Project proposal – written by Italy Seas (and waterways) have always been places of conflicts and or encounters. With this project we aim at arising students’ awareness of opportunities and problems existing in maritime regions or towns; we want to understand how sustainable relationships with seas and waterways can help improve our lifestyles and at the same time defend the so-called blue gold, i.e. water, which is one of the most precious resources of our planet. We will analyse the meaning of seas and waterways for Europe both in the past and at present and how they can become places of encounters, contribute to economic development and help build bridges between countries; we will adopt a ludic approach to organise a set of activities centred around this theme. In fact seas and waterways provide man with trade routes but they also offer the chance of getting incomes from activities such as fishing, tourism or transport. They inspire poets, painters or singers, push lonely travellers to look for havens and they have led brave people such as Christopher Columbus or Vasco de Gama to set sails for the thirst of knowledge. European countries such as Great Britain or Spain expanded thanks to their navy fleets. Europe is encircled by seas and is washed by the Mediterranean Sea which has had an outstanding importance in human and European history: it was the cradle of human civilisations; soldiers had to cross this sea to take part in Crusades; Venice, the maritime Republics and the Ottoman Empire thrived around it; moreover this sea washes European Asia and African countries and is connected with other seas such as the Atlantic Ocean, the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara and the Red Sea and for this reason is the most important geopolitical hub in the world. Responses and Outcomes Taking the Sea and waterways as our inspirational source will stimulate teachers and students to engage in a wide ranging investigation of its influence in all our lives. This will be the stimulus for work in many subject areas and contribute to cross-curricular and inter-disciplinary working. Teachers will prepare innovative teaching materials and methods, working and sharing with their colleagues in partner schools. These schemes of work will be exchanged across the partnership, sharing good practice. The outcomes of studies will be seen in home and partner schools and celebrated at mobilities which will be hosted by each school in turn. The mobilities will explore a particular aspect of our connections with the sea, proposed and facilitated by the host school. This includes studies of exploration and trade by sea, water pollution, leisure and tourism, floods and drought. Students will have developed their skills in team working, communication and language, creativity and problem solving through their work in their own schools and through sharing with partner students via ICT media and at mobilities. Students, teachers and their institutions will show positive changes in their attitudes to teaching and learning. Students will have been encouraged to complete courses to exam level and improve their life chances through engagement with further education. This will enhance their employability. We shall see and appreciate institutional benefits and changes brought about by our working with partners from other European countries. These shall be disseminated widely ensuring a lasting legacy of the partnership. A wider impact shall be seen and shared by parents and other stakeholders of students involvement with the wider European community, benefitting from shared values and aspirations.