The project ‘Healthy body, healthy mind’ was designed to respond to a series of problems observed among young people today. Malnutrition and the lack of physical activity have been shown to undoubtedly have a negative impact on teenagers’ physical and mental condition. Furthermore, these factors lead to the so called diseases of civilization, which hinder teenagers’ everyday life and generate social costs due to the required treatment. It has been shown that some teenagers avoid physical activity. This fact reduces their body endurance and causes concentration problems, which impede their academic success and have a negative effect on their future careers. Low self-esteem, anxiety and depression lead to poor social skills and socializing problems, which may result in teenagers’ withdrawal from social life. Additionally, more and more teachers observe other worrying behaviour problems among young people, such as the lack of openness, empathy, collaboration skills and not respecting cultural heritage, which have a negative impact on their proper functioning in society. The following problems have also been observed in other European schools. That’s why, 4 partner schools decided to join the project to gain an insight into the issue, using the resources, tools, methods that each of them possesses. In addition, the different geography and traditions of the participating countries, as well as their different knowledge regarding healthy eating and physical activity, will allow them to contribute to the project in different ways. This two-year project, ‘Healthy body, healthy mind’, will involve the whole school community of the partner schools including students aged 14-19, their parents, teachers, counsellors as well as local communities.

The students participating in the project come from different cultures and communities characterised by different socio-economic status and educational opportunities. Thus, the project aims especially to involve students with fewer educational opportunities and those especially affected by the problems the project tackles. The main objective of the project is to make participants aware of the importance and benefits of healthy eating and physical activity as well as to implement changes in their eating habits and lifestyles which, as a result, will positively affect their health, wellbeing and how they perceive themselves and how they perceive others. Joint implementation of activities and dissemination of the project results will teach the participants cooperation, openness and empathy. The teachers involved in the project will increase their knowledge of psychology and teaching methodology and will broaden their personal and professional competences. Another aim of the project will be to create teaching materials such as lesson scenarios and a prevention education programme to be used in the schools now and in the future. The project implies involving participants in innovative activation initiatives such as mini projects in international teams, physical activities, workshops, debates and dramas that will be scheduled during the school year in each partner school and during the students’ mobilities.

The main events in the project schedule will be 4 thematic weeks carried out simultaneously in each school: International Healthy Eating Week, International Physical Activity Week, International Wellbeing Week, and International Regional Cultures Week. The participants will also be involved in four student mobilities and a teacher training mobility. Taking part in the project will enable students to learn about healthy eating and physical activity and, consequently, will positively influence their health and personal development. Participants will have an opportunity to learn about different cultures, traditions and languages thanks to their cooperating in international teams.

Furthermore, taking part in different project tasks will contribute to the development of their personal skills such as cooperation, responsibility, openness and will boost their self-confidence. Throughout the project, teachers will be involved in the cooperation within four international groups: health, physical activity, wellbeing and national heritage in order to share experiences and their best practices. All the resources resulting from this cooperation will contribute to teacher professional development and to the enrichment of the schools’ didactic resource base. All the project participants will broaden their knowledge of the culture and traditions of the partner schools, thus fostering international awareness and European citizenship. International cooperation activities will also improve the participants’ linguistic competence.

The project will contribute to the long-term development of the schools, as they will benefit from the resources and methods developed in the long run. In addition, dissemination of the project results will allow local schools to take advantage of it.