Play for Human Rights – how to raise youth awareness? A Toolkit promoting civic education, from simulation to active participation Erasmus Project

Project Title

Play for Human Rights – how to raise youth awareness?
A Toolkit promoting civic education, from simulation to active participation

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Home and justice affairs (human rights & rule of law); Youth (Participation, Youth Work, Youth Policy) ; Civic engagement / responsible citizenship

Project Summary

Through this Strategic Partnership, we aim at raising awareness for human rights issues, advocating for the improvement of human rights non-formal education connected to youth work.

The main objective of the project is the creation of a collaborative, interactive learning platform called: “Play for Human Rights” – Toolkit promoting Civic Education and Active Participation. It will include a simulation trial game as well as other methods supporting diversity learning in non-formal educational youth work (simulation and role-play games, quiz tests, Power-Points, videos, timelines).

The context of the project originates in the long-term cooperation of all partners. Through this project, focusing on Human Rights and Active Citizenship, we want to further develop the results of our participation to six editions of Moot Court Europe. During these initiatives, young people simulate criminal cases and defended human rights. By playing active roles, they are encouraged to address their situations and take action based on values and attitudes connected to human rights and civic education. They train their skills on active citizenship and engagement in democratic life, in a non-formal educational setting. Each project underlined the importance of human rights education for the young generation, showing the positive impact a game can have on participants. It enabled them to learn about their responsibilities as citizens, to better understand values such as human rights or functioning of a government, to develop a heightened respect for law and justice, to work on differences in opinions.

The events also underlined the necessity of having well-trained youth workers to achieve such results. Through this Partnership, we aim at supporting youth workers and others involved in youth work to develop knowledge, civic skills and values to conduct human rights education, creating methodologies and other didactic materials with elements of game simulation designed during various project activities.

The main target groups are youth workers, young peer educators and other professionals working with young people.

The Toolkit will allow youth workers a more structural approach by applying Moot Court-inspired methods in raising youth awareness on human rights and international justice issues. It will add value by turning previous results into new tools (as a response to the lessons learnt from participation of all partners in previous Moot Courts). Thus, the project is complementary to Moot Court editions.

Its complex, multi-dimensional approach makes the project innovative, since many diverse actors are involved in one non-formal educational act: local Courts, schools, municipalities, youth centres, NGOs and others.

The Toolkit will come as a package with modules to be implemented in the non-formal education. It can be used in schools, youth centres and any other organisations dealing with the non-formal education of youngsters.

The project includes the following activities:
– organising a focus group, meetings and preparatory research at local levels, in the preparation phase;
– a Blended Mobility combining a meeting between youngsters and youth workers in The Hague (as a short-term physical mobility) and the virtual mobility of the participants throughout the whole project to develop materials for the Toolkit. Six participants selected by each partner will attend the 5-day long mobility. They will stay connected afterwards, continuing to work for achieving some goals of the project;
– “Play for Human Rights” Toolkit, with methodological-didactical materials for human rights education, as the Intellectual Output;
– implementation of the Awareness Campaign, with launching of a Day to Play for Human Rights and organising Youth for Justice workshops to train youth workers locally;
– an international Conference as a Multiplier Event, where materials from the Toolkit, including the simulation trial game will be tested by several teams of youngsters from various European countries;
– organising multiplier events at local level by all partners.

Some activities and results that will be maintained after the end of EU funding, assuring potentially longer term benefits will be:

– the Toolkit, as a non-formal learning platform online;
– Day to Play for Human Rights organised at local levels;
– simulation trial game played during local competitions, which will be further integrated into Moot Court Europe editions;
– the agreements made between Foundation and Partners, that the Toolkit will be published long-term on the websites (both the project website and the own websites of all the partners).

The project will stimulate partners to incorporate the new methodologies in their daily activities connected to youth work. The results will increase their capacity of operating at transnational level.

The Toolkit equips youth workers and other people working with youngsters with new skills and a strong network of peers all over Europe.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 59733 Eur

Project Coordinator

Foundation Netherlands-Romania & Country: NL

Project Partners

• II Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace z Oddzialami Dwujezycznymi im. Adama Mickiewicza w Gdyni
• EUYouthBulgaria
• Grunnskólinn á Bakkafirði
• Colegiul National Pedagogic “Carol I”