Erasmus+ project: Visit to the EU institutions in Brussels, Belgium

Monday 11.11.

After a long trip from Kalajoki to Brussels, the capital of Belgium, we started our day with visiting the Grand Palace which finds itself at the center of the culture scene in Brussels. Surrounded by a variety of languages, we spent our morning exploring this area full of traditional beautiful architecture.

After filling ourselves with lunch, we headed to the Parc du Cinquantenaire to find the bits of autumn colored trees and the grand arc that celebrated 50 years since the independence of Belgium. A warm autumn day seemed to have encouraged people to hang out in the park, with which we very much enjoyed the normal scene of life in Brussels.

Another stop for the group from Kalajoki was at the Permanent Representation of Finland to the EU, where we found a little home amidst the busy county of Brussels. We had a lecture on the duty of this facility along with the general structure of the political process between the EU and Finland. It was a complex issue to understand, yet it was an inspiring moment for all of us with an interest in international affairs.

We then visited the Parlamentarium, which is a part of the EU headquarters. Its interactive exhibition employs an effective data visualisation, which makes it possible for us to process otherwise complicated web of knowledge. It has surely shown the possibilities of digital technologies as a means for public communication, from which we’ve learned so much under our theme of digital education. We finished off our day with dinner at Wolf, where we enjoyed food from a variety of countries!

Tuesday 12.11.

Today we have started a group of activities with the main focus to learn about the EU headquarters in Brussels, which mainly consist of the European Commission, Council of the European Union, and European Parliament.

Our first stop was at the European Commission, where the personnel explained its main function with slides in a room that’s actually used as a meeting room in the European Commission. This authentic environment has helped our students learn more about the specific role the European Commission plays as an important leg of a Stuhl, which was being used as an example of the relationship between the European Commission, Council of the European Union, and European Parliament.

Looking for lunch, we walked east to find a warm lunch and some break from studying at the EU institutions. This small but vibrant area had a lake, around which many students enjoyed walking, along with culture centers for concerts. The walk to the headquarters showed us a traditional scenery with unique house buildings which captured our hearts and cameras.

Energised by lunch, we continued to the Council of the European Union. A staff member, who is actually working in this institution, gave us a lecture about its function. Those BTS insights and experiences she shared with us were very interesting, and they provided perspective that’s not achievable from papers or websites. She also introduced us to the opportunities to work as an intern in the Council of the European Union. The idea might be too distant for our students, but we hope they will remember these opportunities in the future when they realise their passion is in this field.

In the evening, we visited the hostel where the students and teachers from other schools are staying. Our students teamed up with the students from other countries, and played a game designed by the EU with the purpose of learning more about where we live and what we share in this alignance. The game utilised digital technology to make it interesting and interactive for students, from which I as a teacher learned so much in relation to digitalised teaching approach.

We happily concluded our tiring yet fruitful day with a brief dinner, followed by the walking to the hotel with beautiful night scenes in Brussels!

Wednesday 13.11.

Our third day in sunny Brussels started with goosechase game where each team had to complete the missions given by the game master. An app provided a series of tasks and clues, which were written in four language in use throughout this program, which are English, Finnish, Hungarian, and German. Students from each country in a team contributed to solving tasks, which for example involved taking a photo with the taste of Brussels or finding a church with a long history in the city. Utilising a generative AI seemed to be a hidden key to succeeding in this game since they had to incorporate all the kinds of cues and knowledge to induce the right answer to a task. This game has enabled an effective use of digital technology fusioned in the real scenes in Brussels as well as the formation of stronger connections among our students!

Taking a bus from the city center, we then headed to the European parliament where we had a guided tour of this institution. We have been introduced to a variety of digital media resources to learn different languages being used in EU along with projects that are taking place in our countries. Our students were chosen to come to the front of the conference room, and bravely tried tongue twister in other languages. Seeing a real parament gave us a closer feeling to the politics in EU, which have a big impact on our lives yet usually found distant from us.

After having lunch, we found ourselves in the Parlamentarium where we were impressed by their digitised interactive museum. The activity that we engaged today was a role play, which was yet again something that integrated digital technology into an educational experience. In the role play, students were divided into 4 different political groups with different values and beliefs, and they were supposed to come to an agreement regarding two policies by having a perpetual conversation and making compromise just like the reality. What supports this seemingly difficult task was a phone provided to each student and devices scattered around the area. With those devices, students managed to gain more information on the problems in their hands, organise them, and understand instructions. The main actors in this role play are of course the students, yet we were reminded of the essential role the digital technology can play in learning and human interaction by complementing our capabilities.

We concluded this fruitful day, especially in relation to the application of digital technology to communication and learning, with a quick dinner in the city center and allowed ourselves to have a good rest before the day trip tomorrow.

Thursday 14.11.2024

On our last full day in Belgium, we had a day trip to Ostend and Brugge.

Our first stop, Ostend is a city with a beautiful beach just like we do back in Kalajoki. There were many kinds of fish that were new to our students at the market on the coast. After a short exploration of the center of Ostende, we hopped on a train to Brugge. This city is rooted in its long history, which was clear from the building we found on the street. In multiple points in the city, our students read a paragraph about the history of this city, which helped a deeper understanding of where we were.

As the sun sets and the air gets darker and colder, this historical town started showing a different picture with the Christmas lights switched on. Students enjoyed walking around in this new atmosphere surrounded by the early signs of the arrival of Christmas.

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