The Caravan of Citizenship Education visits to northern regions in Moldova. Day 2
On the second day of the Caravan in Moldova, the destination was Edineț. There were planned activities with different categories of people, from pupils in school to city hall workers.
At the High School “Mihai Eminescu” the experts: Yuriy Petrushenko, Alexandru Seu and Daniela Vacarciuc had a workshop with teenagers about education for European integration. Pupils were asked to create a portrait of a European citizen, where they had to add the qualities and the values that they believe a citizen has to get in order to be part of the European community. As a result, the qualities that were mostly mentioned were: honesty, integrity, authenticity, flexibility, and community engagement.
Pupils were asked to create a portrait of a European citizen, where they had to add the qualities and the values that they believe a citizen has to get in order to be part of the European community.
As a result, the qualities that were mostly mentioned were: honesty, integrity, authenticity, flexibility, and community engagement.
At the Secondary school „Grigore Vieru” the experts Valery Balayan, Natalia Cebotari, and Petru Golban discussed European citizenship: rights and responsibilities.
During the activity, Anastasia, who was one of the participants mentioned: “For me, Europe is identified with blue color, it expresses peace for the community”
Afterward, the Caravan team with city hall employees had a workshop with the topic “Democratic Citizenship: Rights and Responsibilities” which was an important destination for an exchange of knowledge about civic local engagement with international experts and to see how the projects are developing in the main institution in the city.
Being present at the event, the mayor of the city, Constantin Cojocaru expressed his gratitude and openness for this initiative saying: ” It is critical to have these opportunities where the international experts can share their civic experiences from their countries, so we could implement the directions for a better and resilient society”, and „I consider myself a liberal mayor, but I will take a lot of things into account after this meeting.”.
Nikolai Viniatinsky, seminar participant: “Today our city was visited by the Civic Education Caravan. Representatives of Germany, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Moldova held a lesson in the mayor’s office on the topic “Democratic citizenship: rights and responsibilities.” The guests told us about themselves, gave a correct understanding of modern democracy, told us what and how to increase civic activity, to improve life, and advised us to involve our youth in public life. As for ourselves, we took an interest in the activity of our society. “
On the way to the third planned activity, the Caravan team had the chance to visit the local surroundings of Edineț city.
At the Museum of the City of Edineț, together with the director Mosoric Galina, museum workers, and teachers discussed the importance of preserving history and the past in order to choose the right paths in the future. Indeed, without remembering the effort that was made to create the present time, we can’t access a bright and successful future, that is why museums can be associated with “the devoted historical altars” for citizens.
That was an interesting and truly enriched experience because of the experience we shared, the exchange of productive opinions that resulted for future projects and ideas in citizenship education and engagement.
Quotes of the Day
It is convenient to wait for someone to do something, to look for the guilty and responsible. This has been going on since the Soviet Union – we expect someone to do everything for us. This is transmitted already in school and in the family, when “supposedly superior” dictate (come on, answer, sit forward…), and do not look at the other as the same thinking subject.
Teachers – setting an example. If they themselves don’t do what they teach, you lose confidence in the subject (and the teachers).
We need to move ourselves, not let ourselves be moved (and not delegate responsibility and look for blame).
Citizenship education is the art of living together and the ability to behave in the smallest communities – in the family, with friends, at school, as well as in the city, in the state, in the world community.
Caravan in Moldova is organized by Eastern-European Association for Citizenship Education under support of the Federal Agency of Citizenship Education of Germany (bpb) and funded by German Foreign Office.
Read more:
Citizenship Education Caravan in Moldova: get to know the programme and the experts
The EENCE Citizenship Education Caravan has officially started in Moldova
