This is an important step towards developing education for democratic citizenship and human rights education, which help adolescents become active, responsible, and engaged members of their communities.

What is this course about? About how to be active and responsible members of your community!

During the course, students will:

• learn how a community functions and what role children and youth can play in its development;
• develop skills such as cooperation, communication, teamwork, and responsible leadership;
• learn to identify the needs of their community, and to plan and implement their own initiatives;
• develop an active civic stance based on respect for human rights, democracy, and the principles of sustainable development.

They will also discover how the social projects that students develop whilst studying the course gain support and help to change lives in their own class, school, and even community!

The first is the research project “This is us, and this is our community”, in which students learn about the characteristics, resources, and needs of their community.

The second is the social project “Active youth means a successful community”, aimed to develop and implement student initiatives to address current challenges of local significance.

The syllabus is based on experiential learning, cooperation, and participation. It helps students not only to acquire knowledge but also to apply it in real-life situations, explore their community, work in teams, and bring their own ideas to life.

The course has been actively implemented in general secondary schools for over five years. The updated edition of the syllabus has been developed in compliance with the requirements of the current State Standard for Basic Secondary Education and takes into account practical experience of its implementation.

We hope that it will become an effective tool for educational institutions and communities in fostering active citizenship among children and young people.

We truly appreciate everyone who has been and continues to be part of this joint effort!

Together, we continue to build opportunities for children and young people, so that they can become active participants in the public life of their communities.

The model curriculum for the course “Learning to live in the community” is available here, whereas the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine approving it is available here.