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From 13 to 17 October 2025, Leuven once again became the meeting point for the ARISE project. We welcomed our partner schools from Spain, France, the Netherlands and Germany, and the sixth-year Taal & Communicatie students took on the role of hosts — not just practically, but as genuine European peers. The week was designed not as a traditional exchange, but as a lived experience of democracy — something to feel, create and question together.

The first students began arriving on Monday, checking into the Ibis Budget Hotel throughout the day. By 18.00, everyone gathered at Campus Corso for the welcome dinner — the first time all students and teachers met in person. Very quickly, the nerves shifted into curiosity. Conversations started naturally, and the energy already hinted at the strong international connection that would grow over the week.

Tuesday morning began with a lively getting-to-know-each-other session. No formal introductions, but real one-on-one conversations through a “speed date” format, forcing everyone to listen and connect quickly and genuinely. That atmosphere flowed straight into the city escape game through the centre of Leuven — not just sightseeing, but actively discovering the city while relying on each other across languages and cultures. After lunch at Campus Corso, the mood shifted from exploring to creating. Mixed international groups started working on the ARISE travelling exhibition and multiplier event — a creative, visual translation of how young Europeans experience democratic values today. One Spanish student said, quietly but confidently, “This feels stress, being responsible for everything. But it makes it so much interesting.” The evening continued in the same spirit: dinner at Hal5, followed by a film screening — informal moments where friendship began to form as naturally as the project outcomes.

Wednesday took the group to Brussels, with an early meeting at Leuven station. Seeing the European Quarter with their own eyes — and visiting the Parlamentarium and the House of European History — gave the students a direct sense of being part of something bigger than their school or country. The afternoon gave them time to explore Brussels in international groups.

On Thursday, the project reached its turning point. The day opened with a workshop by Karel Moons: “Democratic values — what can we learn from rap songs?”. It was sharp, relevant and disarming in the best possible way — bringing democracy into the world students actually live in every day. The afternoon was intense: final rehearsals for the Multiplier Event. And then, at 14.00, they stepped into a public moment. Stakeholders, teachers, partner, students — a real audience. The interactive presentations were creative, sincere and brave. Their work was not just shown — it was owned. The evening closed in celebration — shared dinner, music, laughter — not an ending, but a collectively earned moment of pride.

On Friday morning, the partners departed again — tired but energised. What happened in Leuven will continue. The exhibition will now move across Europe, evolving from school to school — just like the democratic story it tells.

From 10 to 14 February 2025, our school had the honour of hosting the fifth international ARISE project meeting in Leuven, welcoming partners from Spain, France, the Netherlands and Germany for a week of collaboration, learning and lived European citizenship.

The international delegations arrived throughout Monday, some taking the chance to explore the city centre or enjoy a drink at the Oude Markt before settling into the Ibis Budget Hotel near the station. In the evening, everyone gathered at Campus Corso for a warm welcome dinner. Sharing Belgian fries around the table immediately broke the ice, and the atmosphere was relaxed and curious — a promising start to a week of collaboration and discovery.

On Tuesday morning, all students met again at Campus Corso at 9 a.m. for an energetic speed-date session to get to know one another. What began with slight shyness quickly turned into engaged conversation and laughter. Shortly after, the group set off on foot to Stordeur for a physical activity session, where climbing and bouldering helped create trust and team spirit in a playful way. After a shared lunch back at Campus Corso, journalist Rien Emmery from VRT NWS led a workshop on fake news, guiding students through how misinformation spreads and how to verify sources — a topic that immediately sparked discussion. In the early evening, the group stayed at Campus Corso for dinner and ended the day with a lively sing-along session, which brought the different cultures together in a joyful, informal setting.

Wednesday took the project to the European capital. At 8.30 a.m., the group met at the hotel and travelled together by train to Brussels. There, the students split into smaller groups to visit several major European institutions — including the European Commission, the Council of Europe, and the European Economic and Social Committee together with the Committee of the Regions. These visits made the abstract idea of European democracy feel tangible and real. After lunch around the Mont des Arts area, the students began a city game titled “Who killed Ursula?”, sending international teams across Brussels to collaborate, solve clues and explore the city’s landmarks. The rest of the afternoon allowed for some free exploration at their own pace before regrouping in the evening to travel back to Leuven together.

On Thursday morning, everyone returned to Campus Corso for a workshop by Hans Verhoeven from iVox, who demonstrated how political communication and social media influence public opinion — an eye-opening and highly relevant session for the digital generation. After lunch, the afternoon continued with a historical perspective as Martine Wellens from UCLL introduced the topic of propaganda across time, providing valuable context to current democratic challenges. The late afternoon gave students some time off, before everyone returned in the evening for a final shared dinner and celebration. The closing evening was warm, musical and reflective — a fitting conclusion to a week built on trust, cooperation and genuine exchange.

Friday marked the departure day, with partners returning home and students resuming regular lessons. What remained, however, was the sense that this was more than just a project meeting — it was a lived European experience. Students did not only learn about democracy; they practised it through dialogue, responsibility and cultural openness. Leuven 2025 will be remembered not for its programme alone, but for the authentic connections it created and the shared belief in a democratic future it inspired.

On Friday the 20th of September 2024, a few of us German students, who were interested enough to get up in the middle of the night, got the chance to watch a popular german News Show, called “MoMa”. This special episode took place in Potsdam instead of Berlin, due to its main Topic: Landtagswahlen in Brandenburg. Landtagswahlen are the elections that define the parlament of each federal state. The show featured interviews with each party’s top candidate, concerning the most discussed issues: Education and Migration. Behind the scenes, we got to discuss our own questions with the candidates, some seemed thrilled to talk to us, others would have rather enjoyed their morning coffee without a bunch of curious teens. A few talks lead to cool selfies, others to frustration on both sides. Nonetheless a very successful event, that for sure helped us, 16+ year olds, who are allowed to vote, to make up their mind and be well prepared for a democratic decision-making progress this Sunday, 22th of September.

For a German account of our meeting in Amsterdam, please click here.

Our project was for a second time kindly invited to the capital of the Netherlands. Our partner school, ALASCA, opened its doors now for both staff and students and we were warmly welcomed to their school. Travel went smoothly (all schools were able to come by train except for the Spanish) and weather was good enough. For this third JSPM we were aiming at teaching our students the impact of our colonial past, the need for decolonialisation and the pitfalls of cultural stereotyping.

On Tuesday we immediately started with the workshop World Festival for which we invited the organisation Globi. The group was divided into three. The first lesson was a European pub quiz about facts from different European countries. The second lesson was a debating class in which the students had to take sides on particular topics and defend their position with arguments. The third lesson was a board game where students were confronted with intercultural dilemmas. With these three lessons our students learned a lot about how different cultures would make different decisions based on their own values, that you can take a position which you have to defend with arguments and that you should know some facts about a different culture. We thank our colleagues from Globi for this insightful day!

On Wednesday we had a very busy schedule. The topic of the day was decolonialisation and why we should decolonize our minds and culture in order for Europe to become more democratic. In the morning we got a workshop by Leen Alaerts from our associated partner UCLL about the colonial past. She designed her workshop on neurodidactic principles by focussing on feelings, knowledge-building and action-orientedness. The workshop was very insightful for many of our students about where racism and racial stereotypes came from, where you can find these stereotypes, why they are harmful and how we should change them. You can find the presentation on our project page. In the afternoon, the students got a tour through the renewed Wereldmuseum in which the colonial past of the Netherlands was explored. In the evening then we went to a lecture on how we could learn from a local community action in Africa in response to the climate crisis and how they created political support in low-information communities in order to foster climate resilience.

In Amsterdam too we did the obligatory sightseeing. We went on a boat tour through the canals of Amsterdam and we visited the Stedelijk Museum. In the end this mobility was one of our most informative mobilities yet. Looking forward to Spain!

Hace un mes que mis compañeros y yo formamos parte de un grupo Erasmus+ en París, Francia. 

Aun habiendo participado en uno anterior, Berlín, estábamos muy nerviosos y asustados, eso se debe a la nueva situación presente, las condiciones dadas en la capital francesa no eran las ideales por los alarmantes avisos, afortunadamente los profesores fueron de lo más cercanos y tomaron precauciones ante toda sospecha.

Allí, los demás miembros del Erasmus+ nos acogieron perfectamente y convivimos en el hostal como una gran familia. 

Por otra parte, nuestros compañeros franceses, que no estaban alojados allí, también trataron de acercarse a nosotros en el Instituto, programaron actividades grupales y guías por la ciudad que nos permitieron interactuar y así también, practicar varios idiomas. Nos encantó el tour, aunque rápido, por la ciudad, además del paseo por el río. En contra, hubo una actividad bastante aburrida sobre ejercer un cargo en el parlamento que duró toda la tarde y fue agotador. 

El viaje tanto de ida como de vuelta fue tranquilo, aun habiendo tormenta. 

Después de todo, el viaje fue muy divertido y nos permitió hacer amigos internacionales con quienes aún mantenemos contacto, además, nos permitió conocer un nuevo país y un sistema educativo diferente.

For a German report on our Paris meeting in 2023, please click here.

Paris speaks to the imagination. It is the city renowned for the French Revolution which sparked the constitution of many democratic reforms all across Europe. It is also a centre for culture and the capital of one of the most important countries of the European Union. Its leader, Emmanuel Macron, is a fervent supporter of the European Union. It is therefore a welcome coincidence that we met him on the street. Nevertheless, we did not come to meet Emmanuel Macron. Instead, our partner school Lycéee Teilhard de Chardin welcomed us in their beautiful school in the suburb of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés. The goals of this project was discussing current affairs through the act of compromise making and getting to know the legislative process of the European Parliament in the Maison de l’Europe.

Travelling to a metropolis such as Paris is always a little adventure. Just weeks before we arrived, all across Europe news outlets spoke of a plague of bed bugs. Yet, on arriving, the Parisians did not seem bothered. Tensions were also rising and fear of a new terrorist attack in the capital of France grew, but yet again, Parisians do not care enough to let their lives go to a standstill. It was already this lesson that for some of our schools was eye-opening and a true culture shock. The warm welcome of our colleagues, however, made these fears disappear. They had first planned sports activities as a way of getting to know each other. This low-key activity was a great starter as it did not require much speaking. 

In the afternoon we started with our first project-oriented activity. We were introduced to the importance of politics by a young French MP assistant (Yassine Kamili, Frédéric DESCROZAILLE’s local assistant). Afterwards, the students were divided into several teams. In these teams they had to find a goal which they had to promote (end to racism, end the climate crisis, etc.). Then they had to think of the different types of behavior they had to change to make this change in society happen. Then they had to come up with a campaign that spurred readers to adjust their behaviour. Finally, they made these posters online or by hand. You can find the results and the lesson plan on the project page.

The other project-oriented activity was the very informative workshop on the legislative process in the European Parliament. This hands-on workshop introduced the students to the different topics at hand, and how a member of the European Parliament needs to compromise with lobbyists, voters, countries, the different bodies of government in the EU, their own party, etc. This well-developed workshop was created by the European Parliament and you can do this in pretty much every European capital’s House of Europe. 

Of course, a visit to the capital of France must involve some necessary sightseeing. The students had prepared a sightseeing tour along the different sights in the centre of Paris which had to do with democracy. We also took a trip on the Seine river with les bâteaux mouches. In the evenings we build relationships through fun activities such as bowling and a party on the final evening.

All in all, this trip was an enormous success. Students have learned a lot about current affairs, the way the European Parliament works and how difficult it is to change people’s behaviour. We are already looking forward to our next meeting!

For a short report in German about our meeting in Potsdam, please visit this site.

Our first joint staff and pupil mobility was a great success. It is always a little exciting when you start with a huge project like this one, but the general vibe and spirit of this first meeting was one of collaboration, open communication and relationship building. We were being welcomed by our German partner school, Einstein-Gymnasium, who had organised everything and who were the perfect hosts for this first mobility. Objectives of this first meeting was getting to know more about how our brains worked ‘democratically’ and which values are important for a democratic European youth.

Our first full day kicked off in the ‘aula’ (lecture hall) of this beautiful school in the heart of Potsdam. Our hosts had prepared a series of games so that our pupils could get to know each other. In the afternoon, our colleague prof. dr. Gerhard Roth from the University of Bremen, gave an insightful lecture about the link between democratic behaviour and our brains. Prof. Roth was invited by us because our schools feel a need to deal with anti-democratic, sometimes outright violent behaviour. We feel that schools are the places for learning democratic values and behaviour, but there needs to be a school culture and teachers ought to have the necessary skills to teach them. Ours and prof. Roth’s hypothesis is that insight into why and how people act the way they do, will provide us with the tools to counteract or encourage certain types of behaviour. As schools are little societies on their own, a school should be democratic and promote this kind of behaviour. They should be safe spaces where students can practise these skills, but also where they are allowed to fail from time to time. This filled day gave us many insights to put in our daily practice, for which we thank prof. Roth.

For our second day, we invited our associated partners from the KiJuBB (Kinder & Jugendbeteiligung Brandenburg) to give us a workshop about European Youth Values. Students were first introduced into the different youth goals of the European Union, after which they had to choose one per group. Then they made a poster about this and suggested measures to reach this goal more easily. The workshop provided a useful way of introducing these democratic values to our students and to make them think across the national and school boundaries about what other people found important.

This visit to Potsdam also included some culture. Students were invited to participate in a guided tour of Potsdam by foot or on bike. The guided tours were made by the Potsdam students with an audience like ours in mind. These tours made us aware of the different sights and the history of the city of Potsdam. The last day we went to Berlin, where we visited the recently constructed Humboldt Forum. They had an exhibition called “Berlin global” about how the city of Berlin was an international crossroads for many decades and how this influenced both our image of Berlin and how Berliners looked at the world. It was a very thoughtful exhibition which stressed the importance of tolerance in our contemporary multicultural societies. After a quick tour of the main democratic sights in Berlin (the Reichstag building, the office of the German chancellor, etc.), our students had some free time in this bustling capital city.

During the last evening we organised a party for our students so that they could end this meeting with a fun activity. The meeting was a success and informed our students about the necessary democratic values and how to act democratically. They also established links across our boundaries and schools. The appetite for our next meeting is big!