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Manual work as a Means of Education in International
Exchanges
Learning
Travelling, experiencing, exchanging, comparing and returning are common
features of all the peoples of the world. Migration periods have always been a
cultural element. There are differences, however. Most historical events happen
under pressure, in times of need: wars, natural catastrophes, socio-economical
changes. At that time, it was a question of surviving in a foreign country
and people had to learn about adjusting to new situations, staying discreet,
working hard, very often with the secret hope of returning back home one
day. However, there was one exception to this, a certain kind of wanderer.
In 18th century Europe one could meet them: the sons of noble British families
travelled through Europe in order to learn in a universal sense. They
were to gain experience, meet people (aristocracy, artists, writers, poets, scientists...)
and refine their education as (noble) human beings. They made
their “Grand Tour” into different European countries and they were called
“tourists”. This term had a great future. Since societies, economies, working
conditions and paid holidays developed, tourism spread and it has become a
significant economical factor in all countries. This democratisation of travelling,
of going abroad, of exotica, however, has not reached all social classes.
Except for financial barriers, language plays an important role for mobility:
What will I do in a country where I cannot communicate? What do I have on
offer? What is the point of all this?
With a seize of 550.000 square kilometres, a country like France has a wide
variety of landscapes, every fifth Frenchman lives in a congested urban area
(Paris ranks first) and almost everyone has relatives in a French “Province”.
This is the reason for internal migration in the summertime or during other
vacations. Only 50% of the French go abroad. 50% of senior citizens spend
their holidays in France (mostly in the south).
Another problem is language: our educational system plays a significant
role, if you want to explain the fact that the French are so bad at foreign languages.
This is not surprising if foreign languages are taught in the same way
as Latin or History.
The European Project „Tramp“ considered these aspects and stated in its
programme that manual work might be a useful means in international exchanges.
The participants are senior citizens, former or active manual workmen
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