AKA Active Citizens

European project

November 2022 to December 2024

AKA Active Citizens is a project proposal that aims at promoting the democratic participation and engagement at EU level of young citizens with vulnerable backgrounds in 8 countries through Global Citizenship Education-based activities to be implemented in Community Centres.

The AKA Activ project (Awareness Knowledge and Action for Active Citizens) strives to empower the youth involved through Awareness and Knowledge resulting in Action tackling social challenges for a Just Transition as well as structural inequalities in our society in a collective and transnational manner. Young participants get the opportunity to learn about EU policy and how to impact it democratically, interact with policymakers and replicate the methodology used to further social action beyond the project’s lifespan.

The methodology adopted in this project is core to its objectives. It is anchored in Global Citizenship Education (GCE), for which the project partners adopt the definition of Prof. V. Andreotti (British Columbia University): political education on a global scale.

Young leaders from the community centre will co-create the workshops together with the educators, whose role is not to educate them in the classical sense, but to support the development of the participants’ own ability to develop awareness, knowledge and competences.

Expected results are:

enhanced participation of the target group in the 2024 EP elections;
increased awareness of EU policies and ability to recognize and combat structural discrimination in society;
innovative methodological framework to foster social action and democratic participation in the EU;
strengthened cross-border cooperation between educators and organisations from 8 countries, and exchange of good practices;
increased ability of participants to make informed decisions.

The productions will be:

1 booklet (in 8 languages) of transformative education methodologies for democratic participation
the initial toolbox;
8 manuals;
24 activities carried out by 8 Community Centers with more than 500 young people;
A debate at EU level on the themes addressed by the project, in particular environmental issues.