On January 29, 2020, a press conference was held in Sisak, presenting the activities and the results of the project “Follow my Steps!”.
The project activities at the conference were presented by Paula Raužan, President of Local Democracy Agency Sisak, Tamara Rabljenović, Project Manager, Klara Počekal Ivičinec, Coordinator of volunteers in ALD Sisak and representatives of partner schools, Professor Marijana Milas from Sisak Gymnasium High School, Mirela Majstorović from High School Ivana Trnskoga in Hrvatska Kostajnica and Maja Mahmutovic from Sisak-Moslavina County, who is one of the project partners.
Jurica Posilović, Laura Prpić and Lucija Lamza also attended conference. They are students from Sisak Gymnasium High School who shared their experiences of participating in the project. The students in attendance, together with the teachers, also worked on the development of the school’s volunteer program, which was incorporated into the school curriculum in January. In particular, they emphasized that through education they gained new knowledge in the field of volunteering and activism, met new people and became closer to professors and that their interest in engaging in volunteer activities and engagement was also expressed by peers who have not volunteered so far at future school volunteer clubs.
Tamara Rabljenović, project manager from ALD Sisak, pointed out that the following activities were carried out in Sisak and Hrvatska Kostajnica: Training for trainers on practical work with young people on the topic of sustainable development, attended by a total of 16 representatives of schools and students forming working groups Schools, Education for School Representatives on the Design and Implementation of School Volunteering Programs, Student Volunteering Workshops attended by a total of 87 students from Gymnasium High School in Sisak and High School Ivana Trnskoga from Hrvatska Kostajnica, International Volunteer Day when the Volunteer Program Photo areas of Sisak-Moslavina County and when the Volunteer of the Year awards were presented.
Klara Počekal Ivičinec presented the conducted Needs Analysis on the type of volunteer programs that was conducted among teachers and students of schools. The analysis showed that a large number of students volunteers have an interest in participating in further activities. It is interesting to point out that education of parents has not proven to be an important factor influencing a student’s decision to voluntee or not, as well as the fact that if students have an example of a volunteer person in the family or the surrounding area, they often decide to volunteer themselves. Within the Volunteer Club, students would most like to organize activities such as humanitarian action, learning assistance, environmental planning activities, healthy eating workshops, and workshops that contribute to gender equality and reduce hate speech. The analysis was one of the tools that helped students and teachers to design the school’s volunteer program together in a democratic way.
Carriers and partners have announced upcoming activities, namely the opening of a school volunteer club in Sisak Gymnasium High School on 21 February 2020 and in Hrvatska Kostajnica on 24 February 2020.
The second press conference was followed by a second meeting of partners to determine the results achieved so far and to discuss upcoming activities and technical details for the purpose of opening school volunteer clubs.
The project “Follow My Steps! – Youth for a Sustainable Community” is Co-financed by the Office for NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia through the Swiss-Croatian Cooperation Program. The leader of the project is the Local Democracy Agency Sisak, and the partners are Sisak Gymnasium High School, High School Ivan Trnski Hrvatska Kostajnica and Sisak-Moslavina County. The aim of the project is to contribute to the promotion of partnership between civil society organizations and educational institutions in the field of volunteerism, which contributes to social and economic cohesion and sustainable development in the Sisak – Moslavina County.
Programme is co-financed by the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs.
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The views expressed in this text are the sole responsibility of the Local Democracy Agency Sisak and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Govermnent Office for Cooperation with NGOs.
