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Description
Everything that happens around us concerns us and we can influence it. We will systematically offer activities aimed
at supporting the “civic” competences of children and youth in the Ústí Region, which will enable them to understand
what is happening around them and, in the future, to participate actively in social life. We will involve local volunteer
centers in the implementation, and can meet the induvidual needs of smaller regions. An integral part of the project is
increasing the competences of workers with children and youth in this area.
Summary of project results
Today''s world is evolving at an unimaginable speed. Its changes and developments are not easy to follow, let alone reflect. Everything that happens around us affects us and we can influence it. Each of us, through our actions, influences events not only in our immediate surroundings but also in distant parts of the world. One of the carriers of democracy is the active participation of citizens in public life. We often hear from adults - why things are going wrong, what is wrong, who is to blame. However, it is time to ask what we can do about it, and who can help us change it. The project sees the greatest future potential for change in children.
The only way to be an active citizen is to feel that you can make a difference in your life. In order to be able to make this change, he or she must not only become aware of his or her possibilities to participate actively in shaping the world and society, but also acquire practical skills. The first step towards active citizenship is to take an interest in and seek to understand one''s environment. The second step is to get involved in public affairs. The aim of the project was to raise awareness of volunteering and civic engagement among children and young people through the implementation of project activities so that they are not just passively receiving information, but become an integral part of finding possible solutions and avoiding negative impacts.
1) Realization of thematic lectures and workshops for primary and secondary school students
2) Realization of interactive educational games at primary and secondary schools
3) Supporting the planning and implementation of mini-projects of primary and secondary school pupils
4) Training of lecturers, accredited training of teaching staff and staff working with children and youth
5) Mediaisation of volunteering and promotion of active citizenship (2 public conferences on "Civic education, volunteering and youth participation" for teachers, students and NGO representatives
6) Capacity building activities - networking and sharing of experience in the field of volunteering and active citizenship across the North-West region (Ústí nad Karlovy Vary region) in the form of implementation of regular meetings of representatives of member organizations. The meetings included professional workshops and trainings on common topics.
As part of the project, thanks to the implementation of some activities, we managed to open up "unexplained" topics in class groups (e.g. the sexual orientation of a classmate, etc.). At the same time we are thanks to societal developments, they also touched on topics such as pandemics, vaccinations, the war in Ukraine, aid to refugees, etc. In pupils and students, we tried to support their interest in what is happening around them and understanding the context (respecting opinion, change in life situation, effects of violence in society, etc.). Involvement of students in mini-projects for them enabled active participation in the public life of the community. They had to be actively interested in the needs of the community, the possibility of their fulfillment and the subsequent solution. Participants of various activities we also supported in other non-project activities. A group of young people from Kadana will go to the European Parliament in June 2023.