During the implementation of our project we will teach young people’s from the Ostrowiecki and Opatowski districts (Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship) about active participation in public life. According to a 2018 report from KUŹNIA – Ostrowiec Association, reporting from the local newspaper “Echo Dnia” and our own surveys conducted in 2020 we have concluded that the majority of students from these districts is pessimistic about their prospects for the future. Majority of our young respondents doesn’t know their rights and duties, knows very little about possible forms of civic engagement, and considers migrating to a major city to be their best chance for upward mobility.

Thanks to our actions we will increase the awareness of civic rights and duties among the young people, a willingness to participate in civic life and faith in the ability to have a positive impact on the democratic institutions and life of the local community. We will organize seminars and workshops for 200 young citizens of the Ostrowiecki and Opatowski districts. The youth will participate in two discussion panels and will create Civic Rights Watch Groups. These groups will observe and analyze potential cases of unequal treatment, discrimination, civic rights abuses, etc. We will create an online, multimedia guidebook that will serve our youth and teachers as a source of information and tips for civic engagement and as a textbook on rights and duties of citizens. We will collaborate with the local media to promote the project and its initiatives. Finally, a competition will take place in both districts to find the Most Citizen-Friendly Government Office.