Inspiring Norwegian Practices in Civic Education
ABOUT ACTIVITY
How is education for democratic citizenship and human rights conducted in Norway? How do civil society organisations and institutions collaborate with schools? What is similar, and what is different compared to the Croatian context?
We discussed these questions with colleagues and collaborators from Menneskerettighetsakademiet / Human Rights Academy, Centre for Civil Initiatives Poreč, Breza Association, and ISKRA Waldorf Initiative during a study visit to Oslo on the 16th and 17th of March.
We talked about Norwegian examples of civic education activities, which we will translate into ideas and guidelines for our Model of cooperation between civil society organisations and educational institutions.
A Multidisciplinary and Cross-sectoral Approach to Civic Education
Through guest lectures and visits we exchanged experiences with Norwegian organizations and institutions working with schools, and we were very impressed with their good practice examples.
We talked to a member of the umbrella organization of student councils, the School Student Union of Norway, who is currently leading the national campaign Operation Day's Work. The campaign has been led and implemented by high school students and young people up to 26 years of age for about 60 years.
We visited Klimahuset (the Climate House), a part of the Natural History Museum established primarily for educating children and young people about the causes and consequences of climate change and opportunities for action. There, a biologist and educator guided us through the programs and activities they implement with Norwegian high schools.
Regarding educational programs related to topics such as discrimination, racism, antisemitism, and minority rights, we had discussions with the program manager for primary schools
At HL-senteret - The Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies we talked about educational programs on topics such as discrimination, racism, antisemitism, and minority rights, and visited the permanent display about everyday racism.
The study visit was organized as part of the project "MODUS - Civil Society and the Public Sector supporting Civic Education" funded through the financial support of Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway as part of the EEA grants. The project is co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Republic of Croatia.
