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Description
The research from the Institute of Public Affairs released in 2018 suggests that the youth between 16 and 19 years old are unhappy with the current political situation in the country and are highly distrustful of the democratic institutions. According to the report from Konrad Adenauer Foundation from 2019, 52,7% of young Poles point to the lack of proper competences as a reason for their lack of involvement in civic activities. We will address these problems by organizing debate workshops in 50 schools. Research from the University of Padua has shown that debating has a positive impact on the young people, helping them build their sense of self-worth and confidence, and decreasing radical and hateful attitudes towards others. Thanks to our project we will boost our participants’ confidence related to public speaking, we will intrigue students with debates as a format allowing for merit-based discussion, and we will develop sensibility for the culture of debate, well informed argumentation, and the diversity of opinion. The participants will acquire basic debate competences, such as constructing an argument, active listening, and asking questions. The participants, aided by us, will organize at least 35 debates at their schools on issues that matter to them. Participation in the project will increase their sense of agency and involvement in the local community. We will recruit for the participating schools primarily in smaller towns, where these sorts of initiatives have not been introduced before, as well as in municipalities that deem themselves to be the “LGBT-free zones.” Our priority is running a project in places where the youth is receiving very little of the civic education, has low sense of agency and influence over the current issues and is more prone to radicalization. Materials created during the project (brochures, lesson scripts) will be made available for interested teachers across the country.
Summary of project results
Research conducted by the Institute of Public Affairs in 2018 indicated that young people aged 16 to 19 are highly dissatisfied with the political situation and distrustful of democratic institutions. According to a 2019 report by Konrad Adenauer Foundation, up to 52.7 percent of young Polish men and women mention a lack of relevant competencies as the reason for their lack of involvement in social activities.
We have responded to these problems (though, of course, on the scale of our capacity) by organizing workshops in 4 schools to prepare students for debating. Research from the University of Padua shows the positive impact of discussing young people on building self-esteem reducing radical attitudes and hatred towards strangers.
Through these activities, we gave the participants the confidence to speak in public, made the students interested in debating as a format for substantive discussion, and developed sensitivity to the culture of discussion, the reliability of argumentation, and the diversity of opinions. Workshop participants/teachers acquired basic debating competencies such as argument construction, active listening, and questioning.
The project activities included 46 debates among youth organizations and 4 in schools. We recruited for the project mainly in smaller towns without such activities yet and in municipalities calling themselves ''LGBT-free zones.'' Our priority was to carry out the project in places where young people have little civic education, a low sense of influence on real issues, and are more likely to radicalize their views. We were able to reach out to residents/women from every province. We made the materials developed during the project (brochures, lesson plans) available to willing teachers(s) from all over the country.
From the evaluation questionnaires, we know that thanks to the workshops, the participants increased their knowledge of how democracy works and the value of democracy itself. In addition, through participation and organization of the debates, participants strengthened their competencies in organizing meetings discussing local issues, as well as their sense of empowerment and involvement in the local community.