Citizenship
Foundation Project
Profile Presentation
Active Citizenship and
Education in Europe
Active Citizenship and Education in
Europe
• Introduction to the Citizenship
Foundation
• Introduction to the projects
• Project 1: Young Ideas for Europe
• Project 2: Make the Link: Climate
exChange
• Conclusion – Connecting education for
democratic citizenship and active
citizenship
Introduction to the Citizenship Foundation
The organisation itself was established in
1989 as a result of the success of the Law in
Education Project in 1984 funded by the Law
Society- developed teaching materials to
introduce students to their legal rights and
responsibilities and the role of law in our
democratic society
Citizenship Foundation’s aim is to encourage
and enable individuals to engage effectively
in their communities and in democratic society
at large.
Now a small charity of approximately 30
employees offering a range of projects
Introduction to the Projects
The two projects presented today illustrate the
Citizenship Foundation’s European links and how they
have fostered the creation of these projects and
enabled them to be delivered with partner
organisations
These projects both deal with linking schools in the
UK with schools in other European countries and
internationally
The projects educate youth about democratic
citizenship and allow for active engagement
Project 1: Young Ideas for Europe
Took place between June 2009-February 2010;
Citizenship Foundation was approached by the
European coordinator and German operational partner,
IFOK to be the UK partner of the project
Funded by Robert Bosch Stiftung
The aim of the project was to get a UK school
involved in the project and to link with a school in
Germany and to increase their awareness of the EU by
doing a set of role games and discussions on a topic
This year’s topic was EU environmental policies
12 countries in total are involved, each with a
school that links with a German school
Project 1: Young Ideas for Europe
20-25 pupils aged 15-18 participate in the 4-day
project week, accompanied by a teacher and
facilitated by Citizenship Foundation staff
The 2009-10 UK school was The Lammas School in
London, linking with Gynmasium Hamm Europaschule in
Hamburg
The project takes place over 3 or 4 days aside from
a preparatory day
Day 1: Introduction to the EU and link to the topic
of climate change
Day 2: Learning about actions they can take. An
expert on the topic delivered a workshop. The
students are divided into different fictional
political parties based on different doctrines and
come up with policies
Project 1: Young Ideas for Europe
Day 3: The groups take part in a parliamentary-style
debate based on their policies
Throughout the project, the two linked schools meet
on a dedicated website with their counterparts –
post questions, comments, and discuss their ideas
with each other
Some ideas the students came up with: rewarding
people for making the environment more friendly;
strong rules and fines for non-compliance; ensuring
that countries work together to tackle climate
change
The students actively learn and engage about the EU
Students come up with policies and other ideas to
tackle the issue, while linking with other European
pupils
Project 2: Make the Link: Climate exChange
This 3 year EU-funded project is in its opening
stages and will be launched in September 2010
Plan UK has partnered with Citizenship Foundation
and Partners Bulgaria Foundation and other Plan
offices to deliver this project in the UK, the
Netherlands, Bulgaria, Senegal, Kenya and Malawi
The aims of the project is to raise awareness about
the link between climate change and poverty by
empowering young people to take action and become
change agents
The key target of this project is young people aged
11-19 in the 6 participating countries –young people
from 369 schools and youth groups
Project 2: Make the Link: Climate exChange
The resources will have 7 units available in
each language that will be accompanied by an
online platform where students can log in and
link with other young people from any of the
other participating countries to discuss
climate change
Citizenship Foundation will deliver the active
citizenship component through a training
manual, by training the trainers in each of
the 6 countries who will deliver residential
training and by delivering the UK residentials
on advocacy campaigning skills
An estimated 40% of the schools will apply for
100 Euro grants to continue in the next phase
of the project to build a local campaign
Project 2: Make the Link: Climate exChange
A further 15% will be selected to take part in
Active Citizenship Residential training and
will receive 300 Euro grants to take their
campaign nationally and EU-level
This project was designed to provide young
people the knowledge and skills to become
active citizens
The participants will be directly involved in
the action process that will promote positive
models for activism, and a range of options
for youth-led action by engaging young people
in the real issues that affect their schools
and communities
Connecting education for democratic
citizenship and active citizenship
These projects foster education for democratic
citizenship by:
• Supporting young people to understand the many
facets of being a citizen – the Council of
Europe asserts that “the active participation
of young people in decisions and actions at
local and regional level is essential if we
are to build more democratic, inclusive and
prosperous societies.”
• Teaching the skill of democratic citizenship –
not just about the institutions of government,
but what it means to be part of society and
how to be involved and play a part
Connecting education for democratic
citizenship and active citizenship
The active citizenship components in the
projects:
• Give young people the tools to feel empowered
and to act
• Bridge the gap between high level policy and
public engagement at local, national and
international levels by counteracting youth
disenfranchisement in policy areas and
government by making young people feel that
they have the power to act and make a
difference