Spain
Amposta is a small town in the South-East of Catalonia. It has about
22 thousand inhabitants and it lies about 150 km from Barcelona and
about 150 km from Valencia. The economy of the town was mainly based on
agriculture, and it has still an influence on its economy. Amposta is
surrounded by rice fields, which in its turn conform what is known as
the Ebro Delta (a natural water area which has been recently declared
Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO . It covers 367,729 hectares and includes
the delta and watershed of the Ebro River, which is Spain largest river
in terms of volume. It has a large number of different ecosystems
ranging from inland to coastal areas.
Our school, Institut Ramon Berenguer IV, is a secondary school with
around 700 students aged from 12 to 18. The social background of our
students is varied although in the last years the effects of the
economical crisis has affected a large number of families.
Our students attend classes in the morning from 8.30 to 15 h. In the
afternoon most of them have different activities, mainly sporty and
musical (the town has a long musical tradition).
Employment in the town is a clear reflection of what is going on in
the rest of our country. Families are going through a difficult
situation and this fact has a direct effect on the relationship with
the school.
One of the reasons why we are interested in carrying out this project
is to involve our students in knowing more about different communities
to see how different and how alike they are. Another reason is that with
this project they are able to travel and experience other realities
they wouldn’t be able to afford otherwise; and to cooperate to make
their world a better place to live in.
The last but not least important reason is that we, as teachers, are
eager to learn and exchange our views and experiences with other
colleagues around Europe as something that can enrich our knowledge and
our souls.
