l a c o L
s e r u s trea
LET'S SHARE THE BEST THINGS
2017-1-PL01-KA219-038602_4KA2 „Lokalne skarby- dziel sie tym, co najlepsze” Strategic Partnerships for Schools Only Exchanges of Practices Poland, Romania, Latvia, Portugal, Greece 2017-2020
TABLE OF CONTENTS what we did
4 About the project 10 Partners 22 Poland 30 Greece 38 Portugal 46 Latvia 54 Romania 68 Results and materials 89 Outcomes 92 Final Event 104 Insides
ABOUT THE PROJECT
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INFORMATION Facing the problems and needs of today's European schools, we have established an international coalition to face the problems of our students because it turns out that they are the same in Poland, Romania, Greece, Portugal and Latvia. Reinforcing the youngsters through numerous activities, we equipped the students with important life competences, shaping their attitude as well as reinforcing their self-esteem and preventing their frustration and animosity to school. We conducted our project activity in order for the students to acquire knowledge (local and international) about the world around them, in an attractive way, and so that the students can cope well with selection of different content. They were able to present to others (share the best of the local products) and also learn about resources of our partners and appreciate it. While performing tasks, the students made use of technology and innovative working methods (Webquest, PREZI presentation), and they communicated with the partners using English (project language), increasing their language and digital competences. The necessary project-cooperation in groups equipped the students with the cooperation and planning skills and also developed their social competences. The teachers exchanged experiences, innovative solutions and well performed practices to perfect their pedagogical workshops.
The direct beneficiaries of project activities were the groups of students (minimum of 40 people), working in smaller groups inside the project, divided according to their interests, working in presentation of the "treasure" of culture, history, nature, places and figures (minimum 50 % of students were students with difficulties in reading and writing) in each project/ partner country.The project team implied teachers (minimum 5 people) and other people who managed the project (these are book-keepers, coordinator and other people, who make evaluation and promote results). The indirect receivers are the other students of school , students families, all teachers and local society of all partners. The international team working at the project watched over the efficiency and the exact term of fulfillment of project tasks. The team evaluated the activity, elaborated and implemented the conclusions. The project tasks were realized during the mobility (students presented their products, learned about partner countries, culture, traditions, customs, nature, adopting an attitude of tolerance, respect and understanding for other countries.
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Aim: to support students in gaining skills and improving competences in reading comprehension, selection of material for learning about local and international treasures using IT tools and the Internet and raising students' awareness of the world around them by promoting local and European knowledge.
THE IMPACT
STUDENTS AND TEACHERS The impact of the project on participating organizations: establishing international cooperation, exchanging good practices, general development, enriching the didactic base (database with materials, teaching aids prepared by partners - local treasures), enriching the offer of extracurricular activities. Project impact on participants (students): increased interest of local project participants about international cultural, religious, historical and natural heritage, gaining knowledge about local and international goods and understanding their importance for further understanding of the world, developing reading comprehension skills and editing various forms speeches, development of digital and communication competences, increase of language competences, increase of cooperation competences in the group, creation of motivation to explore the world, enriching the vocabulary in the languages of the partner countries. Impact of the project on participants (teachers): increase of language competences, learning the methods and ways of working with partner countries teachers, increase of social competences, materials base (treasures), establishing international cooperation, enriching the vocabulary of partner languages. The partner schools implemented numerous activities during this project, took part in numerous meetings of project groups with specialists, and participated in working groups. Students learnt how to search for and use the information found on the Internet with guidance from the teachers involved in the project. The partners made multimedia presentations related to partner countries and local treasures, and students worked on reviews, summaries, posters, biographies and even illustrations to present the "local treasures" found.
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PARTNERS
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Szkola Podstawowa im. Macieja Rataja w Wyszatycach - Poland Scoala Gimnaziala Butea - Romania 1st Primary School of Neo Psychiko - Greece Agrupamento de Escolas Engenheiro Duarte Pacheco - Portugal Adazu vidusskola - Latvia 11
THE SCHOOL COMPLEX IN WYSZATYCE Szkoła Podstawowa im. Macieja Rataja w Wyszatycach
The School Complex in Wyszatyce includes a primary school (with a preschool department) and a junior high school. The school has a gymnasium with dimensions of 12x24 meters and a multifunctional sports field, classrooms and a dining room. 144 pupils attend the school, also commuting from nearby towns: Bolestraszyce, Buszkowice and Buszkowiczki. The school employs 20 teachers (80% are qualified teachers with significant pedagogical achievements) and 5 non-pedagogical employees. Despite the fact that the school is located in a small town near Przemyśl, it focuses on continuous development and constantly searches for new organizational and educational solutions (including forms and methods of work). It has a European School Development Plan geared towards both the development of the institution as well as teachers and students. The school organizes classes supporting the development of a gifted student (artistic, handicraft, nature, IT, sports), but also the development of a student with special educational needs, including an intellectually disabled student. For them, didactic and compensatory classes (from mother tongue, foreign language, mathematics) and revalidation classes are organized.
The aim of the school's educational activities is: - development of reading, health, ecological and regional education; - development of IT, language, mathematical and technical competences; - teaching activity, creativity, cooperation in a group, participation in culture and social life; - promoting attitudes of tolerance, respect, responsibility and equality. 65% of students in the school achieve unsatisfactory academic performance (both in humanities and exact subjects), which is the reason, among others, for their school absence and, consequently, secondary school year. Both students and teachers are willing to engage in all kinds of projects that allow them to improve their skills. At school, they have teams of teachers dealing with evaluation, preparation of school documentation, organization of events and school trips, a team for security and the organization of psychological and pedagogical help. The school motto is "development and openness to others"
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BUTEA MIDDLE SCHOOL SCOALA GIMNAZIALA BUTEA
The school in Butea is located in the north - eastern part of Romania, in the rural area. Butea is an agricultural village, it is inhabited by 4500 inhabitants, agriculture is the main occupation of the local population. 300 students attend the school, they learn in grades 0 - VIII. The school is very competitive in terms of applying new teaching methods and new technologies. The school has a good team to implement this kind of projects. Pupils attending elementary school are between 6 and 10 years old, while older students have between 11 and 15. Students and teachers use modern technological means, but are also interested in exchanging good practices and improving their English language skills. A significant proportion of pupils remain under the care of their grandparents or other relatives because their parents went abroad to find a better job. By participating in projects and international cooperation, the school wants to change the way the students think, open their minds to a different way of life. Both teachers and students are focused on good cooperation, friendship and understanding on the part of partners, they also want to improve foreign languages. During the implementation of 4 projects, the school promoted the value of true friendship, respect for the traditions, culture, religion and history of other countries.
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1ST PRIMARY SCHOOL OF NEO PSYCHIKO
The school is located in a suburban area. It is known for engaging teachers and students in all kinds of extracurricular activities and projects, theater performances, poetry evenings and exhibitions. Teachers and students have experience in eTwinning projects. Students attending school are between 6 and 12 years old and are learning English, French and German. Students with special educational needs also attend the school. Participation in the projects is contributing to the development of both students and teachers. The school students are learning about history and cultural heritage, both in school and extracurricular activities, and are active and committed. Teachers have appropriate qualifications along with relevant studies at the postgraduate level.
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AGRUPAMENTO DE ESCOLAS ENGENHEIRO DUARTE PACHECO The school is located in a small but extremely picturesque town in the tourist region of the Algarve. It is a small, historic town in the south of Portugal, 12 km from the coast, known for their summer festivals "Carnival". The architecture of the old town resembles the Arab occupation, and the narrow and winding streets of the "Medina", the town is also famous for its sport. The school belongs to a network of 11 schools attended by students aged 4 to 15. Students from different nationalities attend the school: the British, the Irish, the Ukrainians, the Dutch and others. Additional Portuguese language classes are organized for them. Through joint communing with each other, students learn tolerance, respect and perception of diversity. They start learning the English language from the youngest class, then they learn French or Spanish. Pupils with disabilities, including those with cerebral palsy, also take part in the school, using individual and group classes (inclusive education).
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ADAZU VIDUSSKOLA Adazi Secondary School is the largest school in this region in Latvia, located about 15 km from the capital of Riga (this school year attends the school 1357 pupils in grades 1-12). Educates primary students (grades 1-4), (grades 5-9) and middle classes (10-12). The school building was built in 1987. Another school building will be opened in 2019. Students from over 15 different nationalities attend the school. The most popular nationalities are obviously Latvians and Russians, but there are also Poles, Germans and even Chinese among students. Languages taught at school are Latvian, English, Russian, German and Spanish. The status of pupils is very different: from very rich families to those who are in real need. Every child has equal rights and opportunities at school. They do not divide because of their nationality, age, sex, religion, color, etc. They are all students of this school. The school is trying to participate in numerous European projects, e.g. Nordplus, Comenius, Erasmus +, Euroscola. Every year, students go to Strasbourg to take part in debates in the European Parliament. In the school, it is popular to organize various events, competitions and shows for other students. The motto of our students is: "Learning through action". There is no problem to find and engage students for project activities, as well as experienced and modern teachers (currently over 100 teachers work at the school). The school has a wide range of specialists in both the humanities and exact sciences.
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Transnational Project Meeting in
POLAND
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ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES During the project on September 1, 2017, the first meeting was held in Poland (SP in Wyszatyce), in the coordinator school and detailed discussions were carried out on the project's tasks and work, setting out all the rules and regulations on project recruitment, mobility, relevant project documentation, and information transfer. The meeting was attended by representatives of all partner schools (Poland, Portugal, Romania, Latvia, Greece), key people in the project, people involved in the project since its creation. During the meeting, the partners' tasks were re-discussed and the division of these tasks and responsibilities resulted from the implementation of the project. The tasks planned in the application have not changed, there have only been arrangements between partners for their implementation by them. During the meeting, it was devoted a lot of time to planning and debating the future activities of the project, discussing the possible occurrence of risks during the project, taking into account the ways to solve it. Methods of evaluating project activities at local and international level were discussed. There have been established international teams, as Project Problem Solving Team, a team responsible for all project document partners - regulations, recruitment criteria, project participation and mobility principles; assessment team, issues related to ongoing monitoring of the implementation of project tasks, ways of disseminating results and setting accurate data on mobility and future financial issues within the project. The team has planned actions in detail for next time.
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Poland, 2017
Transnational Project Meeting & Learning, Teaching and Training Activities in
GREECE
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ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES The participants were welcomed at the Town Hall, where they were received by the Mayor. We also set a detailed agenda for the week’s work. All the participants met at the school, where we worked on procedural issues. We reviewed the Mobility Tool, we also discussed about the project site, the use of e-twinning platform. After that, we made presentations of Interim evaluation of the project of each country. We met at the school, where we worked on joint Interim evaluation of the project. Then, we discussed on the content of the project for the second and third years. After meeting at the school, we discussed about the short-term exchange mobilities to Latvia and Greece and, after the coffee break, we discussed about the short-term exchange mobility to Poland. After meeting at the school, we discussed the possible remaining issues and about the evaluation of the 2nd transnational project meeting.
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Greece, 2018
Learning, Teaching and Training Activities in
PORTUGAL
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ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES The host of this mobility was the partner school in the Algarve / Loule area (Portugal). The mobility took place in June 2018. The meeting was attended by 9 students and 9 teachers from partner schools (Poland, Latvia, Greece, Romania). The meeting followed the structure of an international project, where in the first day we got to know each other and we have been presented the activities, the aim of the project and we established together some common needs of learning. On the second day, we focused on "TREASURES CROSSING", an activity dedicated to the exchange of local treasures / items. Each partner brought and presented a local treasure and the story behind it, and why it is worth knowing it / why they wanted to share it with others, with the local tradition that is connected to it. On the third day, the participants presented the results of project activities carried out in individual countries. We discussed about the achievements after each activity and what we could improve, we also talked about what we did in the project. In the last days, the participants exchanged good practices, presented methods and tools of work that they used in the activities and the hosts showed us one of the local treasures they wanted to share with us, in order to get to know better the place and to discover new things.
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Portugal, 2018
Learning, Teaching and Training Activities in
LATVIA
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ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES The host of this mobility was the partner school in Adazi (Latvia). The mobility took place in November 2018. The meeting was attended by 10 students and 9 teachers from partner schools (Poland, Portugal, Greece, Romania). In the first day, there were integration meetings, during which all partners presented their project activities and what they would like to show the others from the activities that they have held. On the second day, we made an exchange of local treasures, where each partner brought and presented some local treasures and explained why it is important and needed to find about them, with what history or local tradition it is connected. On the third day, the participants presented the results of project activities carried out in individual countries. They discussed about the possible problems and also talked about what they did in order to carry out the activities in the best manner possible. In the following days, the participants have presented their work further and had the time and space to share with the others what they have learnt and faces. The hosting school brought the team to one of the local treasures of their community, as it happened in every country.
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Latvia, 2018
Learning, Teaching and Training Activities in
ROMANIA
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ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES The next day, we organized the activity My Country which was divided in two parts: a theoretical part, where all the teachers and students, both Romanian and guests, found out useful information about Romania; video films were used, also crosswords, puzzles; the students worked within multi-national groups. Then, a practical part of the activity took place where, under the Romanian teachers’ guidance, all the participants printed monuments, places, Romanian clothes on wood, manufactured dolls from maze husk which they dressed in our traditional clothes. All the necessary materials were acquired from the management funds of the project: colour pictures, wood pieces, varnishes, special solutions for printing, colours, brushes, specific materials to manufacture traditional clothes. In the afternoon, they took a documentation visit to another local treasure, namely Miclauseni Castle, The arboretum park of Miclauseni and Miclauseni monastery. In the third day of mobility, the participants took part in a documentation visit organized within the four clubs set at the first meeting in Poland. The students discovered Bran Castle, met, learnt and appreciated the cultural, historical and natural values of Romania. Through this activity, the patriotism feeling was cultivated by triggering the emotions, appreciating the physic, economic, religious and historical beauties.
On the 19th March 2018 the guests were welcomed in the Secondary School of Butea where our students accompanied them for an English tour around the school. Then, the delegations performed presentations with their local treasures by means of either a PPT presentation or a movie. The whole group, accompanied by Romanian students, took part in a Romanian class performed in English language where they learnt basic expressions in Romanian. Here, they socialized and our students helped the partners during the class. Then, the guests and the Romanian students took a tour in a documentation visit at the Particular Museum in Butea. Here, our partners met our local treasures from Butea, our traditional food and activities, our traditional clothes, they observed how Romanian houses look like and took part in our traditional music and dances. They reached this particular museum with carriages that were traditionally dressed in Romanian outfits and accessories. For this day of the project, all the participants received materials with the presentation of our country, the activities schedule, a small Romanian-English dictionary that was made by our students, a portfolio, an agenda and a Romanian traditional symbol.
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The local treasures were learnt by our partners, just like they are in reality, and not how they are presented by the international or national media in most of the times. The English communication abilities were developed, the European citizen feeling was developed, students and teachers from all countries bound each other and developed friendships, the civilized behaviour abilities were developed, but also the integration and respect among all participants. In the fourth day of project, all the participants took place in a Romanian traditional soiree, where they manufactured Romanian traditional shoes and bookmarks with Romanian traditional patterns. This activity took place on the Romanian traditional musical background, completed by Romanian songs, riddles and old sayings. During the soiree, the participants were served with traditional old food like alivanca, special bread on stove, natural juices. In the afternoon, the Butea Catholic Church was visited by our partners where they found out important information on the catholic community in Butea and about the building process of the church.
In the break between the activities, all the teachers visited the principal’s house where they had the chance to see how Romanian people live, they met the Romanian traditional hospitality and they left very impressed about our culture. In the evening, all the people involved in the project had dinner together in a festive way, where all the partners expressed their positive feelings and shared the special experiences they had during the week spent in Romania. At this reunion, representatives from the local community and of the families supporting the activities of presenting the local treasures from Butea also took place. The fifth day of the project began with a working session where we discussed about the evaluation questionnaire to be applied to students, about Mobility Tool and also about the mobility in Portugal. After this, the entire group involved in the project discovered the Botanical Garden and the Palace of Culture in Iasi. For the activities developed on the entire week, we used materials printed in cardboard or colour paper, depending on the activity. Every evening ended with an oral assessment of the activities performed in the respective day, where all the participants shared their impressions and feelings regarding the experiences they had.
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RESULTS AND MATERIALS
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ROMANIAN
results
During the activities held in the school in Butea, Romania, the students along with teachers have experienced several workshops that aimed to develop their handcrafting skills and to gain more knowledge about Romanian culture, traditions and heritage. Also, a very important part of the learning process was for the kids to understand the need of knowing more about other countries. For this, they have practiced printing photos on wood, creating ancient jewelry, painting with traditional models Easter eggs and they made posters about all the countries involved in the project. Through all these activities, they discovered the importance of having knowledge about Romanian and intercultural traditions and the need of conservating them.
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OUTCOMES
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Our activities had an influence on the project participants (directly for the students, teachers and parents and indirectly for the others). The influence on direc beneficiaries: 1. The students got knowledge about other countries, they shared the knowledge at local level (at the families, between friends) and international. 2. The people involved in the project developed and improved the international cooperation. 3. The project participants expanded their horizons. 4. The project participants are now open for other cultures and cultural, religious and language otherness (they developed tolerance). 5. They became more confident, more responsible, more aware of what the others can offer us. 6. They developed creativity, working in groups, they are more responsible, they are able to plan their work. 7. They developed leader competences. 8. They developed critical thinking. 9. They learnt to analyze using different information sources. 10. They developed the knowledge about local and international treasures. 11. They raised their competences in reading with understanding and different forms reporting skills. 12. They developed their digital competences through using digital tools. 13. They developed their language skills (English). 14. They developed their skills by using different communication tools (using technologies). 15. They improved their motivation to self esteem and improved their competences. 90
The influence of teachers working on the project: 1. They learnt new working methods from other teachers, they exchange experiences. 2. They exchanged job experiences and job culture. 3. They improved horizons, get the knowledge. 4. They developed their skills: digital, language, organization, methodical. 5. They tightened contact with other project partners. Impact on indirect customers (other students, teachers, parents, families, local authorities): 1. Developed knowledge about local treasures and the treasures of the partners. 2. Possibility to use the treasure chest – project materials.
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FINAL EVENT
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FINAL EVENT
Conferința de diseminare
On August 24, 2020, the Dissemination Conference of the Local Treasures project took place. The event involved 15 teachers and school principals from 11 communities, who actively learned more about the final products resulting from the implementation of the strategic project Local Treasures, funded by the Erasmus + Program. Participants received a project kit, in English, consisting of 105 playing cards about notable personalities in Romania, the project book - with photos and descriptions of partners, activities and project results, a stick with relevant information and videos from project, a project map. The program of the event was complex, including non-formal games, presentations of the project, of the Erasmus Plus program, and of the Butea school, craft workshops (Dacian jewelry, personalized leather bracelets, pamphlets, bookmarks), a test session of VR technologies (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality), follow-up and evaluation.
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TREASURES WORKSHOPS
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INSIDES
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Č˜coala Gimnazială Butea has moved this year from the old building, into a new one. The children will now have the opportunity to study and develop themselves in a new environment, that provides many more facilities, is much more friendly and stimulates their creativity. They were also very willing to help in decorating the space, engaging in an active way in the process of building a school that they like and enjoy spending their time in. Beside the public funds, the principal wrote 4,000 emails to various companies to equip the school. 70 entrepreneurs donated furniture, books and many more for the school, contributing to make Butea School one of the most beautiful public school in the region.
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GRETA PREDOI
the Romanian coordinator
Greta Predoi was born on 14th of December 1966 in Iași, Romania. After graduating high-school, she started the Faculty of Chemical Technology at "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University of Iași, which she graduated in 1989 and Faculty of Economy and Administration of Businesses from Craiova University, which she graduated in 2012. After this, she has enrolled as a chemistry and physics teacher at Școala Gimnazială Butea, from 1989 until present. She has also taught mathematics and science, she has been a member in the Administration Consortium and principal of the school since 1998. She has coordinated Comenius and Erasmus+ projects since 2006. She has participated at specific courses and trainings in educational management, European integration, parenting education, quality in education, educational participation, using technology in teaching and implementation of digital tools to combat school dropout, interactivity and teaching of science.
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MOTIVATION Through European projects, Butea School' principle says that she managed to develop specific abilities important for 21st century, cross-curricular approaches, an innovative curriculum, new ways of developing critical thinking, learning through projects and also ideas about planning, implemention and evaluation of a project, learning through research - investigation, modern trends in forming and sumitiv evaluation.
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T H E
T E A M
O F
Butea Middle School
MESSAGE FROM LOCAL PARTNERS "Butea Middle School is one of the most active partners that we have in rural area. In 2019, the school, in partnership with the municipality, hosted the 5th edition of Folcloristica Festival. More than 300 artists, local and international volunteers, learned about local cultural heritage in a non-formal way. We continued our cooperation by sharing non-formal methodologies related to the multiple intelligence theory, by designing volunteering projects for painting the new school and facilitating arts workshops to document and make an exhibition about the local cultural treasures of Butea. And it is just the beginning. Butea Middle School is one of the most modern school we have ever interacted with and Ms. Greta Predoi is one of the most open-minded, interested to innovate and dedicated principle we ever met. She told us that the door of her school will be always open for non-formal education, which makes us very happy and willing to help them in order to develop strategies of implementing even more activities and project for the youth in Butea. We were impressed since the very beginning about the intense activity held there and we want to encourage their initiatives, in order to empower even more communities and schools to adopt their way of implementing projects." testimonial from the local partner ASIRYS Super Tineri www.supertineri.org
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created with the special support of
Č˜coala Gimnazială Butea designed by
The European Union support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.