Pro-Muoviti! Let's learn to promote the territory thanks to Erasmus+
This project aimed to expand the school’s activities to a transnational level, allowing students to benefit from a modern and effective training offer in a particularly remote area. By offering 30-day placements with companies in Cyprus, Spain and Malta, the project aimed to teach the skills necessary for slow tourism and food and wine production, including entrepreneurial skills useful for doing business and supporting rural development.
Countries | Italy, Cyprus, Spain and Malta |
|---|---|
Period | 2022-23 |
Funding | €62,956 |
Type | Short-term projects for mobility of learners and staff in vocational education and training |
Background
In the Taro and Ceno valleys in northern Italy, life is closely connected to the landscape. The area around Borgo Val di Taro, in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, is a rural mountainous area rich in natural beauty, food traditions and cultural heritage. Yet it also faces a serious challenge: depopulation. For decades, many residents, especially younger people, have moved to larger, more industrialised towns in search of opportunities.
Istituto di Istruzione Superiore Zappa Fermi, an upper secondary school based in Borgo Val di Taro, wanted to help change that. The school recognised that education could play an important role in giving young people reasons to stay, return or build their futures locally. To do this, however, students needed more than traditional classroom learning. They needed practical skills that could help them promote the valleys and develop new opportunities in tourism, hospitality and food production.
This was the starting point for “Pro-Muoviti! Let’s learn to promote the territory thanks to Erasmus+”, a project designed to connect international experience with local development.
Objectives: From local pride to practical skills
The project aimed to give students access to a modern, international training experience, despite living in a remote and predominantly rural area. By seeing how other places use tourism, food and local identity to create opportunities, students could return with new ideas for their own communities.
A key focus was slow tourism: encouraging visitors to discover the landscape, culture and traditions of the Taro and Ceno valleys at a sustainable pace. Students also developed skills related to food and wine production, entrepreneurship and rural business development. These abilities could help them imagine and create new services in their area rather than seek jobs elsewhere.
The project also placed strong emphasis on green skills. Protecting the landscape is essential if the valleys are to remain attractive and economically active in the long term. Students therefore had the opportunity to think about tourism and local production in ways that respect the environment.
The project was not only for learners. Teachers also took part, updating their professional skills and exploring more inclusive approaches to education. In particular, the school wanted to find ways of overcoming the geographical isolation that can limit students’ opportunities.
Implementation
The project brought these ambitions to life through a series of international mobilities. In total, 21 students completed short-term curricular training placements lasting around 30 days. They worked with companies in the tourism and food-and-wine sectors in Cyprus, Las Palmas in Spain and Malta.
These placements gave students the chance to experience professional environments first-hand. Instead of discussing hospitality, tourism or food production only in lessons, they could observe how these sectors operate in different European contexts. They encountered new working methods, met people from different backgrounds and had to use their communication skills in real situations.
Two members of staff also completed six-day job-shadowing visits at a school in Cyprus. Their focus was on discovering techniques that could make learning more dynamic and inclusive, particularly for students affected by geographical isolation. The visits allowed teachers to exchange ideas about personalised teaching, digital tools and collaboration with companies.
Results: New ambassadors for home
95% of participating students felt that their professional skills had improved. These were skills directly linked to promoting tourism and local products which were the exact abilities the school hoped to develop. 78% of students also believed that their language skills had improved.
The benefits for teachers were equally significant. Staff reported greater awareness of environmentally sustainable teaching practices, as well as online tools that could help overcome geographical barriers. They also improved their ability to design personalised learning experiences, particularly for students who face difficulties or are not native speakers.
Another important outcome was stronger cooperation between education and business. Teachers developed their skills in planning educational experiences with companies, while the school expanded its European network for future projects.
Most importantly, Pro-Muoviti! helped students look at their home territory with fresh eyes. The project showed that the valleys’ rural character need not be a weakness. With the right skills, creativity and international inspiration, it can become the foundation for sustainable tourism, entrepreneurial activity and a more hopeful future.
To find out more about this case study, visit the Erasmus+ project database: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/projects/search/details/2022-1-IT01-KA122-VET-000071015