Empowering Active Citizens
Today’s world is developing fast and it is not easy to reflect on the changes that are happening. Even harder is to understand the changes and become part of them, but this does not mean that there is no point in trying. Everything happening around us affects us and we can share in the process of forming the environment in which we live. The idea behind Varianty is to provide quality methodological materials to teachers to help them guide young people towards a responsible and active approach to life in a democratic society.
The first step towards active citizenship is to show an interest in one’s surroundings and an effort to understand it. The second step is involvement in public affairs. Active citizens make an informed effort to influence the situation in their home village, town or city, in their country or even on an international scale. Inherent to the behaviour and communication of an informed citizen are mutual respect and non-violence, upholding the principles of human rights and esteem for the environment. In an ever-changing world active citizens are able to contribute to the development of their community and also to identify threats to the democratic society and help protect its values.
Through Varianty, we help teachers:
- work with the topic of active citizenship
- develop their pupils’ competences for democratic culture – by encouraging dialogue and development of civic and social competences
- gain confidence in leading community projects with results of global impact.
Through these projects, pupils enhance their trust in the functioning of civic society and democracy and in themselves, and realise that they are able to change things around them and maybe even further afield.
We offer activities for lessons, handbooks for regular work with pupils and also the opportunity for further training for teachers. We offer long-term support for systematic introduction of active citizenship into the syllabus and inspiration for how to guide pupils towards responsibility and action.
