Empowered Citizenship

In order for a country to functional normally we need a system in place that takes into consideration the needs of all its people and of course the successful functioning of the system, thus not making choices which would destroy or damage the system. In essence we are describing democracy, or the democratic system which governs and rules a country. Looking at history, it is very rare that an entire nation supports one party or one idea, so there is always division or at least different opinions. When talking to young people from any country we will hear at least some form of dissatisfaction with their country, their government and even the people of their country. This project will look at exactly this from the perspective of the individual, this being active citizenship.

Our project will not focus only on the democratic act of voting, but will look at active citizenship starting from home. How do we deal with the issues, the choices and the actions we take in our daily lives and take these to understand how we act as citizens of our countries and of the EU? We have seen that many factors influence the choices of young people, we have seen how parents influence the educational choices of youth based on their personal beliefs rather than the needs of the labour markets or the desires of their children. Is this how young people are influenced to vote or how they deal with issues in their communities which are wrong or need reform?

This project is designed to allow young people to empower their life choices so that they can be more active citizens, from the simple choices of lifestyle, to education and ultimately to policy reform and the shaping of their countries and of the EU. We will explore the true meaning of active citizenship, looking at our past, the mistakes and even good practices of the past, those which have moulded our today, and then explore our options of how we mould tomorrow.

The Project will use the EU democratic model as the basis of democracy so that we can share the values of the EU, in understanding how the EU was developed and how it has become so strong, working together for the good of all its people, we will promote diversity and EU enlargement and show how the EU model works for all of us. We will also focus on inclusion, discrimination and diversity. We will give focus on young people at risk and work on ways to overcome these risks allowing all people to feel equal
and for all human rights to be protected.

We have become a society of couch citizens, sitting back and just viewing everything as it passes our eyes, now is the time to get off the couch and to build the country, the EU and the world, we want to live in.

The project will use a series of proven non-formal methodologies to achieve its goals and will continue to empower young people to understand the importance of active citizenship so that we can all contribute to EU enlargement and the positive and collective growth of our countries.

We will examine the EU treaties and even EU laws and policies, see how our country influenced these, and more importantly how we as young people can influence and affect future policy in the EU.