Objectives
The project "Participation in Donaustadt. Students' representatives Forum“ allows young people to be part of democratic processes in the 22nd district of Vienna (Donaustadt). The project is carried out the school year 2021/22 together with the school representatives as well as with the representatives of the 7th and 8th grades and their deputies. It is based on the successful students' representatives forums of past years. Political participation and democratic competences are characteristics of well-informed citizens. Thus it is important to provide young people as soon as possible with opportunities to learn and live democracy in their daily life.
Implementation
The "Students' representatives Forum“ is carried out by Zeit!Raum – Verein für soziokulturelle Arbeit together with queraum as experts of youth participation and political education. The Magistratsabteilung 13 (Education and Youth) and the district deputy for children and youth in Donaustadt are involved in conceptual questions. The project encompasses six workshop. In these workshops, the young people get to know district structures, committees and commissions and the fields of action of their district representatives. Furthermore, the district provides a budget that can be used by the young people to realize their own ideas. In doing so, they test democratic decision making processes. The participants learn how democracy works and they are empowered to discuss various forms of democratic decisions. At the end of this process, the young participants implement their ideas – dependent of the COVID-19 situation.