Too young to vote, old enough to make a change!

This kit aims to introduce students to the values of democracy and and promote their engagement in forming opinions and developing attitudes to actively participate in society and politics.

ภาพของSakorn Sukkasemsakorn via Canva.com

According to article 10.3 TEU of the Lisbon Treaty (2009), ‘every citizen shall have the right to participate in the democratic life of the Union’. Young people should not be excluded from this process; their worries and concerns about current affairs should be taken into account and their voices should be heard. It is important to make clear to students that democratic participation is not only achieved through voting in the elections, but mostly through participating in decision-making in our everyday lives. This kit aims to introduce students to the values of democracy and and promote their engagement in forming opinions and developing attitudes to actively participate in society and politics. Through working collaboratively, students from partner countries will get familiar with various democratic practices, will learn about their rights and role as responsible citizens and will be informed about ways to actively participate in the civic process.

Objectives

• To learn about democratic values, leadership skills, and their role and rights as citizens • To improve self‐awareness, decision‐making and collaboration skills • To gain knowledge of current affairs • To learn about the history of voting in various countries as well as the eligibility criteria for registering to vote • To get familiar with democratic practices, such as participation, group action, intervention, assuming responsibility for issues of concern.

Introduction of partners

Getting to know your partners Students introduce themselves by updating their profiles in the TwinSpace. In their description they should include the first thing that comes to their mind when they think of the word ‘democracy’. They should share their thoughts on what democracy means to them and what would happen without democracy. Students should be encouraged to visit at least five of their partners’ walls and comment on their descriptions. Symbols of Democracy Students work in national groups and prepare a presentation on the symbols of democracy in their countries. These symbols could be objects, texts, songs, poems, buildings, sites, monuments or even people who shaped democracy in their countries. They also prepare a quiz for their partners, based on their presentation. Partner countries schedule a video conference session in the TwinSpace and meet online to broadcast their presentations, share their comments and play quiz games designed by their partners. Example tools: Zoho, Quizalize

Orientation

Forms of Government Students learn about the various political systems by exploring the positive and negative aspects of each one of them (eg Monarchy, Dictatorship, Representative Democracy, Direct Democracy etc.) Example tool: IdeaboardzParticipating in Democratic Life Students make a list of the reasons why people are not civically engaged nowadays and suggest ways that young people can actively participate in civic life and, thus, improve civic engagement. Example tool: GoreflectFirst-Time Voter Guide a. Students take part in the debate: Is voting a right or a duty? b. Students create timelines on the History of Voting in their countries. When did the first elections take place? When did women in each partner country vote for the first time? They should include all the major events of the political life of their countries, possible changes in the forms of government, as well the persons that shaped their countries’ past and present. They can add relevant photos and/or links to videos or text that could provide more information on the specific topic. c. Students make a list of the eligibility criteria for registering to vote in their countries. They create infographics with the requirements that voters should meet in each one of the partner countries. Example tools: Tricider, Timeline Knightlab, Visme Infographics

Collaboration

COMMUNICATIONIt’s time for a change! a. Students brainstorm the issues that they care about and that affect them, their community, their country or globally. They then vote on the ten most important issues they identify. b. A thread in the TwinSpace forum is opened for each of the ten issues the students have voted as the most important ones to deal with. Students from all partner countries should choose the issue they care about the most and share their ideas on what needs to be changed and the actions they could take to positively impact on the situation. Students can then team up in ten transnational groups to address each one of the issues. Example tool: DotstormingVoting for our representatives a. Students brainstorm the qualities and characteristics of a political leader. A world cloud is created and published in the TwinSpace. Example tools: Answergarden, Wordclouds b. Students from each transnational group should vote for someone to represent them. All candidates should come up with a campaign slogan and prepare a short candidate statement to introduce themselves to the voters and set their positions on the issues that each one of the groups will deal with. All candidates should prepare a maximum two-minute animated video presenting their slogan and their candidate statement. All videos will be published on a YouTube channel specifically created for this activity and will be embedded in the relevant activity page in the TwinSpace. After watching all videos carefully, students vote for the person that will represent them as a group. Example tools: Animaker, EasypollsCOLLABORATIONPreparing our Action Plan 1. a. Students work in transnational groups and research the chosen issue collecting facts and information from all partner countries. 2. b. They prepare an action plan on how to address the issue. In their action plans students should clearly state their goal and define their objectives. They should identify the actions they need to take in order to accomplish their objective, the people responsible for each task and those that will support them and help them accomplish their planned actions. The planned actions could include writing a letter to politicians, writing an article for the local press, organizing a fund-raising event, using social media to inform people and find support, creating a petition, planning a protest etc. Example tool: Google DocsAttending a ‘Virtual Youth Parliament Meeting’ a. Each transnational group works collaboratively to write a speech on the issue they have worked on. The speech should include information about the current situation in each one of the partner countries regarding the specific topic, as well as, suggesting an action plan to improve it. Teachers should provide students with advice on writing a good speech and examples of inspirational speeches. (e.g. https://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Speech ). b. The representative of each group will deliver the speech to students and teachers from all partner schools during a ‘Virtual Youth Parliament meeting’. The whole school community could attend the web-conferencing session and take part by posing questions and sharing comments and ideas in real time for each one of the issues presented. c. The minutes of the meeting will be published in an eBook. Example tool: Primarypad, Yo Teach!, Bookcreator

Evaluation & Assessment

K-W-L Chart Students assess what they know about the topic of democratic participation as well as what they want to know, at the outset of the project by completing the first two columns of the chart. At the end of the project they share their thoughts on what they have learnt while working on the project, by filling in the last column of the chart. Example tool: IdeaboardzWhat worked/what didn’t work well Teachers reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of the project to assess which activities worked well for students and which ones could have worked better. Example tool: Go ReflectInterviewing the school community After the web-conferencing session of the virtual youth parliament meeting, students could interview members of the school community (teachers, other students, parents etc.) on what democratic participation means to them and how young people can actively participate in society. These interviews could be turned into short videos.

Follow up

Documentation - The initial project plan along with a project task list should be published in a specific activity page created in the TwinSpace - Separate activity pages should be created for each one of the activities of the project. They should include a short description of the activity and the final products. - Any communication that takes place in the chat room, the forum, or during a live session should be documented. All this material should be displayed in the appropriate activity pages. - Teachers and students should regularly update the Project Journal on the TwinSpace. DisseminationTake Action Posters, Leaflets and Radio Advertisements Students work in transnational groups to create posters and leaflets to engage with the local community on the issues they chose to deal with, motivating them to take action and support the cause. They also prepare radio adverts on the issues to build awareness and reach a wider audience. Example tools: Canva Create Posters, Online Voice RecorderFrom words to actions Students write letters or arrange meetings with officials/government representatives to present their action plans and discuss possible ways of bringing about positive changes for each one of the issues they have worked on. Video presentations are created to present the highlights of these activities. Example tool: KizoaAction Day! Each partner school, with the help of their teachers, parents and the support of local or regional authorities will organize public events to disseminate their project work and promote democratic participation to the local community. Students should find creative ways to spread the message through local media and social media, so as to ensure the greatest possible participation. Some possible activities could be: workshops for students by students on how to write an action plan, organize a campaign or fund raising event, a flashmob or marathon performance art events (dance, music or theatre performances) to raise awareness, a school bazaar or another school event to raise money for a cause. Photo collages and video presentations of the events organized in each partner school should be published in the TwinSpace. Example tools: Kizoa, Fotojet

Additional information

Age from:

15
Age to:

19
Difficulty:

Intermediate

Too young to vote, old enough to make a change!

Too young to vote, old enough to make a change!

Additional information

School subjects

Vocational subjects

Key competences