Aim:
To improve the democratic participation of young people and school students through empowering them to advocate for access to rights and the right to vote more specifically. The methods used are drawn from non-formal education (peer learning, exchange, debates and other interactive forms of teaching and learning).
Objectives:
- To discuss good practices and different examples from around Europe and beyond on enabling the right to vote at 16.
- To discuss what democratic culture is, and what are the enablers and barriers for it in Council of Europe countries.
- To give tools to young people, school student unions and youth groups to campaign for the right to vote at 16 and to demand an inclusive, fair democratic culture at different levels and in various contexts.
- To draft a handbook for youth groups on campaigning for vote at 16 and for a democratic culture in their communities (involving other measures such as citizenship education, pluralistic democracies, other forms of citizenship participation, etc.).
Organisation
The Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU) is the platform for cooperation between the national school student unions active in general secondary and secondary vocational education in Europe. It was founded in April 1975 in Dublin, Ireland and brings together over 30 Member, Candidate and Affiliate Organisations from all over Europe. All Member Organisations are independent, national, representative and democratic school student organisations.
The Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions stands
- - to represent the school students as stakeholders of their educational systems, and in issues concerning their lives;
- - to provide the national school student unions with assistance and support and to co-operate for the development of school student representative structures;
- - to encourage and enable exchange of experience and good practice among the national school students unions;
- - to promote equal access to education and to strive for the end of all discrimination and injustice within the educational systems;
- - to contribute to the development of democratic educational systems in Europe, that promote active citizenship in all forms;
- - to promote solidarity and understanding between young people;
- - to promote new teaching methods in learning and promote healthy teaching environment
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