Education has a more that ever important role to play in creating a more democratic and sustainable society by shaping critically engaged citizens. Through a country’s educational system, mutual respected and fundamental values can be cultivated and active citizenship can be fostered. According to the Eurydice Report (2017) , promoting citizenship education at schools is one of the main objectives of Europe in the current and future decade aiming to prepare students for their role as citizens who will actively and responsively deal with the threats faced by the European societies. However, even though we observe significant progress in some countries, the majority of EU countries (including Greece, Portugal, Spain and Cyprus) do not provide teachers with specialized training in citizenship education and more efforts are needed as regards to the practical training of teachers in citizenship education (Eurydice, 2017). Within the above framework, our project aims to introduce a holistic educational approach that will support schools and teachers foster citizenship education combining innovative pedagogies (project-based and experiential learning, design-thinking) with the extensive use of new media and technology. Particularly, leveraging on the power of radio broadcasting and podcasts, our project envisions to integrate citizenship education in school curricula in an effective and engaging way and create an interactive space where young students become agents of change. More specifically our project envisages to: • Offer an innovative school radio and podcasting curriculum that will guide students throughout an exciting and engaging journey on how to discuss, reflect upon and advocate for community issues they care about. Following a design-thinking approach, students from the 5 partner countries (Poland, Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Portugal) will be empowered to become changemakers, research on community problems, collaborate with media and community actors and work on their own projects as community roving reporters. • Develop a holistic and flexible teachers’ training programme and provide a practical resource bank that will improve teachers' competences in teaching citizenship education, increase their confidence in using innovative methodologies and digital tools such as radio and podcasts and support students on how to reflect upon their community engagement. • Develop the Social Radio 2.0 online platform and application (web and mobile) aiming to become a transnational point of reference and a huge repository in terms of learning resources and best practices of school radio and podcasting as engaging tools for active citizenship. We also aspire to foster the first-ever European-wide online community of teachers, students and schools who use school radio and podcasting to promote civic engagement among adolescents. The production of the above results will ultimately lead to the following long-term expected results: • Support students in acquiring and developing basic skills and 21st century competences such as critical thinking, problem solving, digital skills, media literacy and communication skills that will prepare them for their role as active citizens. • Enhance teachers’ professional development by supporting them to apply innovative teaching practices related to citizenship education and equipping them with tools, methodologies and ready-to use materials. • Engage students, teachers, schools, parents, community stakeholders and policy makers in order to build an ecosystem that exposes and encourages children to take initiative and become agents of change at an early age, by using the tools of radio and podcasts to solve problems, gain confidence, and develop a sense of agency. • Contribute to community development by enhancing skills, opening mindsets and building long-standing partnerships between schools and the community.
The "Social Radio 2.0" project set out to achieve the following objectives: - Innovative Curriculum: developing an innovative school radio and podcasting curriculum to engage students in discussing, reflecting upon, and advocating for community issues. This curriculum follows a design-thinking methodology and empowers students to become changemakers who are aware of the important matters and issues at the local and regional levels, and take action to help make a difference and find a solution to these pressing issues. - Teacher Training Program: creating a holistic and flexible teachers' training program along with practical resources to enhance teachers' competencies in teaching citizenship education. This includes equipping teachers with technical skills and confidence in using innovative methodologies and digital tools to support students in their community engagement efforts. - Online Platform: establishing the Social Radio 2.0 online platform and application as a transnational hub for learning resources and best practices related to school radio and podcasting. This platform aims to foster a European-wide online community of teachers, students, and schools, utilizing these tools to promote civic engagement.
In response to the pressing challenges facing Europe, including socio-economic disparities, environmental issues, extremism, and a declining trust in democratic processes, Social Radio 2.0 was initiated to address crucial needs in citizenship education and active youth engagement. Recognizing the pivotal role of education in shaping a more democratic society, project partners aimed to cultivate fundamental values and foster active citizenship through the educational system. This approach aligned with the objectives outlined in the Eurydice Report (2017) about the importance of citizenship education in preparing students to address the contemporary threats faced by European societies. While citizenship education is already a part of national curricula across EU countries, it predominantly adopts traditional didactic methods and focuses on imparting information about democratic structures. To create more engaging and interactive learning environments, there was a need to move beyond these conventional approaches. Also, the Eurydice report (2015) indicated a high demand for Continuing Professional Development, with many EU countries, including Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Cyprus, lacking specialized training in citizenship education.