Participation of students in school and community life is the key to democratic culture development. The formation of spaces that support the freedom of expression, generation of ideas and finding solutions for the problems existent in their schools and communities, enhances the democratic culture and empowers young people to become active citizens. The Council of Europe has established one of such spaces in the form of the summer academy “Democracy Starts With Your Voice”, which was designed and delivered under the project “Democracy Starts in Schools - Engaging School Children in Decision Making Processes in Schools and Communities in Georgia”.

The summer academy was conducted from24 July to 30 July 2023 in Kakheti at “Lopota”, where 64 school children from 32 schools across nine regions of Georgia have participated. One weeklong program of the academy was developed jointly by local and international experts of the project “Democracy starts in Schools - Engaging School Children in Decision Making Processes in Schools and Communities in Georgia” and it covered themes such as: participation, democratic culture competences, volunteerism, community relations and others.

Beyond these themes, participants were able to go through intensive two-day project writing and management training, where they had an opportunity to work on the project ideas that meet the needs and challenges of their schools and communities. The school children will have the opportunity to use the knowledge acquired in the summer academy in practice within the upcoming three months. CoE experts will provide mentorship in the process of implementing the projects in schools and communities. As a result of this mentorship program, students will be able to refine their initiatives, share to engage with stakeholders and implement those. Most importantly, with the help of these projects, students will have a better understanding on the importance of their voice and participation in the process of decision making at schools and communities.

The summer academy “Democracy Starts with Your Voice” supported the students to increase their knowledge about competences for democratic culture, levels of participations, role of volunteerism and activism, stages of project management and its practice and to clearly identify the role of their ideas, voice, and participation in developing a democratic culture.

The Project “Democracy Starts in Schools – Engaging School Children in Decision Making Processes in Schools and Communities in Georgia” is implemented by the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia and with the financial support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).