Why this trip?

If you ask a normal teenager where the First World War took place, many won’t be able to answer the question. If you ask a normal teenager who fought during that war, they will answer Belgians, French, Germans and Brits,… Many Flemish teenagers do not realise that the impact of the war reaches much farther than our own little country or even Europe. Moreover, the interest in WWI seems rather scarce in Belgium.

With this project we want to make our students realise that WWI left scars even on the other side of the world. Even though not a single battle was fought on the Australian continent, the war is commemorated ferociously. This can be explained by the fact that the British army recruited more than half of the Australian men. The Australian people lost almost 60,000 soldiers in the Great War. Another 124,000 got wounded.

The graves of these fallen soldiers can all be found in our region. Many Australian families have never been able to visit the graves of their sons, fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, … A dignified farewell is a desire that is hard to accomplish for many.

When the students, parents and teachers of Collie Senior High School visited our region, they were surprised by the lack of interest in the First World War. With this project we want to change this. Together with our students, we want to expand the attention for WWI, and we want to show our respect for the Australian dedication in that period.

During our trip to the South West of Australia we will take the time to visit the war memorial in each city we visit and we will dig deeper in war stories. We are also going to visit the National ANZAC centre in Albany. Here our students will get the chance to hear information directly from Australian and New Zealand soldiers. This way out students will expand their knowledge about the role of the Australian soldiers during the war and they will realise that their roles were of crucial importance.

A unique, educational and unforgettable experience is what we are aiming for with this extraordinary exchange project. We hope that the students will share their personal experiences with everyone at home and this way enlarge the interest for the First World War.