GONG has been for six years now conducting the project “I Vote for the First Time” in which Croatian high-school seniors have been participating in workshops that introduces them to basic electoral terms and expressions and the election process itself. Also they learn about the process of public advocacy activities, with a purpose of encouraging a more active involvement of students in social and political processes. So far, 120 000 students from all over Croatia have participated in these workshops.
Having in mind the positive results of this project that was welcomed by both the students and teachers for its innovation and the use of a method of informal learning, together with the fact that both students and teachers were asking us if GONG could conduct workshops on other topics that are of interest to young people, we in GONG have developed the content and provided financial means for conducting workshops on the topic of the European Union.
The project is developed in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration and the plan is to have 600 workshops organised in high-schools all over Croatia during the second term of school year 2006/2007.
Being aware of the complexity of the European Union and the effects which it has on Croatia as the candidate country, the “European Class” workshop is aimed at providing senior high-school students with information on concrete effects of Croatian membership in the Union and especially what it means for youth, their mobility, education and possible employment. The goal is also to encourage students to be objective when it comes to the EU. With that, hopefully, the prejudice that some citizens have about the Union will decrease since these are mostly the result of the fact that citizens are partially or not at all informed on the effects of the Croatian membership in the European Union. All this will be done in an interactive and interesting way by young GONG trainers who will be conducting the workshops.
All together ten teams of specially educated GONG trainers/lecturers, primarily young unemployed persons with BA in Law, Political Science or Sociology will conduct the workshops. The trainers are being equipped for conducting the workshops in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.
The duration of the workshop is 45 minutes and it starts with an introduction on the European Union. During the introduction the significance of the EU, how it functions and how it protects its citizens will be explained to the students. Second part of the workshop will discus the effects of the Croatian membership in the EU and what it means for young people – why is education and mobility of youth an important element of EU policies, how are the policies and programmes intended for youth being realised in candidate countries, what are the possibilities for youth, who can help them and where can they obtain more information about it. During the last part of the workshop students will be given the opportunity to ask questions and discuss other issues relevant to them. Also students will be given educational materials (brochures) on the EU, prepared by GONG, the Ministry and other institutions with the aim of spreading general information on the EU to other social groups as well (students’ families, friends and others).
During the “European Class” workshop, students will be encouraged to actively participate and communicate in order to critically examine their personal attitudes and objectively think about the effects of the Croatian membership in the Union and their own future as citizens of the European Union.
Project is given the official recommendation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration and is being financed by the European Commission, Ministry of Science, Education and Sports and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Zagreb.
Sandra Pernar, GONG, Croatia