADE and sports related programs; preparing the map of pilgrimage sites along the Danube; old crafts; making videos, radio shows, and many more interesting activities related to the topic of the DANUrB+ educational program. At the end of the project, we wish to create a positive learning experience for all teachers, pupils, and community members, create a network of knowledge and best educational practices among the partners in our meaningful initiative.   

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Project co-funded by European Union funds (ERDF and IPA).