GOAL

Granting Opportunities for Active Learning

UNDERSTANDING CITIZENSHIP

 

Learning for (active, democratic) citizenship means becoming aware of one's rights and responsibilities and developing the capability for participation in society.

 

For the Council of Europe, education for democratic citizenship:

- equips men and women to play an active part in public life and to shape in a responsible way their own destiny and that of their society;

- aims to instil a culture of human rights which will ensure full respect for those rights and understanding of responsibilities that flow from them;

- prepares people to live in a multicultural society and to deal with difference knowledgeably, sensibly, tolerantly and morally.

 

It is a form of literacy : it aims at coming to grips with what happens in public life, being "lucid" (France), developing knowledge, understanding, critical thinking and independent judgement of local, national, European, global levels

It implies action: it implies empowerment, i.e. acquiring knowledge, skills and attitudes, being able and willing to use them, make decisions, take action individually and collectively

It is based on values: human rights, pluralist democracy, the rule of law, respect for diversity, solidarity, responsibility

 

UNDERSTANDING ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP

 

Active citizenship acknowledges that in a democratic society all individuals and groups have the right to engage in the creation and re-creation of that democratic society; have the right to participate in all of the democratic practices and institutions within that society; have the responsibility to ensure that no groups or individuals are excluded from these practices and institutions; have the responsibility to ensure a broad definition of the political includes all relationships and structures throughout the social arrangement.

An active citizen might serve a role in politics or government or it might refer to serving as an advocate for a particular cause or issue. An active citizen is informed and uses that information to serve as a proponent or opponent, engaging with issues rather than merely observing and commenting on them, according to a definition from the Council of Europe.

Active citizenship can be defined as follows:

a)      Civic participation: includes signing a petition, contacting a local councilor,
contacting a public official, attending a public meeting/discussion, contacting an
MP, voting, participating in online forums

b)      Formal Volunteering: unpaid help through a group or organization

c)      Informal Volunteering: unpaid help to an individual or others who are not
members of the family

http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/newbasics/html/pedagogies/differ/dif5a.html

 

In addition, the Lisbon Treaty introduces a new form of public participation in European Union policy shaping, the European citizens' initiative, which enables one million citizens who are nationals of a significant number of Member States to call directly on the European Commission to bring forward an initiative of interest to them in an area of EU competence.

 

Find interesting links that will help you search for useful documents, projects and organizations that can be tools for promoting your active participation in society: http://europa.eu/youth/active_citizenship/index_eu_en.html

Draft Recommendations by the Citizens' Panels

 

Groups of citizens from different European countries met in 2011 to discuss the effects of migration on their local communities and draw up recommendations to make the best of the situation. These "citizens' panels" united immigrants[1], representatives of local authorities and other stakeholders as well as regular citizens. Organised in six European countries touched by different migrational movements, the panels jointly discussed and refined their recommendations.

The following propositions to improve the situation of migrants in Europe and draw full benefit from their potential are the result of these discussions.

 

The propositions are structured according to different fields in which action is considered particularly necessary:

1. Intercultural Dialogue
2. Administrative Procedures
3. Labour Market
4. Political Participation
5. Housing

In each of the fields, the panels have identified problems, objectives and recommendations how to reach the objectives.

 

 

1. Intercultural Dialogue

 

Successful intercultural dialogue is a cross-cutting issue when it comes to the integration of migrants. It is a precondition for their acceptance by the local population and a peaceful and fruitful coexistence.

 

Problem I:

Language is often a barrier to intercultural communication.

Objective:

Make instrumental communication possible.

Recommendations:

-        Make sure that immigrants have the opportunity to learn the local language.

-        Popularize international languages among the local population (esp. English).

-        Provide language training for officials dealing with the target group.

 

Problem II:

There is a lack of positive identity and community feeling. Interculturality is seen as a necessity, not as a chance.

Objectives:

Build European identity together, in theory and in citizens' mindsets.

Bring citizens to consider diversity as a value and opportunity rather than a problem so as to enrich all.

Recommendations:

-        Keep supporting or start supporting activities of intercultural communication (positive examples: festivals of poetry, songs, dance, photos, food etc.; debates on topics of common interest such as ecology).

-        Build a common perception of European history.

-        Create a Council of Associations of Foreign Citizens.

-        Officialize the profession of Intercultural Mediator.

-        Involve Intercultural Mediators in all official interactions between immigrants and authorities/other local organisations.

-        Put a special focus on civic education in both primary and secondary schools.

-        Make sure that second generation migrants can be taught in their mother tongue.

-        Encourage the creation of immigrant newspapers and links with the mainstream press.

-        Foster interaction between migrant communities.

Problem III:

Immigrants are persistently marginalised.

Objective:

Consider foreign citizens as active participants in the local and national community.

Recommendation:

-        Involve foreign citizens in the decision-making process of the local community (development planning, design and implementation of decisions).

-        Pursue the activities proposed under item 4/"Political Participation".

 

 

2. Administrative procedures

Problem:

The access to health and social services is often not sufficiently guaranteed for migrants. There is a lack of information about laws both by the migrants and the authorities.

Objectives:

Reduce the complexity of laws.

Improve information about laws in order to provide a clearer picture for administrators, immigrants and citizens of the host country.

Recommendations:

-        Increase competences of civil servants through compulsory training on laws and intercultural dialogue to improve services.

-        Disseminate correct and precise information in the national language and those spoken by the main immigrant communities.

-        Promotional campaigns on health prevention and sanitary issues.

-        Sensibilisation of migrants for their rights;

-        Support presence of cultural mediators in all networks of health and social services;

-        Directly involve migrants in the production and management of policies that concern them;

-        Increase communication between institutions dealing with migration issues.

-        Sustain the main actors of the local community more (NGOs, specific professions and institutions) and increase networking between relevant stakeholders.

 

 

3. Labour Market

 

Problem:

Immigrants are often discriminated in the search for a job and in the job due to factors such as language skills, racism, lacking recognition of professional skills, right to work and lack of information.

Objective:

Diminish negative discrimination of immigrants on the labour market.

Encourage the recognition of immigrants' skills.

Recommendations:

-        Facilitation of the procedures to be regularised and take up a legal job.

-        Information about the labour market should be easily accessible to migrants.

-        Authorities should be more flexible in providing the necessary documents to take up a job.

-        Civil society should lobby more to have a stronger impact on authorities and the community.

-        Create new job opportunities.

-        Encourage cooperation between actors on the labour market and social services.

-        Pursue the recommendations mentioned under "Intercultural Dialogue", especially language courses.

 

 

4. Political Participation

 

Problem:

Although immigrants contribute to socio-economic life of their host communities, they are excluded from official decision-making processes.

Objectives:

Enable immigrants to participate actively in the political life of their host community.

Recommendations:

-        Change legislation to provide immigrants with the right to active vote on local level.

Conditions proposed by the panels:

- Set minimum duration of stay in host country (e.g. 3 years)

- Social and cultural stability (knowledge of local language; children enrolled in school)

- Financial independance from the host state (stable employment).[2]

-        Create the post of Ombudsman for Migrant Issues.

-        Harmonise legislations of EU member states concerning the conditions for political participation.

-        Create a concept of mobile citizenship that would make citizenship accessible for migrants in all EU countries.[3]

 

 

5. Housing

 

Problem:

Immigrants are discriminated in the access to housing for reasons such as racism and differing attitudes toward maintenance of houses and apartments. Concerning this last point, there is a large ignorance on both sides.

Objectives:

Make citizens of the host country and immigrants aware of these problems.

Recommendations:

-        Pursue activities encouraging intercultural dialogue focusing on housing attitudes.

-        Reserve a certain percentage of public buildings for migrants.

-        Facilitage administrative procedures and the access to information about them (cf. item 2 "Administratice Procedures").

-        Pursue anti-ghettoisation activities.

 

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[1] This term is perceived as discriminating by some. Panels should discuss whether they support its use or not.

[2] Condition not unanimously supported and to be further discussed.

[3] Recommendation not unanimously supported and to be further discussed.