our
projects

we focus on

projects in the areas of civic and legal education and on youth participation

Mapping civic education in Europe

The Rațiu Democracy Centre is proud to be the Romanian partner of the Mapping civic education in Europe, a key programme of the pan-European non-profit organisation THE CIVICS Innovation Hub. Together with the other partners in the region, we contribute to identifying the main actors of civic education in 21 countries in Europe, both in non-formal and informal civic education. The project aims to reveal the topics they work with, which groups of society they focus on, and whether and how they cooperate with others. Finally, the purpose is also to analyse their needs in order to help inform the work of those supporting civil society in Europe. The data will be made available on an interactive map including a network analysis. A series of reports, both national and comparative, will be published on Ratiu Forum blog too. More details are available here. 

LEGAL ACADEMY

The Rațiu Democracy Centre joined in 2019 Legal Academy, a project of VeDem Just Association, reuniting 30 students from Romania for a legal education workshop and a summer camp. Through a series of learning-by-doing activities, the participants developed their argumentation skills and gained knowledge on issues like digital crimes, bullying, drug consumption effects, as well as in what regards their rights and responsibilities. Within the same project, 20 teachers attend a dedicated workshop on teaching legal education. Legal Academy aims to educate the young generation and to stimulate youth to act as responsible and active citizens.  

CHANGE ARCHITECTS

Change Architects is an initiative of All Grow Romania and it aims to build a space where youth become “the architects” of their own future. The project ecosystem fosters change-makers and triggers a ripple effect in the communities where they are active, involving both students and teachers. In 2019, the Rațiu Democracy Centre became a partner in the Innovative Teacher’s Accelerator, which is included in the Change Architects project, being a component that targets teachers. A group of 12 teachers from different communities in Romania attended a three-day workshop, during which they designed a multipliers strategy and an action plan for scaling student-led community projects. Teachers are thus empowered to create change in their classrooms, schools and communities.

projects
archive

One of the oldest programs run by CRD, the Ion Rațiu Debate Club provided youth with a framework for personal development, in which they could also gain new or improve their public speaking and critical thinking skills. Since the start of the project in 2006, over 530 teenagers took part in its activities. More than 60 teenagers took part in the debate activities of the Club in 2019, which amounted to 500 hours of workshops, presentations and debates. 

A project that was initially developed by the Ion Rațiu Debate Club, Ignorance Makes Victims aimed to raise awareness about bullying and to empower community members with overcoming and intervention mechanisms. Targeting students, parents and teachers, the project had a storytelling approach, focusing on real experiences. Within the project, a guide was created, containing stories about bullying experiences and solution recommendations. A theatre play about physical and emotional violence was also produced, involving local youth as actors.
 

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award is a world-leading educational and personal development program for youth. The Rațiu Democracy Centre was licensed as an operational unit for the Award, being thus enabled to guide young participants in discovering their strengths and achieving the goals set in the activities carried out within the project. These were focused on personal skills, volunteering, physical activity and adventurous journey.