The first time this project has been carried out was during a seminar at the International Danube festival 2008 in Ulm. Since then, it has been tested and developed several times. The project can easily by transferred to other target groups and nationalities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
During this seminar, Danube boxes were made under the supervision of a coordinator. The format \u201cDanube Box\u201d was picked on purpose: 300 years ago many people from Ulm travelled on boats that were called \u201cUlmer Schachteln\u201d (= Ulm box) to other Danube countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Danube boxes were all designed in the following manner: The name of the person, who has created the box, a photo of said person and his\/her home country was clearly visible on three surfaces of the box. Every participant put three items into the box that symbolized his\/her relationship to their home country as a Danube country. These three items had to be named and illustrated on the exterior of the box. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the boxes were finished, the participants had the chance to look at each other boxes, names, origins and contents and thus, got in to contact. The participants were invited to explain the meaning of the items they picked for his\/her box \u2013 they were supported by volunteers as translators. This action helped to get to know each other easily. Despite having never met before, the participants picked all similar items: Everybody picked a personal item (like a memory about the first kiss next to the Danube riverbank or an old wine label from a picnic at the Danube), an item that was related to the culture of the home land (like a piece of Leinen or a picture of a cultural heritage sight ), and an item that is related to the nature or beauty of the Danube or the importance to preserve the Danube).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This exchange and the discovery of common interest lead to further collaborations and to the establishment of an educational network for senior citizens in the Danube countries. The boxes were presented at an exhibition called \u201cHeimat in der Schachtel\u201d (home in a box) at the Danube Swabian Museum in Ulm. The box project was continued and extend in the Grundtvig-Learning partnership \u201cDanube-Stories\u201d: The participants explained the meaning of the three items by writing down what and why they picked it and pointed out how, they relate to the Danube. All texts were available on the project website in English as well as in the respective mother tongue. The website was equipped with a search engine, which made it possible to search for countries, languages or contents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Project partners:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n