We want our children to be recognized as active citizens with full rights and we want their views and opinions to be heard and taken into consideration – not only for their own good, but also because of their role in the future of a fully democratic society. According to the Berkshire Partnership research, children are still not considered to be fully developed citizens. We work in Dąbrowa Górnicza. The city has decided it needs its citizens to be more engaged in public issues and cultural activities.

We want to respond to these issues by involving children, whom we consider the future citizens, and whose development is an investment in an active and engaged society. We will organize workshops entitled “Participation? Revitalization? Democracy? – What’s That All About?” for 160 children between 7 and 14 years old. During the workshops they will learn about democracy, participation, collaboration and being an active citizen. We will also organize workshops focused on children’s and students’ rights, as well as mini-field trips called “Kids in Action,” with elements of an urban game. During the walks, children will learn about undeveloped parts of Dąbrowa Górnicza and come up with ideas how to develop them best. They will also create a publication about issues they care about the most that will include their ideas and solutions. We will help prepare, publish, and print eight issues of the magazine. Finally, we will organize the “Kids Have a Voice!” panel. We will teach the children how to organize an event like that. During the panel they will independently discuss issues they have selected. As a result, the children will learn new skills, expand their knowledge, increase their confidence, and learn that their views matter. Following the project, we would like to create the Children Council as an advisory body to the city. Dąbrowa Górnicza government declared willingness to cooperate on this idea.