Do children have civil rights? And if so, what are these? Or maybe it is true that ‘children should be seen but not heard’? When do we become citizens? According to our observations the ‘citizenship’ and ‘democracy’ notions are commonly associated with adults. Children are way too often not treated seriously, while civic education in Poland is insufficient and requires support.
Together with the largest childcare facilities in Wrocław (‘Niezapominajka’ Kindergarten No 56 and Wrocławskie Centrum Opieki i Wychowania) as well as the Bjerkaker LearningLab NGO of Norway, we will prove that we are all born citizens. We will show to kindergarten kids that they can make a difference and that in the future they will become full citizen and will co-decide on issues related to their city, region, country and Europe. We will initiate a Children’s Council democratically elected by at least 150 kindergarten kids. Project participants together with their teachers will, among others, prepare a performance to commemorate the Independence Day, will write letters to MPs, and will meet with veterans. Together with Bjerkaker LearningLab we will organise workshops for 30 Wrocław teachers on how to teach little children the rules of democracy. We will also publish a brochure targeted at parents.
Wrocław institutions invited to the project will provide us with space for our activities and will recruit young participants, whereas Bjerkaker LearningLab will support us with its know-how in the field of social educational projects.