On June 24, the first Steering Committee meeting of the project Strengthening Democratic Citizenship Education in Albania was held online. The meeting was opened by Jutta Gützkow, Head of Office at the Council of Europe in Albania, Sarah Keating, Head of the Division for Co-operation and Capacity Building at Council of Europe’s Education Department, Petra Brucher, Head of Development Cooperation at Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and Nina Guga, Deputy Minister of Education.

Twenty representatives from the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, the Agency for Quality Assurance in Pre-university Education, the General Directorate of Pre-university Education, the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination, the People’s Advocate, NGOs, teachers, students and parents’ associations exchanged views on activities carried out so far as well as activities foreseen to be organised in the coming six-month period.

All participants emphasised the importance of competences for democratic culture for young generations. In her remarks, Jutta Gützkow underlined that “Democracy and its principles, which should be perceived as a way of life, can only be effectively introduced to individuals through education.”

With the Covid-19 pandemic crisis in mind, the project’s focus on equipping school children to become responsible citizens and empowering them to become decision-makers in their schools and communities, through the Reference Framework for Competences for Democratic Culture, has become more important than ever.

The Steering Committee members expressed their strong support in continuing and adapting project activities to ensure that they are relevant and provide concrete support for lasting change for young people of Albania.

The project "Strengthening Democratic Citizenship Education in Albania" is implemented by Council of Europe and supported by Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.