Description
Our goal is to instil the need for self-rule and responsibility for the school and community affairs in the students of the John Paul II Public School Complex in Kudowa Zdrój. The project will directly target 28 students and indirectly all students of the middle school. We will partner with the school administrators and local officials to build informed civic attitudes among the local youth. We will organise study trips to local government offices, run a series of workshops on election campaigning at different levels, principles of local government, manifestoes of major political parties in Poland, the role of public relations, advertising and the art of negotiation. Young people will apply all this information while managing their student council election campaigns according to the rules of the national election law. They will develop and present their own manifestos and will canvass for voters' support. Winners will have an opportunity to follow through on their election pledges during the following school year.
Summary of project results
"The survey carried out by the Association among the secondary schools students in Kudowa Zdrój shows that only one student in four of those who have electoral rights decide to participate in elections. Young people are not interested self-governance; neither do they have sufficient knowledge about it. The survey also shows that young people do not have positive models for responsible civic conduct among their families and relatives. They are convinced that an average citizen cannot affect the choice of who and how will rule the municipality and the state. This also refers to the student school government. Students elected to the student government seem to rely on the mentor (teacher), they will not initiate cooperation with the school administration and they do not attempt to undertake initiatives addressed to their peers. The aim of the project was to encourage young people to get involved in civic activities and to develop their skills necessary to cooperate and undertake activities in their own schools and in their neighbourhood. Thanks to the project implementation, a group of 28 young people involved in working in the student government of the secondary Public School Complex in Kudowa-Zdrój was created. The students also got involved in activities of the Youth City Council, working for the benefit of the youth in Kudowa-Zdrój. Young people initiate activities and cooperate in implementing social and charity projects in schools and in the local community. They took part in workshops on self-governance and also on the current social political situation in Poland. The workshops were continued during a study visit in Warsaw and during a summer camp. New by-laws for elections procedures and for functioning of the student government were worked out. The project beneficiaries were the students of the secondary Public School Complex in Kudowa-Zdrój. The project partner, the Public School Complex in Kudowa-Zdrój, was responsible for recruiting the project participants and for activities on the School premises. The second project partner was the Kudowa-Zdrój Town Hall. They supported the workshops conceptually by providing information on the structure and functioning of local governments and on organizing local elections in Poland."
Summary of bilateral results