Thanks to the Sida funded project Strengthening Democratic Citizenship Education in Albania, 126 Albanian teachers of democratic citizenship education and human sciences from the project´s network TeacherNet participated in a series of interactive training sessions on Social Media, Democracy and Human Rights.

The training made use of newly developed state-of-the-art courses, which are part of the Council of Europe’s Education online learning platform LEMON, offering practical teaching and training resources to education professionals across Europe, and which has been undergoing substantial re-design since 2021.

During the training, participants explored the links been social media, democracy and human rights and their importance for democratic and more inclusive school environments and engaged in lively debates around these topics.

“This is a necessary training for all members of TeacherNet and all schools in general”, emphasised Ms. Valbona Murxhini, director of “Europa” primary school. “I learned a lot on the importance of using Social Media as an Educational Tool for Democracy and Intercultural Dialogue as a means through which citizens can express their views to other citizens”, added Ms. Isida Jaubelli, teacher at “Ali Agjah” primary school in Elbasan.

The training sessions were organised using various participatory methods, including group work, role play, energisers, presentations, and free discussions which helped to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere and encouraged active and meaningful participation.

The project “Strengthening Democratic Citizenship Education in Albania” is implemented by the Council of Europe and funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.