Get involved! Democracy and active citi­zen­ship as topics in VET

In recent decades, Europe has been con­fron­ted with growing populism in political discourse and scep­ti­cism towards political insti­tu­ti­ons among citizens. In almost all EU member states, (right-wing) populist parties have gained votes in local, regional and national elections. Public discourse is moving to the right and studies show that while people are in favour of democracy and diversity, right-wing populist opinions are becoming ent­ren­ched in the middle of society.

The #GetInvolved project aims to offer an approach to promote democracy and active citi­zen­ship in voca­tio­nal education and training. Establishing an enga­ge­ment with topics like demo­cra­tic thinking, par­ti­ci­pa­ti­on and awareness of dis­cri­mi­na­ti­on in the field of VET should help to streng­then shared values in society. This will be achieved through train-the-trainer workshops, a manual on learner com­pe­ti­ti­ons, a self-moni­to­ring tool and the deve­lo­p­ment of a cer­ti­fi­ca­ti­on concept.

The project is coor­di­na­ted by the QBS workshop (Germany). Other partners besides 3s are Leibniz Universität Hannover (Germany), ISFORCOOP (Italy) and Voca Train (Poland).