Anti Bias and Intercultural Learning in Context of Youth Work and Informal Education
Zielonogorskie Towarzystwo Edukacyjne “CIVILITAS”
65-031 Zielona Góra, Chopina 15 a, Polska
Phone: +48 68 328 64 29/58
Fax: +48 68 328 64 24
Mail: sekretariat@civilitas.org.pl
www.civilitas.org.pl
The Educational Association of Zielona Gora “CIVILITAS” (original name is Zielonogorskie Towarzystwo Edukacyjne “CIVILITAS”), based in Zielona Gora, was established in March 1997. Its creation was preceded by the few years’ activity of the Group of Children’s Rights, which existed in the Youth Out-patient Clinic in Zielona Gora. ZTE “CIVILITAS” is non-governmental, non-profit-making, non-political, public benefit organisation (OPP). Association’s founders graduated from the Helsinki School on Human Rights in Warsaw. Our association is directed on spread the knowledge about human rights, especially children’s rights, development of democracy and moulding civil postures (citizen attitudes). Presently there are 27 members (teachers, teachers of upper schools, students, lawyer, officer of police, educators).
The word “civilitas” comes from antique culture and means an idea of citizen/civil, civilized, free life, that is legally settled, safe, reasonable, kind and virtuous. For us it symbolizes renewal of civil society, that is not national, non-governmental field of social activity.
Our mission is “To affect an important change and correction of respect for the right to education”.
Main objectives:
- To spread the knowledge of human rights and liberties, especially children’s rights.
- To advertise rules and an idea of state of the law and to create an atmosphere of democracy.
- Educational activities for spreading democracy, human rights and liberties in different environments and institutions, especially schools and outposts of education.
- Participation in activities for European integration.
Main programs:
- The Group of Children’s Rights (educational projects addressed to children and youth, teachers, parents etc., for example “For a child’s dignity at school”, “The school after lessons”, “The village after lessons” – this is a programme for which the taxpayers may make a 1% of the personal income tax donation to support our public benefit organization, “Youth Various Civil Rights” – an educational project for youth from Zielona Gora’s secondary schools, moreover we conduct of the observations of trials in courts, counselling).
- The Group of European Integration (fulfil an educational transborder projects, for example “Meeting means Begegnung” which is realized with Germany. We participate in SOCRATES Programme with the Irish, French, German. We arrange seminars with Germany about human rights in education, we arrange also trainings for Polish and German teachers, we participate in European celebrations, for example organized by The Polish Robert Schuman Foundation).
- The Lubuski Centre of Lifelong Education “CIVILITAS” (as an outpost of in-service teacher training arrange courses, seminars, conferences) complements public in-service teacher training system. In teachers’ education we take into consideration contents popularizing human rights and liberties, ideas disseminating by the Council of Europe.
In addition, we cooperate with a variety of institutions within the EU and outside it in order to know better and acknowledge democratic values. The Association funds its activities thanks to grants from European funds and large foundations, such as: The Stefan Batory Foundation; also from non-government organisations that co-operate with us, like: Children and Youth’s Polish Foundation, Academy for the Development of Philanthropy in Poland, The German-Polish Youth Office; from international institutes, like: RAA Brandenburg, PliB Eksterwerda, as well as from private sponsors and public institutions, f. e. The Lubuskie Province Self-government, The City Hall of Zielona Gora, the ministry of education in Poland. We co-operate with the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Warsaw, the Helsinki Committee in Poland, the Institute of in-service Teacher Training in Zielona Gora.
The main areas of activity of the Educational Association of Zielona Gora are: domestic education in the scope of human rights, international activity, public interest actions.
The aims of the Association are:
- Dissemination of the knowledge about human rights and liberties, especially the rights of children.
- Promoting the principles and creation of the democracy atmosphere, promoting the idea of the state of law.
- Dissemination of educational ideas considering the democratic school model.
- Moulding the abilities of using democracy procedures.
- Educational activity to disseminate democracy, human rights and liberties in different environments and institutions like schools and other educational institutions.
- Participation in solving the most important problems of a democratic society as: unemployment, addictions, aggression, intolerance and promoting a healthy life style, ecology, solving problems by negotiation and mediation.
- Responding to occurrences when human rights, liberties and democracy rules are violated.
- Getting knowledge and propagating systems of protection of the citizen rights, human rights and liberties in
- Participation in activities for the European integration.
Ośrodek Doskonalenia Nauczycieli (ODN)
65-031 Zielona Góra, Chopina 15 a, Polska
Phone: +48 68 328 64 58/31
Fax: +48 68 328 64 24
Mail: m.piatkowska@odn.zgora.pl
www.odn.zgora.pl
Ośrodek Doskonalenia Nauczycieli (ODN) in Zielona Góra (Poland) is the institute of in-service teacher training, which is specialising in encouraging/promoting personal and vocational teacher’s and other education’s employees’ development/progress.
This task is realising throw inspiring/rising needs and generating possibilities to improve capacity necessary to creative serving the vocational purposes/playing the vocational roles as a diagnosis’ effect of needs and educational expectations and an image of educational alterations.
The ODN is an establishment which is working in foothold about the Ministry of National Education’s regulation concerning institutes of in-service teacher training and the charter given by the Management of Lubuskie Province.
In a very wide range of ODN’s activity in Lubuskie region there is above 1000 educational outposts and about 20000 working teachers. In the Lubuskie region our institute is the one of two educational outposts for teachers. Every year ODN has a new educational offer with many propositions of additional training addressed to different kinds of teachers.
Except training ODN leads operations in range of programme’s and mathodic’s news popularization, publishing its own publications, diagnosing of pupils’ achievements, encouraging ngo’s educational activities, scientific conferences and seminars’ organization in regional, national and international coverage.
A staff of our institute is some tens of highly skilled essential/substantive teachers – consultants (employees) and many others co-workers. ODN’s activities are promoting by many intraschool teacher training’s leaders in their own schools and by a network of local consultative points, where trainings are organized.
The ODN has his own publication, a bookstore and a library. The ODN fulfills roles: The Regional Ecology Education Centre and an active ngo’s co-worker (The Educational Association "Civilitas", the European School Clubs’ Protectors Association, the Pre-school Education’s Methodical Advisors’ Association and others).
Our institute cooperates with many institutions and educational ngo’s from Brandenburg, especially with the State Institute for Schools and Media in Brandenburg „LISUM” and RAA Brandenburg - we organize courses, conferences and study visits.