Over six days, the caravan team from Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova visited five regions of Moldova, where they organised various activities for students, schoolchildren, university professors and school teachers, and community activists.

Several hundred people participated in these meetings.

See also the atmosphere in which these events took place.

Caravan in Moldova is organized by Eastern-European Association for Citizenship Education under support of the Federal Agency of Citizenship Education of Germany (bpb) and funded by German Foreign Office.

Read more:

Citizenship Education Caravan in Moldova: get to know the programme and the experts

The EENCE Citizenship Education Caravan has officially started in Moldova

The Caravan of Citizenship Education visits to northern regions in Moldova. Day 2

The Caravan of Citizenship Education in Moldova. Day 3 – Soroca

EENCE Caravan continues its journey through Moldova. Day 4 – Strășeni

EENCE Citizenship Education Caravan in Moldova. Day 5, Causeni

Сообщение Sergiu Musteata: it was a unique experience появились сначала на Citizenship Education Caravan 2023.

Experts from Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova did their best to put the topic of civic attention at the centre of attention of the inhabitants of the five regions of Moldova.

During this time, Moldovan teachers had the opportunity to express their opinions on how citizenship education works in their country, and were heard and supported by experts and the caravan team. Together with them, schoolchildren and students took part in masterclasses, where they were able to define for themselves how civic engagement should work, what can and should be done to develop their communities.

On 30 September, the last day of the Caravan in Moldova, a meeting of civic education teachers from Chisinau took place to discuss the importance of teaching this course and the impact it has on the younger generation.

“Teachers need to be co-operative, able to discuss and resolve conflicts. Parents often come and complain that I (the teacher) talk about rights (too much), and somehow I am proud of myself that my mission in this regard has been fulfilled, for which I thank them for this feedback”.

During the workshop, participants had to think about the colour they associate with citizenship:

• “For me, citizenship could have a green colour, it would symbolise that children are born with rights from birth”.
• “I identify citizenship with the colour blue because everyone needs peace”.

This was followed by a summarisation of the Caravan. The national coordinator Sergiu Musteata said that “despite the fact that the project is being organised in Moldova for the first time, he did not realise how effective it would be”. Sergio also noted that there is an urgent need to repeat the Caravan again.

Svetlana Alenitskaya of the German Agency for Civic Education (BpB) said:

“It was a pleasure to work with such active professionals! I see that this topic is important for all of us and needs support for the future, therefore our Agency is ready to support such events in Moldova further” open to come to Moldova next time”.

Caravan in Moldova is organized by Eastern-European Association for Citizenship Education under support of the Federal Agency of Citizenship Education of Germany (bpb) and funded by German Foreign Office.

Read more:

Citizenship Education Caravan in Moldova: get to know the programme and the experts

The EENCE Citizenship Education Caravan has officially started in Moldova

The Caravan of Citizenship Education visits to northern regions in Moldova. Day 2

The Caravan of Citizenship Education in Moldova. Day 3 – Soroca

EENCE Caravan continues its journey through Moldova. Day 4 – Strășeni

EENCE Citizenship Education Caravan in Moldova. Day 5, Causeni

Сообщение The Citizenship Education Caravan in Moldova finished in Chisinau появились сначала на Citizenship Education Caravan 2023.

During the seminar on democratic citizenship, participants discussed the rights and duties of citizens.

The topic of the democratic approach to learning was also of great interest to the audience. Here is how it was presented by Nino Gvaramadze (Georgia):

The democratic approach in teaching is:

1) making rules and following them. The school/class should have rules that are developed together with the student.

2) group work

3) students should be aware of the criteria by which they are evaluated. Criteria are also best developed with the learners when they can suggest their own.

The importance of projects in the learning process of formal education was also emphasised:

A project (not a presentation, report or similar) develops a vision of the problem (it gives the opportunity to understand that there is a problem and to see it generally in society) and develops the skills of planning, analysing, implementing, reacting, finishing and communicating in society. These skills must also be present in the educator, who supports if necessary.

Quotes of the day

If we do not respect the rights of others, no one will respect our rights.

We must not only teach rights, but also show that they are values (which, by the way, and unfortunately, can be quickly lost).

One of the tasks of civic education is to develop cultural intelligence.

If we do not treat students with respect, the effect of learning will be nil.

Nino Gvaramadze, Georgia

Afterward, the Caravan team was divided into two parallel workshops focused on the pupils of the Alexei Mateevici High School.

Moldovan facilitators had the mission to debate the topics ”National citizenship vs. European citizenship” and ”How to use the past to build sustainable societies”, where we highlighted that: 

”A European citizenship can’t be functional without a strong national civic education, because a true European citizen first has to focus on the local, regional and national civic engagement in order to bring value into European culture”.

After the seminars and master classes, the Caravan team conducted a tour of local attractions, namely the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Causeni, which is an architectural monument built in 18 c.

Also, the team visited the Monastery of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Martha and Mary, where the monastery operates a Theoretical Lyceum with an art focus for high school graduates, and in the summer a free Spiritual Work and Rest Camp is organized for students of secondary schools.

We believe that through civic education we can move forward the history in its right way because the main purpose of democracy is to make people’s voices be heard and that is why we have to try to involve as many citizens as we can in order to make right and real changes in the world. 

On this day, the Caravan team had the opportunity to hear a variety of opinions on the topics mentioned above from students and teachers of local high schools. The debate has been as effective as we expected, with participants wanting to learn more about civics education and how they can improve their communities.

Caravan in Moldova is organized by Eastern-European Association for Citizenship Education under support of the Federal Agency of Citizenship Education of Germany (bpb) and funded by German Foreign Office.

Read more:

Citizenship Education Caravan in Moldova: get to know the programme and the experts

The EENCE Citizenship Education Caravan has officially started in Moldova

The Caravan of Citizenship Education visits to northern regions in Moldova. Day 2

The Caravan of Citizenship Education in Moldova. Day 3 – Soroca

EENCE Caravan continues its journey through Moldova. Day 4 – Strășeni

Сообщение EENCE Citizenship Education Caravan in Moldova. Day 5, Causeni появились сначала на Citizenship Education Caravan 2023.

At the High School ”Ion Vatamanu” held the workshop ”Democratic Citizenship: Rights and Responsibilities” where pupils had to define the do’s and don’ts of being part of their school community.

Most of the teams mentioned efficient communication, non-violent behavior, tolerance, and respect as their social rights, and as don’ts, they emphasized the discrimination (religion, orientation, race, etc.), destruction of material goods, discrediting school rules – “Changes come from each of us, it is important that we want this and act in accordance with human rights.”

The school activities didn’t end there. Teachers and school employees were engaged in a workshop about citizenship participation.

Each of them had to think about the qualities, values, and actions that describe civic engagement.

The purpose of the activity was to bring up the ideas of how to develop communities through moral principles and social participation.

In order to close up the circle and all the points of view about civic education, there was a workshop together with youth leaders and members of the Student Councils from the Strășeni district.

The aim of the gathering was to understand how weak or strong is the present connection with the government institutions, where civic involvement is situated as regional and national priority and what are the duties of the councils and youth organizations in their district. 

There was a cultural walk for discovering the surroundings, and one the most important places was Căpriana Monastery, where the Caravan team had a short-guided tour with our colleague, historian Alexandru Seu.

Monastery Capriana is one of the most picturesque and attended Moldavian monasteries. It is considered to be the oldest monastery in the country. The monastery is situated in one of the most beautiful forest massifs – in Codru and is considered to be the cradle of Moldavian written language, music, and architecture.

Caravan in Moldova is organized by Eastern-European Association for Citizenship Education under support of the Federal Agency of Citizenship Education of Germany (bpb) and funded by German Foreign Office.

Read more:

Citizenship Education Caravan in Moldova: get to know the programme and the experts

The EENCE Citizenship Education Caravan has officially started in Moldova

The Caravan of Citizenship Education visits to northern regions in Moldova. Day 2

The Caravan of Citizenship Education in Moldova. Day 3 – Soroca

Сообщение EENCE Caravan continues its journey through Moldova. Day 4 – Strășeni появились сначала на Citizenship Education Caravan 2023.

At the High School “Constantin Stere” was held a seminar on the topic “Democratic citizenship: rights and responsibilities” where participants were able to assess how familiar they are with their rights and responsibilities in their communities. Also, the teaching staff noted, “that a step towards improving learning and developing democratic culture skills is to create conditions for the expression of opinions in all school subjects.” 

Currently, the Moldovan curriculum does not give complete freedom to choose subjects of study, everything is predetermined and strictly followed, without taking into account improvements or changes. In today’s society, it is imperative to always be alert to the news and update information whenever necessary.

There was also a seminar on the topic “Education for European Integration” where participants were able to outline that European integration is the process of creating social communities through effective interaction between their members in various social, cultural, and even economic areas. As a result, a security community is formed in which political factors are oriented toward the creation of a new political center.

Next, the Caravan team went to the College of Arts “Nicolae Botgros”, where the students along with Caravan’s experts discussed democratic citizenship through art.

Participants noted, ” To change this world, you must first start working on yourself.” That is why, citizenship education is an important point in order to understand where and how you can make your environment better.

At the end of the day, the Caravan team visited the Soroca Fortress, the oldest point in the city, where they were able to learn more about the history of this place. Soroca Fortress is a 15th-century Moldavian fortress built in wood by Stephen the Great before the ford of the Nistru river and rebuilt in stone by his successors at the beginning of 16th century.

Caravan in Moldova is organized by Eastern-European Association for Citizenship Education under support of the Federal Agency of Citizenship Education of Germany (bpb) and funded by German Foreign Office.

Read more:

Citizenship Education Caravan in Moldova: get to know the programme and the experts

The EENCE Citizenship Education Caravan has officially started in Moldova

The Caravan of Citizenship Education visits to northern regions in Moldova. Day 2

Сообщение The Caravan of Citizenship Education in Moldova. Day 3 – Soroca появились сначала на Citizenship Education Caravan 2023.

At the High School “Mihai Eminescu” the experts: Yuriy Petrushenko, Alexandru Seu and Daniela Vacarciuc had a workshop with teenagers about education for European integration. Pupils were asked to create a portrait of a European citizen, where they had to add the qualities and the values that they believe a citizen has to get in order to be part of the European community. As a result, the qualities that were mostly mentioned were: honesty, integrity, authenticity, flexibility, and community engagement. 

Pupils were asked to create a portrait of a European citizen, where they had to add the qualities and the values that they believe a citizen has to get in order to be part of the European community.  

As a result, the qualities that were mostly mentioned were: honesty, integrity, authenticity, flexibility, and community engagement.

At the Secondary school „Grigore Vieru” the experts Valery Balayan, Natalia Cebotari, and Petru Golban discussed European citizenship: rights and responsibilities.

During the activity, Anastasia, who was one of the participants mentioned: “For me, Europe is identified with blue color, it expresses peace for the community”

Afterward, the Caravan team with city hall employees had a workshop with the topic “Democratic Citizenship: Rights and Responsibilities” which was an important destination for an exchange of knowledge about civic local engagement with international experts and to see how the projects are developing in the main institution in the city.

Being present at the event, the mayor of the city, Constantin Cojocaru expressed his gratitude and openness for this initiative saying: ” It is critical to have these opportunities where the international experts can share their civic experiences from their countries, so we could implement the directions for a better and resilient society”, and „I consider myself a liberal mayor, but I will take a lot of things into account after this meeting.”.

Nikolai Viniatinsky, seminar participant: “Today our city was visited by the Civic Education Caravan. Representatives of Germany, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Moldova held a lesson in the mayor’s office on the topic “Democratic citizenship: rights and responsibilities.” The guests told us about themselves, gave a correct understanding of modern democracy, told us what and how to increase civic activity, to improve life, and advised us to involve our youth in public life. As for ourselves, we took an interest in the activity of our society. “

On the way to the third planned activity, the Caravan team had the chance to visit the local surroundings of Edineț city.

At the Museum of the City of Edineț, together with the director Mosoric Galina, museum workers, and teachers discussed the importance of preserving history and the past in order to choose the right paths in the future. Indeed, without remembering the effort that was made to create the present time, we can’t access a bright and successful future, that is why museums can be associated with “the devoted historical altars” for citizens. 

That was an interesting and truly enriched experience because of the experience we shared, the exchange of productive opinions that resulted for future projects and ideas in citizenship education and engagement. 

Caravan in Moldova is organized by Eastern-European Association for Citizenship Education under support of the Federal Agency of Citizenship Education of Germany (bpb) and funded by German Foreign Office.

Read more:

Citizenship Education Caravan in Moldova: get to know the programme and the experts

The EENCE Citizenship Education Caravan has officially started in Moldova

Сообщение The Caravan of Citizenship Education visits to northern regions in Moldova. Day 2 появились сначала на Citizenship Education Caravan 2023.

The Caravan was launched on the 25th of September by the national coordinator in the Republic of Moldova, Sergiu Musteață. 

”I believe that, especially in these difficult times, the young Moldovan generation has to know all the perspectives of their true mission in civic engagement, the opportunities, and their rights in making decisions, that is why we invited them to discover more from verified sources and experts. ”, mentioned Sergiu Musteață.

As part of the expert team, Svetlana Alenitskaya, representative of the Federal Agency for Citizenship Education explained that the aim of the agency is “to be the soft protection of constitution because through the principles of neutrality, actuality, and comprehensiveness we are trying to involve as many persons as we can. We want to get to all that civic engagement can and should be as accessible as it is.”

During the workshop, Azar Ramazanov, Yuriy Petrushenko and Nino Gvaramadze, together with pupils from three of the “Gheorghe Asachi”, “George Meniuc” and “Liviu Deleanu” High Schools discussed the types of civic engagement: passive, symbolic and the active one, they implemented the ways they can improve their communities and how concluded on how important is to be involved in civic education and knowledge. 

For the next few days, The Citizenship Education Caravan will take place in other four cities in Moldova: Edineț, Soroca, Căușeni, and Strășeni.

The purpose of organizing this project in Moldova during these uncertain times from political, social, and global views is more than the general one because young people are the most powerful but at the same time the most vulnerable in getting the information, that is why we need to assure that they get actual, neutral and comprehensive knowledge on citizenship education. 

Caravan in Moldova is organized by Eastern-European Association for Citizenship Education under support of the Federal Agency of Citizenship Education of Germany (bpb) and funded by German Foreign Office.

Read more:

Citizenship Education Caravan in Moldova: get to know the programme and the experts

Сообщение The EENCE Citizenship Education Caravan has officially started in Moldova появились сначала на Citizenship Education Caravan 2023.

To see the Caravan programme in Moldova, click on “+INFO” on the picture below.

Meet the experts at Caravan:

Valery Balayan (Ukraine)

Russian and Ukrainian documentalist, journalist at Radio Liberty, citizenship education trainer, and professor at the Free University of Riga, Latvia.

He is also the General Director of the public organization registered in Kyiv, Ukraine – “Centre for the Study and Development of Civil Initiatives”.

Natalia Cebotar (Moldova)

Teacher of history and education for society. National trainer in the educational projects
“Education for Democracy in the Republic of Moldova”, “INSPIRE”, “Children Defenders of
Human Rights”, etc.

Nino Gvaramadze (Georgia)

Doctor in pedagogy, professor at the European University (Georgia), expert in Citizenship
Education at the National Center for Professional Development of Teachers. Nino has published
more than 25 works in the field of civic education. During the Caravan in Moldova, she will give presentations and discussions on the topics: Democratic Citizenship and Civic Participation.

Petru Golban (Moldova)

Teacher of history and education for society, national trainer at Education for Society and within the Democratic School Governance project in the Republic of Moldova.

Co-author of some curricular documents, and author of some historical-themed articles.

Corina Lungu (Moldova)

Main consultant at the Ministry of Education and Research (since 2010), responsible for the coordination, at the national level, of curriculum policies in the field of socio-human sciences.

She has extensive experience in curriculum development and is the author, co-author and coordinator of numerous regulatory acts regarding the organization of general education and didactic products for the school subjects “Romanian and Universal History”, and “Education for Society”.

Yury Petrushenko (Ukraine)

Head of the Board of the East European Association for Civic Education, deputy head of the Council of the Ukrainian Association for Adult Education.

He has over 15 years of experience in implementing educational projects in the field of adult education and citizenship education at local, national, and international levels. Head of the Adult Education Center in
Sumy Ukraine.

Yury is a doctor of economic sciences, professor, and head of department at Sumy State University.

Alexandru Seu (Moldova)

History teacher. Professional concerns are focused on studying historical facts from the perspective of collective memory and on strengthening civic skills through a constructive approach to media and electoral education.

He is the author of several scientific and popularization articles in the field. As part of the Caravan, he will address the issue of the historical memory of Stalinist repressions and the particularities of the electoral processes in the context of the Local Elections in Moldova.

Azar Ramazanov (Azerbaidjan)

President of the Association for Adult Education. Director of the Consultancy Center for Adult Education.

He has over 20 years of experience in the implementation and development of educational projects and programs, adult education, and citizenship education at the national and international levels.

Daniela Vacarciuc (Moldova)

A history teacher, and high school director, has studies in the fields of educational management, and history teaching and is an expert within the Pestalozzi Project.

She believes in democratic values and constantly promotes them.

Sergiu Musteata (Moldova)

National coordinator of the Caravan in Moldova.

Historian, Professor of the Department of History and Geography at the Ion Creanga Pedagogical State University of Chisinau.

Former researcher at various fellowships in the USA, Germany, Hungary, Sweden, Poland, etc.

Founder of the National Association of Historians of Moldova.

During the last three decades he has realised many projects related to history education, democratic citizenship and heritage preservation.

Caravan is organized by Eastern-European Association for Citizenship Education under support of the Federal Agency of Citizenship Education of Germany (bpb) and funded by German Foreign Office.

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Сообщение Citizenship Education Caravan in Moldova: get to know the programme and the experts появились сначала на Citizenship Education Caravan 2023.