Address: Sachkhere Municipality Village Sairkhe

Country: Georgia
 

Project: “We Choose Democracy”

Working language during the project:

• Georgian,
• English
   

Themes of the Council of Europe project “Free to Speak, Safe to Learn - Democratic Schools for All” covered:

• Making children’s and students’ voices heard
• Preventing violence and bullying
• Improving well-being at school
   

Competences from the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (CDC) addressed and where / how they were integrated:

• Civic-mindedness
  Implemented Activities:
  1) Lecture-seminar - "What is an election"? What are the basic principles it should be based on, imitation of the election process. This activity is aimed at forming an active civic position among children and young people who do not yet have the right to vote.
  2) Summer Camp 2019 " We Choose Democracy". The aim of the summer camps was to raise students' awareness of the following issues: cultural heritage, the importance of civic activism, its forms, types of bullying and healthy living, ways of resolving conflicts, discussions, question-and-answer sessions, motivation, involvement.
  3) November 20 is the International Day for the Prevention of Violence against Children! The event was organized with the active involvement of students with special educational needs.
  4) Meeting the Inspectors.
  Organized by the School Civic Education Club, a meeting was held at the school with the inspectors of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the topic of the meeting was "Protection of Children's Rights and Prevention of Violence and Crime"
  5) "Visiting the Patrol Police"
  Members of the Civic Club visited the Patrol Police Department and became acquainted with the Principles of their work.
  6) A Visit to Sachkhere District Police Department. Topic: "No to Violence"
  Officers from the police department introduced the students to types of violence.
  7) Visiting the TV company "Rioni"
  The leader of the Civic Club was invited to talk about violence against women on TV in Rioni, and the students filmed a video on the subject.
  8) Meeting with the representative of the Ministry of Defense, topic "No to Violence"
  We invited representatives of the Ministry of Defense to talk about violence.
  9) Flipped classroom
  Flipped classroom teaching method helps the teacher to develop independent thinking, search and other much needed skills. In this modified version of the method is the "Flipped lesson" that helps the teacher see himself from the student's position.
  10) International Day Against Bullying
  May 4 is the International Day against Bullying. Our school joined the initiative, the students solemnly opened the week, during which they organized a marathon, created posters, organized presentations and handed heart-shaped badges to each other as a sign of love and support ️.
  11) Prosper Merimee "Matteo Falcone" - Book Review
  Prosper Merimee's "Matteo Falcone" was discussed by members of the School Civic Education Club. Students drew a parallel with Akaki Tsereteli's "Gamzrdeli" and Alexander Kazbegi's "Khevisberi Gocha" All the main characters are committed to the community's way of life and its morals. Nevertheless, each of them violates the law of the community in their own way.
  12) Meeting with Sachkhere District Prosecutor, Topic: No to Violence "
  Members of the Civic Education Club invited the city prosecutor as part of the project, the topic of the seminar was "No to Violence"
  13) June 1 is Child Protection Day! On this day, the management of the school was handed over to the students, they took over teaching and gave lessons to the juniors.
  14) Movie “A dream Tree” Showing / Discussion
• Analytical and critical thinking skills
  Implemented Activities:
  1) Small Grants Competition:
  In addition to the technical equipment, the purpose of the "Why Democracy" competition was to develop students' research and search, project work, analytical and critical thinking skills.
  2) Online discussion on the topic: ‘Why Democracy ?! ’
  The discussion was held at Microsoft Teams, by the School Civic Education Club, with the aim of raising awareness of democratic competencies, studying and comparing examples from different democratic countries, substantiating one's own opinion, and promoting critical thinking.
  3) "My favourite book"
  The Civic Education Club organised a book presentation at the school, the club members introduced their favourite books to the listeners and explained why they liked this or that book and what impact it had on them.
  4) "One book to school"
  The School Civic Education Club launched the One Book School initiative. Students visited families in the Sairkhe community and collected books for the school library.
  5) Meeting with the school librarian
  The members of the Civic Education Club were trained by the school librarian on how to care for the books (how books are collected, stored and cared for in the library) in order to promote the book.
  6) Exhibition "Sayings of famous people about democracy"
  Within the framework of the project, the Civic Education Club organized an exhibition / presentation on democratic competences, as well as the speeches of famous people on democracy. At the end of the activity, an online exhibition was created.
• Knowledge and critical understanding of the world: politics, law, human rights, culture, cultures, religions, history, media, economies, environment, sustainability
  Implemented Activities:
  1) The European Day of Languages
  The European Day of Languages was celebrated with the aim of making students understand that linguistic diversity is an instrument for achieving a high level of mutual understanding between cultures and an essential element of the rich cultural heritage of our continent.
  2) Europe Day Celebration
  This aims to help students become global-minded, international citizens, learn about the traditions of different countries and share their diverse cultures.
  3) International Book and Copyright Day
  April 23 is the International Book and Copyright Day, this day was also celebrated by our school and on 23 April 2019, the elementary school teacher conducted a very interesting lesson in the 4th grade.
   

Target group age range:

• 5 - 11
• 11- 15
• 15 -19
   

Level of education:

• Primary education
• Lower secondary education
• Upper secondary education
   

Short description of the project:

The project aimed to present democratic values that we find in Georgian classical or folk literature, historiographical works, legal monuments, ethnographic traditions, letters from public figures and other materials. Each approach to the issue was different: conducting research, finding and disseminating materials through various channels, including popular social networks, blogs.

The project is the result of two years of work. Our goal was to see how compatible democratic values are with Georgian culture. To answer this question, we tried to find traces of democratic values in different layers of Georgian culture. Within the framework of the project, various activities were carried out, which included the following topics: literature and prose, law, customs, cinema, theatrical art, polemics, which were held in the Georgian press in the 19th century in connection with democratic values, humanism and liberalism.
 

Aims/objectives

Informing students about the basic principles of democracy, values, human rights and freedoms, democratic inclusion;

Students:

• A) see the differences and similarities between different cultures and develop a sense of respect for different cultures;
• B) Improve cognitive, social, information retrieval, information technology and effective communication and collaboration skills.
   

Expected results/outcomes

Students explored information about the basic principles of democracy, values, human rights and freedoms, democratic inclusion.

Developed respect for other cultures, improved communication skills.

Students can define their place and importance in society, collaborate to solve key problems of public safety, can explore the foundations and conditions of peaceful coexistence in society.

Students become acquainted with the different forms of violence, found material on various facts regarding violence and ways to solve it, discussed preventive measures.
 

Changes

Students were able to adapt the information, suggestions and tips obtained and use them adequately and independently.

Students were ready to make the maximum contribution to the group work and provide it with as many useful ideas as possible. They could always listen to, consider and develop suggestions by other members of the group.

Students adequately conveyed the facts, the context and their emotional state. They always followed the rules of conversation / dialogue / discussion and can gave very good input to joint activities for managing work.

Students systematically demonstrated the ability to compromise and could contribute their personal interests if need be. They could identify problems, respond in a timely manner, and deliver constructive criticism. They will be able to admit mistakes and draw conclusions.
 

Challenges you faced

During the project, of course, there were challenges: meeting the deadlines for the tasks to be presented, the time limit during the implementation of the activities, creating motivation in terms of involvement and interest in the topic.
 

Time-frame of the project:

2018-2020 school years.
 

Council of Europe materials on citizenship and human rights education used while preparing or implementing your practice:

• Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture
• Living Democracy - manuals for teachers
• Addressing violence in schools through EDC/HRE
• Human Rights and Democracy Start with Us – Charter for All
• Freedom(s) - Learning activities for secondary schools on the case law of the European
• How all Teachers Can Support EDC/HRE: A Framework for the Development of
• Multimedia Material (ex. video “Beat Bullying”, series of cartoons “Democracy and