French-Cypriot school students in Brussels after receiving a grant from the EU

Nineteen students of 6th grade of the French-Cypriot school of Nicosia (EFCN) have wrapped up a one week visit in Brussels with their teachers.

Their trip marks a significant part of a year-long project on the topic of migrations and cultural diversity in the EU.

Over the course of a year, the class studied the different types of migration to and within/from Cyprus, examining the country as a gateway to Europe. In Brussels, they also researched the migration situation after exchanging information with other students at the Belgium school Second’Air Sinjelijn.

The two schools collaborated on the project, with the Cypriot students working on a photo exhibition on migrants in Europe and the Belgium students working on a video documentary on the same topic.

EFCN teacher Christina Kalaboukas and a teacher of Second’Air Sinjelijn submitted a proposal to the Erasmus+ programme on migration and cultural diversity and were awarded a grant from the EU for the project.

The grant guaranteed full support for the project, making possible their trip to meet in Brussels in November 2022 and in Cyprus in March 2023.

They visited the European Parliament where they met with the MEP Costas Mavrides, the House of European history, and different districts of the Belgium capital that reflect the different types of communities, etc.

“The idea is to make a parallel between different types of migration. It is also a way to work on the cultural diversity which results from that,” explains Christina Kalaboukas, a Greco-Belgium who studied and worked in Brussels.

These EFCN students already experience cultural diversity on a daily basis at school: they are from French, Greek-Cypriot, Turkish-Cypriot, Russian, Ukrainian, Lebanese origins.