Citizenship learning in a shifting society

We applied for this project to address critical societal needs in the context of supporting & expanding the political & social involvement of marginalized adults on various levels. People with migration or refugee backgrounds, low-skilled and/or low-income young adults in Europe are facing declining political participation due to several factors. They often feel disillusioned with traditional political structures, perceiving them as disconnected from their daily lives & ineffective in addressing their concerns. The rapid technology advancements create an overwhelming digital landscape, making it challenging for them to navigate reliable information & engage in meaningful political discussions. Socioeconomic factors, including economic instability, or cultural integration barriers, lead them to prioritize immediate personal concerns over politics. Moreover, the lack of targeted efforts to involve & empower young disadvantaged adults, along with limited access to citizenship education & insufficient encouragement, further discourages their civic engagement. The project served as a START POINT to democratic action by creating accessible learning environments that intersect with the social contexts of disadvantaged adults.

The following objectives formed the foundation of START POINT project: a. To provide thorough insights into the challenges faced by underserved young adults in their social and civic integration process and provide a roadmap on how to better serve their needs b. To empower young disadvantaged adults (aged 20-30) as informed, engaged, responsible, and responsive global citizens, by strengthening their personal and social responsibility attitudes and enhancing key transversal citizenship skills that meet the demands of the 21st century (critical inquiry, social justice, perspective-taking, decision-making, creativity, problem solving, integration in the digital society, intercultural competences etc) c. To upskill social actors, facilitators of change and adult educators to work effectively with disadvantaged adults in the field of enhancing civic engagement and commitment d. To highlight citizenship as a core value for the functioning and well-being of a democratic society that embraces all of its members on equal terms e. To influence decision making and facilitate reasoned policy reforms that will result in improving the current framework of citizenship education on the basis of the identified needs

START POINT consisted of 8 work packages: WP1: Project management, including 4 transnational partner meetings WP2: Development of a community audit report by integrating findings of a field-research, based on an online questionnaire addressed to disadvantaged young adults in the partner countries, inquiring their needs and challenges, and of a desk-based research of existing resources, case studies and best practices. WP3: Co-creation of a digital citizenship learning toolkit, whose content was informed by the primary issues uncovered during the community audit WP4: Co-creation by all partners of a community engagement learning program targeted at adult educators, as well as of an accompanying Tutor’s Handbook WP5: Organization & implementation of 3 local participation projects per partner country, with the direct participation of the target group WP6: Development of a political action plan based on collected input from various stakeholders and experts to improve opportunities that foster democratic participation of the target group. WP7: Implementation of an LTTA in Slovenia attended by 10 community educators WP8: Dissemination and visibility of the results through a project website, social media, and local Multiplier events

PR1: A summary report outlining shortcomings & needs in terms of access to education, employment- & civic-engagement opportunities or other aspects that affect the inclusion & participation of young adults at risk in the partner countries. Based on the identified needs the report also provided recommendations on how to bridge gaps in current education offers. PR2: A digital citizenship learning toolkit, designed on the basis of the needs uncovered by the community audit, and tailored to equip the TG with the knowledge & skills necessary for active citizenship in the digital age. PR3: A community learning program that target adult educators and focuses on civic participation, citizenship education, & democratic engagement within marginalized communities. PR4: A series of 18 creative & inspiring local participation projects in which young marginalized adults were directly involved in the workshops, activities, events comprising them, learning, thereby how to actively partake in their local community & become agents of positive change. PR5: A political action plan integrating input from various stakeholders & experts with the goal to empower the young adults at risk & enhance their democratic participation in partner countries.