Schools involved
- Liceul de Turism și Servicii Publice Neagoe Basarab Călimănești
- Colegiul Economic “Regele Mihai I” Buzău, Buzău County
- Grădinița cu Program Prelungit 69 București
- Grădinița 7 București
- Liceul Teoretic “Școala Mea” București
- Liceul “Voievodul Mircea” Târgoviște, Dâmbovița County
- Școala Gimnazială nr.150 București
- Școala Gimnazială Sântana, Sântana, Arad County
- Școala Gimnazială și Liceul German ”Hermann Oberth”, Voluntari, Ilfov County
Activities and Highlights
Liceul de Turism și Servicii Publice Neagoe Basarab Călimănești
The activities took place in an educational and creative setting, with students learning about the significance of World Poetry Day. Students chose their favorite poems, which they hand-copied onto A4 sheets, paying attention to both the aesthetic presentation and the accuracy of the text. Some of the students also created poems in French, contributing to the development of their language skills in a creative context. Subsequently, the works were decorated and displayed in the classroom as part of a thematic exhibition. An essential element of the activity was the dimension of giving, as the poems were presented to close adult relatives living in isolation as a symbolic gesture of emotional support, empathy, and solidarity. This moment gave the activity a strong emotional and educational impact. The activity continued with a recitation session, during which the students presented their poetic creations, demonstrating engagement, expressiveness, and confidence in public speaking. The entire process took place in a positive atmosphere, based on collaboration, emotion, and the appreciation of artistic communication. The activity highlighted the role of poetry as a complex educational tool, contributing to the development of artistic sensitivity, communication skills, and moral values such as friendship, gratitude, and generosity, with a real emotional impact on the students and the recipients of this act of generosity.
Colegiul Economic “Regele Mihai I” Buzău, Buzău County
World Poetry Day, celebrated on March 21, is a special occasion to rediscover the beauty of words and their power to convey deep emotions. On this occasion, the activity carried out with the students of the King Michael I Economic High School was full of enthusiasm and imagination. We began by reading well-known poems by both local and internationally renowned authors, discussing the messages and emotions conveyed. The students were then encouraged to create their own verses or drawings depicting great poets or themes found in their poems. Each student had the freedom to express their feelings, resulting in authentic and surprisingly beautiful creations. The activity continued with recitations of remarkable poems. Word games were used in which students received several slips of paper with various words written on them, and using these, they identified poems that they wrote in a heart-shaped notebook. The atmosphere was warm and friendly, where every voice was heard and appreciated, and every drawing was displayed and praised. The students’ artistic creations were then given as gifts to classmates from other grades or to their favorite teachers.
Grădinița cu Program Prelungit 69 București
At Extended Program Kindergarten No. 69 in Bucharest, poetry continues to be a meaningful way of expression and connection. This year’s participation in the “Gift a Poem” project offered a fresh and valuable experience for both children and teachers. The current edition encouraged a more personal and thoughtful approach to giving. Children were guided not only to learn or recite poems, but to turn them into sincere messages dedicated to people who matter to them. In this way, each verse became a small act of emotional communication, through which preschoolers shared genuine feelings and kind thoughts. The 9 preschoolers, supported by 3 teachers, were actively involved in every stage of the activity—from selecting the poems to offering them. The recipients were close to their hearts: family members and important people from their everyday lives. This gave the entire experience a warm and authentic character. Throughout the project, children discovered that poetry can go beyond words and become a way of building real human connections. They experienced how simple gestures can carry deep meaning and how the joy of giving can be just as powerful as receiving.
Grădinița 7 București
The project dedicated to International Poetry Day highlights the importance of integrating art. into early childhood education as a key factor in a child’s personality development. The children discovered the expressive power of poetry, understanding how it can convey emotions, ideas, and feelings in an artistic form. Participating in the activity gave the children the opportunity to learn how to offer a symbolic gift, rich in meaning and sensitivity. The activity generated relevant and formative educational experiences, contributing to the children’s harmonious development. Poetry emerges as a complex educational tool, capable of combining cognitive, affective, and social dimensions. The activity stimulated the children’s creativity, offering tchem the opportunity to combine artistic expression with an understanding of the poetic message.
Liceul Teoretic “Școala Mea” București
The activity aimed to foster social involvement and develop empathy through the creation and offering of handwritten poems, tailored to the individuals for whom they were intended. During the activity, each student chose a person to whom they wished to offer the poem and wrote the text by hand, considering aspects that define that person or simply expressing respect and affection toward them. The poem was then gifted, representing a symbolic gesture of closeness and emotional support. The moment of giving was captured through photographs or video recordings, highlighting the positive impact of the initiative and the genuine emotion generated by this authentic exchange. The activity contributed to the development of communication skills, artistic sensitivity, and civic spirit, strengthening interpersonal relationships and the students’ emotional engagement, in the context in which the poems were offered to loved ones, while also providing a foundation for the continuation of the project in future editions.
Liceul “Voievodul Mircea” Târgoviște, Dâmbovița County
This is the second time that our high school, Liceul Voievodul Mircea, a member of ASPnet, has taken part in the “Gift a Poem” campaign, an initiative launched by ASPnet Poland and included in the UNESCO celebrations dedicated to March 21st – World Poetry Day. On this occasion, the students of our school enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to discover poems or even create their own, to handwrite them, and to design beautiful greeting cards that they later offered to the special people in their lives: friends, classmates, teachers, mothers, sisters, or aunts. Once again, we understood that poetry has the power to unite souls, to make them warmer, kinder, and more loving, while encouraging gratitude for the people around us, especially for the elderly and vulnerable. Through activities like these, students learn to express their emotions, appreciate the beauty of the written word, and bring joy to others through simple yet meaningful gestures. Poetry thus becomes a bridge between generations, cultures, and people, bringing more light and hope into our community. We love poetry, and through it, we celebrate the beauty of the world around us!
Școala Gimnazială nr.150 București
The “Poetry 4 Hearts” project, carried out as part of the international “Gift a Poem” 2026 campaign under the aegis of UNESCO, represented one of the largest and most profound educational activities organised at our school level in the current school year. With the participation of over 1000 students, with the direct involvement of teachers, school management, auxiliary staff and families, the project demonstrated that poetry, handwriting and the gesture of recognising the other can be educational tools of remarkable strength. The ceremony of handing over the hearts to the anonymous heroes was probably the moment with the greatest emotional impact — proof that authentic education is not measured only in skills and grades, but also in the ability to see, appreciate and respect every person in the community. The project is directly aligned with the values promoted by UNESCO — culture of peace, quality education, cultural diversity, global citizenship and inclusion — and we recommend its continuation and expansion in the coming years. The project succeeded in:
– involving a very large number of students and teachers from primary and secondary schools;
– to capitalise on poetry as an educational, affective and community tool;
– to create an authentic moment of recognition for the school’s auxiliary staff;
– to bring an experience of culture of peace, empathy and creative expression into school life;
– to generate institutional visibility through promotion in the media, local press and online environment.
Through its participatory, symbolic and formative dimension, “Poetry 4 Hearts” – Gift a Poem Campaign is among the relevant activities of the school dedicated to education through culture and humanistic values, constituting an example of good practice within the initiatives carried out under the aegis of UNESCO.
Școala Gimnazială Sântana, Sântana, Arad County
The Ștefan Aug. Doinaș High School in Caporal Alexa participated in the Gift a Poem Project with a group of 5th grade students to celebrate Poetry Day, on March 21. The students read several poems and chose one, Niciodată adio by Ștefan Aug. Doinaș, which they transcribed to be offered to their grandparents as an expression of gratitude, thus practicing fundamentally human values, promoted by UNESCO. We believe that the act of offering someone words from a poem is deeply human, it is a form of friendly support, spiritual support, consolation, as well as a means of supporting hope for a better future.
Școala Gimnazială și Liceul German ”Hermann Oberth”, Voluntari, Ilfov County
For the fourth year in a row, the “Gift a Poem” tradition continued within the Hermann Oberth International School community, bringing smiles and heartfelt moments to a l the participants. Our youngest students lovingly created colourful bookmarks, each carrying a poem written in different languages, fu l of innocence and sincerity. These sma l but meaningful gifts were shared with grandparents, parents, teachers, and the wider Hermann Oberth community. At the same time, our older students took on a special role, offering poems to teachers from the Hermann Oberth School. The poems were written and shared in multiple languages — Romanian, German, and English — reflecting the diversity and spirit of our school. This beautiful exchange of words and emotions spread joy, gratitude, and connection — once again proving that even a few heartfelt lines can have a lasting impact. Because poetry connects, inspires, and stays in the heart. A particularly meaningful tradition was also continued this year: the school principal received a special poem, this time dedicated by an entire class — a gesture of respect, gratitude, and unity that made the moment even more memorable.
