Description
In our society there is an ever-growing resignation and apathy towards civic engagement and participation in public affairs. It seems that people still cannot fully use their freedom acquired after 1989 and the opportunities it offers. Consequently, new generations grow up in impassivity and indifference. The goal of this project is to actively engage students in documenting the era of communism, normalization and the events of November '89 from the point of view of ordinary people. High school students will document and process information about the events of November '89 in their cities or regions. The results will thereafter be presented at the Student day at the Remember November event (1000 participants). Through 16 student projects, 3 methodological workshops and a portfolio of student works 32 young people will learn about the totalitarian past, 8 pedagogues will learn new methodologies and the public will commemorate the significance of November '89.
Summary of project results
The Slovak society is facing a persisting problem of resignation and apathy in terms of civic engagement and participation in public affairs. This situation impacts also the young generations, which consequently grow up in impassivity and indifference. The main objective of the project was therefore to actively engage students in documenting the era of communism, normalization and the events of November '89 from the point of view of ordinary people. Within the project, the high school students documented and processed information about the events of the Velvet revolution in November '89 in their own cities or regions. The results of their work were presented on a Student Day, as part of the Remember November event. The project enabled involvement of 15 schools, where 69 students practically worked on documenting the important period in the past of the Slovak society. 1,400 participants then attended the presentations and Remember November event. Project also delivered 15 student sub-projects, 3 methodological workshops and 500 copies of the students’ work catalogue. The main target groups were students of high schools, who had a chance to learn about the events they had no personal experience with. Teachers were provided an opportunity to participate in a non-formal education activities which also outlined number of the possibilities of how to include historical topics in the process of education focused on improving attitudes. The results of the project will be maintained through continual activities and dissemination of the produced documents. The long-term impact of the project lies in motivation and involvement of young people in dealing with public issues.
Summary of bilateral results