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Description
The project aims to set-up local civic groups to support the schools in their endeavour to develop students’ competences for democratic culture. Groups of teachers and volunteer citizens will be trained to implement an innovative civic education methodology called Project: Citizen. These groups will be active in 8 less served counties for a period of two school years. A sustainability mechanism will be developed for these groups so they can be active beyond the framework of this project, for an indefinite period of time, taking into account the fact that Project: Citizen methodology is recommended by the Ministry of Education in the curriculum of education for democratic citizenship. The students’ activities, supported by the local civic groups and spread over periods of 3-4 months, will culminate with a series of public policy proposals submitted to the local authorities. Additionally, the students will participate in consultations with decision makers at local and county levels. A media literacy initiative and a civic awareness campaign will support the students in their local projects, while also raising awaress of the general public with regards to the importance of civic participation and promoting students projects among other students, young people and adults. This project will contribute to an effective and sustainable collaboration among schools, CSOs and volunteer citizens for developing students civic competences and increasing civic participation at local level. The Romanian partner will support the activities at local level and on long term will coordinate the support mechanism for schools in the SE region of Romania. The Norwegian partner will contribute with its expertize in the field of education for democratic citizenship and human rights education so that all project activities can take into account the most recent developments in these fields.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to set-up local civic groups to support the schools in their endeavor to develop students’ competences for democratic culture. Groups of teachers and volunteer citizens were trained to implement an innovative civic education methodology called Project: Citizen.
The promoter has initiated/reviewed a number of 168 partnerships with schools and other institutions in the educational system. The teachers from the selected schools participated in training courses to apply the "Project: Citizen" method, an innovative method through which students learn to formulate public policy proposals as solutions to problems in their local community. Online training courses were organized, with a practical component, to apply what was learned in the classroom. The teachers used the www.prof.cetateanul.intercultural.ro platform to create their classroom workspaces and to upload information about the projects carried out by their students. The webinars and online courses were organised. 8 Local civic groups formed by competent volunteers were established to support education for democratic citizenship in schools. A web application was created that allows students to work together with their classmates. The application is connected with the platform used by teachers. Regarding the campaigns carried out, a series of materials were designed, such as: a video on the topic of online disinformation, a suggestion for a didactic activity on the topic of online disinformation, a guide for parents regarding the safety of children online, a video about Information on the Internet in safety, for primary school students / Misinformation, fake news, manipulation.
1 webinar to support the motivation of teachers and volunteers, 2 webinars on human rights and civic participation, an online course on participatory methods in the field of civic education, an online course for young volunteers were organized. 2 social education conferences were organized with 179 participants. 8 local civic groups formed by competent volunteers were established to support education for democratic citizenship in schools. Regarding the campaigns carried out, a series of materials were designed, such as: a video on the topic of online disinformation, a suggestion for a didactic activity on the topic of online disinformation, a guide for parents regarding the safety of children online, a video about Information on the Internet in safety, for primary school students / Misinformation, fake news, manipulation. The project also had an organizational development component that contributed to the development of the capacity of IIT and the ASCED partner, and the capacity of 3 other small NGOs, from disadvantaged areas, to have transparent organizational governance procedures and good organizational communication was developed.
More than 10,000 people were involved in this project (the project team, members of other NGOs, trainers, teachers, volunteers, students, decision-makers, etc.) with the aim of developing their civic skills.
Summary of bilateral results
The partner - the Academy for Human Rights in Oslo, Norway was actively involved in the project. A member of the partner team participated at the first national social education conference, offering suggestions for teaching activities in an interactive way of working. Examples of good practice from Norway were mentioned. At the end of 2022, two more webinars were organized in which interactive activities were presented to teachers, on topics related to civic participation and human rights.