The Comenius Project

In 2007, seven schools that had come in contact with one another through the 2005 International Democratic Education Conference in Berlin (IDEC 2005) applied and received funding for a multi-lateral partnership through Comenius.

Comenius is a programme that has been set up by the European Union to promote cooperation and exchange between students and teachers in various countries.

Our project is based on the theme of Citizenship through ‘Student Voice’. Democratic schools (schools in which pupils and teachers/administrators share a voice in school decisions), as well as schools with democratic/student voice projects, provide fertile ground for young citizens to develop and "find their voice". Active pupils who have learnt to speak out for their rights and understand their responsibilities grow into active citizens.

Schools in our partnership will:

exchange methodologies for effective decision-making with students at the heart of the education process;
undertake the formation of an EU-wide network of schools (which has been accomplished in the form of EUDEC) that can exchange experience and good practice on the development of democratic education principles;
examine the role of citizenship teaching in different EU countries;
and develop an online audit tool that can be used by educators and students throughout Europe as a resource for developing democratic structures in their schools.

A special area of the EUDEC forum is dedicated to communication between Comenius partners, especially between students from the partner schools. We see the EUDEC website as an instrumental tool for the dissemination and use of project results, experience and end products amongst the participating institutions, other institutions and the local community. Students have contributed significantly to the writing and design of this website. Additional sections will be added as the project evolves.