The project "Wake up your school – become an active citizen!" is a strategic partnership formed by schools from Poland, North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Italy. We are all interested in developing a project which addresses the problem of students' participation in civic life. The necessity of this project resulted from a problem that we observed - low involvement of students in the school life and the life of the local community, passive approach to activities, projects and programs implemented by the school and other organisations. We believe that one of the ways to solve the problems and meet the needs described above is a multi-dimensional project through which we could realise the concept of active citizenship, applying it within three areas: Democratic Participation, Cultural Heritage and Sport. The project is addressed to students aged 15 -18. The aim of the project is to to develop students' civic competence. We want to encourage, strengthen and increase active participation of students in civic life, support students in becoming active citizens and develop active and responsible European citizenship based on common values. Other objectives are as follows: a)increasing students' knowledge of social and political concepts b)developing students' abilities to plan and manage activities c)improving language skills, including vocabulary relating to social and political life d)improving ICT skills e)developing students' interpersonal competence f)promoting intercultural interaction, developing European awareness, strengthening the multicultural and multiethnic coexistence of young people g)professional development of teachers through the exchange of experiences. The project will last two years. The activities will be organised around the following topics: common European values, Human Rights, democratic procedures, the role of student council, vulunteering and interaction between young people, local government and NGOs. We have planned activities introducing traditions and culture of the involved countries as well as sports activities. The project combines physical mobilities with virtual exchanges through eTwinning. ETwinning activities focus on European values, Human Rights and Cultural Heritage. Students will prepare materials about Human Rights, their schools and regions, present traditions, organise online festivals. We have also planned local activities to disseminate the project and its results, promote European values and the idea of active citizenship. As for physical mobilities, 4 short-term exchanges, in which 96 participants will take part, are planned. The criteria for choosing the participants include knowledge of English, grades, understanding the project objectives and willingness to work. Some of the activities that will be carried out during short–term student exchanges are as follows: a)workshops and CLIL lessons b)debates, round table discussions, mock elections c)drama activities d) photo exhibitions e)educational trips to the parliament, the seats of local authorities and voluntary associations, meetings with local politicians, MPs and representatives of NGOs f)cooperation with voluntary organisations g)cultural trips and other activities whose aim is to familiarise participants with the culture and traditions of the host country h)sports activities The project is based on the significant participation of students (Youth Participation as the project methodology).Students will receive a framework of project activities and they will have the opportunity to decide how to carry out and manage the activities. While implementing the project we will develop and implement the pilot programme for student councils, develop and implement a model for successful interaction between young people and different institutions, set up and administer project website, create e-magazine, videos, photo galleries, advertising spots, leaflets and numerous other materials. Also, collection of resources to teach about democratic participation will be prepared. The project will have a significant impact on the students, teachers and schools: a)students will develop their knowledge and skills in the area of civic competence b)they will be aware of their own and European culture, will be open and tolerant c)project activities will stimulate their creativity and develop their organisational skills d)their motivation to learn English as well as language competenceand ICT skills will increase e)they will develop intercultural competence f)teachers' professional skills will increase; they will learn new methods, exchange experiences g)teachers will learn new methods, exchange experiences h)schools will improve the quality of work Long term benefits will be seen in the activities of people who are students today and in the future will become active, responsible citizents who will fully participate in civic life and have a real impact on European cooperation, partnership and integration.
The project 'Wake up your school – become an active citizen!' is a strategic partnership formed by schools from Poland, North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Italy. We were interested in developing a project which would address the problem of students' participation in civic life. The necessity of this project resulted from a problem that we had observed - low involvement of students in the school life and the life of the local community. The project was addressed to students aged 15 -18. The aim of the project was to to develop students' civic competence. We wanted to encourage, strengthen and increase active participation of students in civic life, support students in becoming active citizens and develop active and responsible European citizenship based on common values. Other objectives were as follows: a)increasing students' knowledge of social and political concepts b)developing students' abilities to plan and manage activities c)improving language skills, including vocabulary relating to social and political life d)improving ICT skills e)developing students' interpersonal competence f)promoting intercultural interaction, developing European awareness, strengthening the multicultural and multi-ethnic coexistence of young people g)professional development of teachers through the exchange of experiences. The project lasted three years. The activities were organised around the following topics: common European values, human rights, democratic procedures, student council, volunteering and interaction between young people, local government and NGOs. We included activities about traditions and culture of the involved countries as well as sports activities. The project was based on the significant participation of students. They were involved in the planning process, prepared materials and managed activities. The project combined physical mobilities with virtual exchanges through eTwinning. ETwinning activities focused on European values, human rights and cultural heritage. Students carried out the eTwinning project ‘European Values and Human Rights’. As part of the project they prepared infographics, spots, presenatations and posters. Also, they created materials about schools and regions, presented traditions, organised online festivals. There were four short-term exchanges of groups of pupils. 72 students, 24 teachers as well as over 120 local participants took part in them. Some of the activities that were carried out during the exchanges are as follows: a)workshops and CLIL lessons b)debates, round table discussions, mock elections c)drama activities d) photo exhibitions e)educational trips to the parliament, the seats of local authorities and voluntary associations, meetings with local politicians, MPs and representatives of NGOs f)cooperation with voluntary organisations g)cultural trips and other activities whose aim was to familiarise participants with the culture and traditions of the host country h)sports activities We also carried out local activities (e.g. debates, exhibitions, happenings, meetings) to disseminate the project and its results, promote European values and the idea of active citizenship. The main result of the project is the change of students’ attitudes. They have become active members of the school and local community. Other project’s results are as follows: a)pilot programme for student councils b)collection of resources to teach about civic participation c)project website d)e-magazine with students' articles on the theme of civic participation e)video 'Hear the voice of the youth' f)video on the cultural heritage of the involved countries g)galleries on eTwinning: videos promoting the idea of volunteering and photos promoting the idea of democratic participation h)leaflets, presentations, advertising spots, short videos, posters and other materials prepared by the participants of the project. The project had a significant impact on the students, teachers and schools. Students developed their knowledge and skills in the area of civic competence, they are are open and tolerant. Project activities stimulated their creativity and developed their organisational skills. Their language and intercultural competence and ICT skills increased. Teachers' professional skills increased as they learnt new methods, exchanged experiences. Schools improved the quality of work. The expected longer-term benefits are connected with the change of the students’ attitudes. We believe that participation in the project will stimulate and motivate students to be more active and take part in civic life. We expect to raise the students' awareness of the importance of their participation in solving their own problems and the problem of the local community. We hope people who are students today in the future will become active, responsible citizens who will fully participate in civic life and have a real impact on European cooperation, partnership and integration.