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Description
We want our children to be recognized as active citizens with full rights and we want their views and opinions to be heard and taken into consideration – not only for their own good, but also because of their role in the future of a fully democratic society. According to the Berkshire Partnership research, children are still not considered to be fully developed citizens. We work in Dąbrowa Górnicza. The city has decided it needs its citizens to be more engaged in public issues and cultural activities. We want to respond to these issues by involving children, whom we consider the future citizens, and whose development is an investment in an active and engaged society. We will organize workshops entitled ”Participation? Revitalization? Democracy? – What’s That All About?” for 160 children between 7 and 14 years old. During the workshops they will learn about democracy, participation, collaboration and being an active citizen. We will also organize workshops focused on children’s and students’ rights, as well as mini-field trips called “Kids in Action,” with elements of an urban game. During the walks, children will learn about undeveloped parts of Dąbrowa Górnicza and come up with ideas how to develop them best. They will also create a publication about issues they care about the most that will include their ideas and solutions. We will help prepare, publish, and print eight issues of the magazine. Finally, we will organize the “Kids Have a Voice!” panel. We will teach the children how to organize an event like that. During the panel they will independently discuss issues they have selected. As a result, the children will learn new skills, expand their knowledge, increase their confidence, and learn that their views matter. Following the project, we would like to create the Children Council as an advisory body to the city. Dąbrowa Górnicza government declared willingness to cooperate on this idea.
Summary of project results
Our goal was to make sure children are treated as equal and equally active citizens, and that their opinions are listened to and considered. The reasons are twofold: we believe it’s helping children’s well-being, and that it is an integral part of developing a fully democratic society. According to Berkshire Partnership research from 2010, children are still not valued as equal and equally valuable citizens. Dąbrowa Górnicza, a city where we operate, has been diagnosed as needing to increase the civic engagement among its citizens in the affairs of the city and its cultural life. We responded to those needs by engaging children we consider to be young citizens and whose development is an investment in an active and engaged citizenry.We have organized a series of 48 workshops entitled “Paticipation? Revitalization? Democracy? – What’s Up with That?” for 160 children ages 7 to 14, during which they learned about democracy, participation, and being civically involved. We also organized classes focused on children’s rights, student rights, as well as short research walks entitled “Kids in Action” with elements of an urban game. During walks, children explored areas of Dąbrowa Górnicza that remain undeveloped and came up with ideas on how to utilize those spaces in real time. We also monitored schools for student rights violations and reacted appropriately.Lastly, we have created a forum entitled “Youth Have a Voice” dedicated to children and teenagers. Before the event, we met with our young participants to prepare them for collaboration and actual participation. During the forum, young people navigated the debate on their own and on the topics of their choosing. The event was meant to be a single-day conference, but in the end it stretched into 10 events lasting throughout the entire month. As a result, young people learned new skills (debate and argumentation), expanded their knowledge (including about their own rights), increased their confidence, and began to believe their opinions matter.
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