Our values
Citizenship education has many meanings, forms and shades. Our actions are guided by the following beliefs:
We believe that citizenship education is about creating opportunities for young people to speak out and to act independently on their own behalf and for their communities.
We believe that civic education should be an opportunity to personally experience social engagement, i.e. to influence issues that are important to young people. We therefore design our projects in a way that allows children and young people to experience empowerment in public life.
We are particularly interested in practical civic knowledge, i.e. knowledge that will enable young people to take civic action immediately. This is why we teach about the possibilities for action within student self-government or existing mechanisms for social participation.
Civic education, as preparation of young people to function in a democratic public sphere, should be about immersing them in democratic culture on a daily basis. That is why it seems so important to us to develop such a democratic culture of the organisation of school life, where the voice of young people is heard, where the rights of the child are respected, where the decisions of the management are not arbitrary, but based on dialogue with students. A culture where every child and young person is respected.
Teachers are important guides in civic education, both transferring knowledge and accompanying young people in civic activities. Their involvement gives pupils self-confidence and enables them to achieve their goals. This is why we pay so much attention to strengthening civic competences among teachers.
We believe that citizenship education is about creating opportunities for young people to speak out and to act independently on their own behalf and for their communities.
We believe that civic education should be an opportunity to personally experience social engagement, i.e. to influence issues that are important to young people. We therefore design our projects in a way that allows children and young people to experience empowerment in public life.
We are particularly interested in practical civic knowledge, i.e. knowledge that will enable young people to take civic action immediately. This is why we teach about the possibilities for action within student self-government or existing mechanisms for social participation.
Civic education, as preparation of young people to function in a democratic public sphere, should be about immersing them in democratic culture on a daily basis. That is why it seems so important to us to develop such a democratic culture of the organisation of school life, where the voice of young people is heard, where the rights of the child are respected, where the decisions of the management are not arbitrary, but based on dialogue with students. A culture where every child and young person is respected.
Teachers are important guides in civic education, both transferring knowledge and accompanying young people in civic activities. Their involvement gives pupils self-confidence and enables them to achieve their goals. This is why we pay so much attention to strengthening civic competences among teachers.
A variety of activities
Topics we address in civic education include: human rights, the rule of law, local self-government, the challenges of sustainable development, the European Union, critical understanding of content.
We use diverse and inclusive working methods - project work, debates, discussions. These allow for practical exercise and development of civic and social skills.
The audience of our activities are school communities, male and female teachers, male and female students, parent councils. We act for children from the first grade of primary school and from all types of schools. Our focus is also on pupils at vocational schools.
The support we offer consists of developing lesson plans and educational projects, as well as holistic programmes to support schools in local communities.
We use diverse and inclusive working methods - project work, debates, discussions. These allow for practical exercise and development of civic and social skills.
The audience of our activities are school communities, male and female teachers, male and female students, parent councils. We act for children from the first grade of primary school and from all types of schools. Our focus is also on pupils at vocational schools.
The support we offer consists of developing lesson plans and educational projects, as well as holistic programmes to support schools in local communities.
What do we do?
Student councils. We believe that a well-functioning student council, which participates in decisions affecting the school and students, is a great instrument for learning democracy and involvement in common issues from an early age.
Since 2006 we have been supporting student self-government by:
Climate and global education. We run workshops and projects to raise awareness among young people about the challenges of climate change. We show solutions and support the voice of young citizens in this area. We teach how to be an environmentally conscious citizen and make green changes at school. Read more in the Green Education section.
Polish-Ukrainian cooperation. Since 2017, we have been implementing projects in cooperation with NGOs and teacher training centres from Ukraine. Through training and development of educational materials, we disseminate Polish experience in student self-governance and support Ukrainian teaching methodologists.
Since 2006 we have been supporting student self-government by:
- creating innovative models of student councils for different educational stages and different types of schools,
- systematically improving the competences of student coucils supervisors (by organising trainings and conferences),
- collecting and sharing knowledge and good practices of democratic activities carried out by student coucils,
- conducting advocacy activities (participation in coalitions, networks, cooperation with local and national authorities) that promote the role of student self-government in education and upbringing.
Climate and global education. We run workshops and projects to raise awareness among young people about the challenges of climate change. We show solutions and support the voice of young citizens in this area. We teach how to be an environmentally conscious citizen and make green changes at school. Read more in the Green Education section.
Polish-Ukrainian cooperation. Since 2017, we have been implementing projects in cooperation with NGOs and teacher training centres from Ukraine. Through training and development of educational materials, we disseminate Polish experience in student self-governance and support Ukrainian teaching methodologists.