Active to strengthen European values

Youth civic engagement or participation in civic activities were quite low even though it was slowly growing at present. The results of surveys and researches implemented by different European org...

The project strengthened young people’s values and active youth participation in civic activities, understanding their civic responsibility, being active in local, national, European context. The project activities developed the competences such as critical-thinking, creativity, problem-solving, tolerance, empathy and learnt to be open to diversity, teenagers are able to accept differences and estimate similarities. The methodology of debating and public speaking was applied to develop the skills in the international context. Young people gained self-confidence to be able cooperate and communicate at international level. The students learnt about the European values such as human rights, environmental issues, etc. The teacher’s toolkit of “Active citizenship" was created and shared on social media. It was planned to share good teaching practice among teachers during the mobilities, creating new strategies to integrate the EU studies in the school subjects while applying a partners’ good teaching practice. The messages to Europe were created and shared on social media. The training programme for each LTTA was created and applied in non-formal trainings at schools.

Youth civic engagement or participation in civic activities were quite low even though it was slowly growing at present. The results of surveys and researches implemented by different European organizations had showed that youth participation in civic and political life were low enough. Working with students we noticed they were passive, avoided to say their opinion for specific topic and it was not for the lack of knowledge but it was the lack of competences and skills of self-confidence, critical thinking and creativity as well as the lack of practice in public speaking and debating. Schools should have paid more attention to young people’s participation in civic activities and events of their town, country and even the EU. Schools should encourage young people to gain consciousness and understand their importance in active civic and political participation. Participating in the project activities students gained and improved their knowledge of current issues and cultures of the EU, strengthened their critical thinking, developed skills of public speaking and debating. They also built the values for importance of being active in participation to consider, overcome and make decisions for the problems in the EU

The LTTAs programmes were created, which are applied in partner school curricula. The debating clubs were established in each partner school. The training of civic education of partner’s school has been developed and innovated. The cross-curriculum lessons of civic education expanded partner schools’ curricula. Students developed their critical thinking, creativity, empathy, tolerance, language skills. Students have become more motivated and active in their community’s civic activities. They have developed debating and public speaking skills, gained more self-confidence in decision making or solving problems. The students gained much knowledge regarding the EU and its work. The toolkit of “Active citizenship” was created. The teachers developed their professional qualification, gained knowledge and improved the quality of the lesson organization by applying more effective methods.