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Strengthening Civic Competences and EU Democratic Life

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Across Europe, democracy is facing new and profound challenges. How can we ensure that young people feel connected to democratic life and equipped to take part in it? This project addresses that question by helping students and young citizens strengthen their civic competences – the essential knowledge, skills, and values for active and responsible participation in society.

Civic competences go beyond understanding political systems. They include critical thinking, communication, collaboration, leadership, cultural awareness, ethical responsibility, and digital literacy. These competences empower individuals to engage in public life, promote community well-being, and contribute to democratic societies. What skills do young people need most to thrive as future European leaders?

What are our goals?

The project has four main objectives:

  1. Strengthen young people’s connection to the EU’s democratic life.
  2. Develop civic competences that enable transformation and change.
  3. Offer students more practical experiences in civic engagement.
  4. Build stronger collaboration between students, educators, and civil society.

What will we achieve?

To meet these goals, the project will deliver a set of concrete results:

  • Online events – EU issue debates, curriculum discussions, and local issue forums, bringing together students from partner universities to explore how civic competences shape responses to societal challenges.
  • Workshops for secondary school students in Estonia and Italy, introducing the fundamentals of civic competences and creating links between younger learners, university students, and educators.
  • Collaborative exchanges with trainee teachers, enabling them to transfer knowledge gained from the workshops into their future classrooms.
  • A project-based course where university students co-develop solutions to local issues with European implications, using civic competences as their framework.
  • A practical toolkit compiling data, experiences, and student insights into clear guidelines and actions for advancing civic competence education in the future.

Partners:

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