Relaim Our Civil Space! has been working for years now to strengthen civil society and the voice of active citizens all over Central and Eastern Europe. We do so, because we believe in a democratic and sustainable future, where people can participate freely and they listen to, help and respect one another. We also believe, that this future belongs to the young people and that it is our responsibility to enable them to build it. A short report of the Reclaim Our Civil Space youth workshops.
In the past few weeks we held three online workshops for young people from the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria. Each time we discussed topics concerning young people the most:
- How to cast your first vote? - a start pack for first voters
- How to travel and stay environmentally friendly at the same time? What opportunities does international volunteering offer?
- How to make your school more demoratic and how can students have a voice in its matters, too?
During the first workshop students our young participants learned about the basics of voting, got deeper knowledge about important institutions, most specifically with respect to the upcoming European Parlaimentary elections. They considered the ideal image of a politicain, their beliefs, motivs, manners and skills in small groups and discussed young people's role and the importance of participation in politics.
The second workshop starred Slavek Karl, a world traveller, who shared his experiences of sustainable travelling and international volunteering with the participants simultaneously caring for nature conservation and interested in exploring the world.
At our third and final workshop we invited young people to discuss the one place they spend most of their days: their school. What does their school look like? How do their everydays look like? How are teachers and fellow students? How the school itself, its institutions and its teachers support the students? Can they truly participate in matters of their school as a community?
We discussed workload, homework, the means of teaching, tests and cooperation in the classrom and many more with the goal to help young people to realize and represent their interests at school.
For now it was three workshops and only a couple of weeks working together and our project is slowly coming to an end this autumn. But if you have participated and you are devoted to be an active citizen, follow the work of our partners from your country who can help you grow and learn even more:
Czech Republic Nadace Partnerství
Poland Fundusz Partnerstwa
Romania Fundația pentru Dezvoltarea Societății Civile
Bulgaria Фондация ЕкоОбщност
If you are interested at our closing conference in Brussels this autumn, register to see what we have achieved and where do we stand with our claim for a comprehensive European civil society strategy.
