SUDECU

Project description:

The SUDECU (SUstainable DEmocratic CUlture) project aims to anchor democracy and sustainability as an element of everyday culture, as the acronym makes clear. SUDECU is being implemented in N. Macedonia because of the multi-ethnic and multilingual (several national languages) context, which is comparable to Switzerland. With SUDECU, the aims and objectives of the reference framework on competences for a democratic culture (RFCDC – www.coe.int) promoted by the Council of Europe are used and implemented in an exemplary manner. At the same time, the project serves as a pilot project to strengthen lived elements of sustainability and democracy in international education projects and to develop recommendations for the possible further development of existing reference concepts. The implementation approach of peer learning is innovative for the project country. The basic understanding of learning in the chosen region of the Western Balkans has changed in recent years. However, this understanding must be shifted from ‘knowledge’ to ‘ability’. Learning processes – if they are to be lifelong – must address the question of how learners of all ages determine and approach their own learning processes. The search for answers to this question is called selfregulated learning. Self-regulation is understood as a proactive activity by which learners help themselves to learn, e.g. by applying a strategy, rather than a passive response, e.g. by absorbing knowledge from a teacher. Second, self-regulation researchers do not limit their vision of selfregulation to individualized forms of learning, such as discovery learning, self-education through reading or computer-assisted instruction. Instead, they also include social forms of learning, such as seeking help from peers. This is where SUDECU comes in its implementation approach: All learning activities are realized in concrete terms by peers who are trained for this methodically and in terms of content within the framework of the project. This applies to all target groups, i.e. young people and parents. This approach meets a need for both the basic assumption of a sustainable, participatory democratic society and an understanding of personal and social development. The aim is to strengthen a democratic culture that is tested and suitable for everyday life in the sense of the objectives intended by the Council of Europe for all member countries. The SUDECU project has a content-related and a process-related component. In terms of content, SUDECU deals with the implementation of sustainability and democracy and the shaping of a culture of sustainability and democracy, as it has been propagated in particular with regard to democratic culture by the corresponding concept of the Council of Europe for several years by developing the so-called Reference Framework for a Culture of Democracy.

The starting point for the development of the Council of Europe’s Reference Framework on Competences for a Democratic Culture was the conviction that education systems, schools and universities should understand civic education as one of their most important missions. Learners should know and understand the challenges they face and the consequences of their choices, what they can do and what they should refrain from doing. This concern is equally central to Education for Sustainable Development. For this, they need not only knowledge but also the necessary competences – and the aim of the Framework is to define what these competences are. A democracy, according to the experience of the past decades and the realization of real current developments must be filled with life every day anew. It needs people who live, cultivate and shape democratic culture. Democracy, freedom and the rule of law – these are the values on which a good and solidary coexistence of people of different origins, cultures and convictions is based. This heterogeneity is a reality of the social composition of both, the project countries of SUDECU North Macedonia and Switzerland. Peaceful and inclusive societies are core elements for promoting sustainable development. Within the framework of SUDECU, the described challenges are met by shaping sustainability and democracy at the local level. SUDECU therefore aims to initiate and support innovative projects and long-term engagement. A large number of parents and young people from Skopje, Kumanovo and Kriva Palanka will be trained in this program. Three interesting years of development, learning and friendship await us!

Support: Zurich University of Teacher Education and funded by the Charity Fonds of the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland, PHZH International Projects in Education.

You can find more information about SUDECU on the next link – https://www.sudecu.mk/