We are happy to announce a new initiative on the horizon: the KA2 project "Civic Debate Club", coordinated by Youth for Equality (Slovakia) and implemented by GEYC alongside The Future Now Association (Bulgaria), Europsky Dialog (Slovakia) and UNIVERSITY OF PELOPONNESE (Greece).
What is the project about?
Early participation in decision-making processes affecting the lives of young people is essential to their development into active citizens aware of their rights and duties and capable of exercising them responsibly. In this context, debate clubs can play a major role as practice spaces where young people can acquire knowledge and experiences of citizenship in a learning-by-doing way.
What still is missing in this environment, and what could greatly boost these exact areas, are debate-focused clubs, which examine and role-play governance on a local and national level before moving up to the grand-scale world-changing scenarios. Civic Debate Club will focus on understanding both the similarities and differences in levels of governance through a form of role-playing and debate, much like the known format. Through this action, young people will be more involved in understanding and actively participating in democratic and decision-making processes that surround them.
Objectives:
- Reduce barriers which hinder young citizens in active participation in local governance, EU democratic processes, dis enfranchisement and causes exclusion of youths with fewer opportunities and social obstacles;
- Promote young people’s active citizenship and social responsibility in their local communities with the Civic Debate Club initiative and specifically created instructions on how to create groups (committees) and how to choose topics that are most relevant to their community;
- Foster mutual understanding through inclusivity, constructive engagement and networking - all of these will be integrated in the Civic Debate Club open-educational materials on the role of governance in our lives;
- Encourage youth participation and advocacy via practical application of digital youth work strategies;
- Raise awareness of active citizenship and civic responsibility within the youth work sector and to policy makers and funders nationally and EU wide.
Activities:
- Creation of the Curriculum on Civic Debate Clubs. Its elaboration is essential, as it will serve as a reference point and a backbone of the simulation game content. At the same time, it will constitute a valuable training material for both youth workers and educators;
- Research & interactive infographics on attitudes, perceptions and misconceptions of governance among young people, which will be available on the project platform as open source materials;
- Training Youth Workers, as well as developing Open-educational and promotional materials on the role of governance, as it ensures constructive feedback from partners.
Tangible results:
- Curriculum on Civic Debate Clubs in four partner languages and in English (SK; EL, BG; RO);
- Research, interactive infographics and animated videos on attitudes, perceptions and misconceptions of governance among young people (EN);
- Open-educational and promotional materials on the role of governance in four partner languages and in English (SK; EL, BG; RO);
- 10 youth trainers form partner organisations trained to facilitate civic debate clubs (2 from each partner);
- 180 stakeholders and policy-makers from partner countries and across Europe informed of project results and invited to sustain the platform through 5 multuplier events;
- 4200 partner staff members, target groups and stakeholders on both national and European levels informed of project results through dissemination activities carried out during the whole project lifecycle.
Stay tuned for more developments and in the meantime, check out the project platform and follow us on Facebook and Instagram!
Project ID: 2021-1-SK02-KA220-YOU-000028866