GET2IT

 

Final project results and outcomes for the Europe for Citizens Project “GETting to Active CITizenship in Europe“ – GET2IT

Ref. no. – 615194-CITIZ-1-2019-2-HR-CITIZ-NT

The project “GET2IT“ has been approved for a grant worth 100.800,00 EUR from the European Union via the Europe for Citizens Programme – Measure 2.2. Networks of Towns.  The lead partner of the project is Pučko otvoreno učilište Varaždin – POU Varaždin (People’s Open University Varaždin), which is an adult learning institution of the City of Varazdin that is dedicated to enhancing education, creating employment opportunities and building the knowledge and skills of citizens so that they match market needs.  The project partnership covers 5 European countries (Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Italy and the Czech Republic).  The specific partners on the project are:

  • Tourist Organisation of the City of Sremska Mitrovica (TO SM) located in Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia
  • Regional Development Agency of Srem Ltd. Ruma located in Ruma, Serbia
  • Centro Studio e Lavoro “La Cremeria” srl located in Cavriago, Italy
  • Comune di Cavriago, Italy
  • Ljudska Univerza Ptuj (LUP) located in Ptuj, Slovenia
  • Institut pro regionalni rozvoj, o. p. s. located in Prague 6, Czech Republic

The project started on March 1, 2020 and it officially ended on February 28, 2022.

The main objective of the project is to engage citizens in democratic processes. Citizens are the main drivers of growth and they must be active in developing their communities. In the partner regions, citizens are unaware how they can plan & participate in local actions, and often rely on local authorities to take lead roles. There is also confusion about the EU’s role in local actions. There is especially a lack of understanding about the principles of solidarity and volunteering.

Five 3-day events were organized in the project as follows:

  • Kick-off event/event 1 in Varaždin, Croatia – held on 27/10, 05/11 & 12/11/2020
    • Focus: to demonstrate how citizen-driven initiatives function in the European context by presenting on how civil society organizations and local public bodies have promoted citizen engagement, solidarity, built a sense of belonging and trained volunteers in their communities. Particular focus was put on how such actions have been adjusted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Event 2 in Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia – Held from 23/08 – 25/08/2021
    • Focus: to show how volunteers play a key role in preserving culture, tourism and how citizens are involved in cultural actions.
  • Event 3 in Cavriago, Italy – held from 18/10 – 20/10/2021)
    • Focus: to demonstrate how citizens are engaged in social policy & environmental protection in the European context
  • Event 4 in Ptuj, Slovenia from 22/11/2021 to 23/11/2021
    • Focus: to show citizens how intergenerational solidarity works in a European context and how to engage citizens from different generations in democratic processes.
  • Final event/event 5 in Prague 5, CZ from 26/01 to 28/01/2022
    • Focus: to show how citizen-based actions (made possible by volunteers) contribute to enhancing conditions for marginalized groups (including younger persons, migrants, persons from ethnic minorities and migrants), and to test/pilot the training curriculum developed by the partnership (focusing on community leadership and engaging citizens in local actions)

For further information on the project and its results, we encourage you to download the official project summary:

Download (PDF, Neznámý)

Pic 1: Simulation of the Educare model in Cavriago, Italy

Pic 2: Group work during the training pilot in Prague, CZ

Pic 3 – learning about the role of volunteers in Sremska Mitrovica’s cultural actions

We also encourage you to download the materials that we have created in the project:

Disclaimer: The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.