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Local Level Youth Participation
December 2019
Training for Young Politicians (275kb) >>>
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The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia (HCHR), in
cooperation with the Czech organization “Agora“, and with the
support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic,
implemented the project "Developing and Promoting Youth
Participation at Local Level in Serbia". Through simulation of the
local assemblies’ sessions in nine municipalities in Serbia, the
high school students got acquainted with the processes of arguments
and fact-based discussions and had an opportunity to express their
concerns about the problems in their local surroundings.
All sessions were kicked-off with the presentations of the
structure, work, and responsibilities of the given local assembly,
ideally by representatives of the local administration themselves.
After that, under the guidance of the trainer, students dived into
the game, which consisted of three parts: intraparty discussion,
assembly session, and voting. In the first part, participants worked
within their parties with the aim to develop the argumentation on
how to resolve the problem of pollution. Second part of the
simulation included the debate between political parties on their
respective proposals. The final, third part was voting on the tabled
proposals.
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Municipal Politics Simulation Game
During October, three simulations were held. The
first two simulation games were conducted in the town of Novi Pazar
and in the municipality of Sjenica. Novi Pazar is one of the towns
with the youngest population in Europe: its citizens are 33 years
old, on average. Sjenica is among the small number of municipalities
with positive population growth in Serbia as well. Both towns are
located in the Sandzak area (Novi Pazar is a part of Raska region
and Sjenica of a Zlatibor region). Third simulation was held in the
town of Bor.
Novi Pazar
The simulation in the Novi Pazar Gymnasium was
organized on 28 October 2019, with the participation of 29 students
who attend civic education classes in 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade.
The representatives of the Town Assembly, Mr. Esad
Mahmutovic and Mr. Ahmedin Binjos opened the simulation game with
detailed presentation on the purpose, work and the most important
local issues that have been discussed in the Novi Pazar Assembly
during 2019. This was an interactive discussion, especially focused
on the importance and the tools at disposal for an active civic
engagement in local issues. After this part, students were divided
in five groups, following the lines of the real power division in
the local assembly. The groups included the Social Democratic Party,
the Party of Democratic action, the Party of Justice and
Reconciliation, the Serbian National Party, and the Serbian
Progressive Party.
The students choose to discuss the topic of lack
of parking lots in Novi Pazar. This infrastructure problem was met
with interest from all sides in the simulation, and their motivation
to focus on citizens’ welfare was so evident. The winning proposal
suggested to build the big parking lot on several levels that will
be central and accessible for all citizens.
Students’ impressions were predominantly positive.
They found the simulation game interesting, and an innovative
learning tool on resolving problems in the society. They also
emphasized that the team work was always a positive way to discuss
problems and jointly seek resolutions, which motivated participants
to be more creative in thinking new ideas on how to change their
town on better. This was the first time for all of them to
participate in this kind of workshop, as well as in a non-formal
education program generally. The discussion with the opponent
political parties and presenting ideas were aspects that were
emphasized as the most important and challenging in their work. They
felt good and comfortable in the role of local representatives, and
satisfied to see how their perspective on the work of the local
assembly was different than before the simulation.
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Sjenica The simulation game in
Sjenica was organized on 29 November 2019, in the
Technical-Agricultural High School, with 21 students who attend the
civic education classes from all four grades. The simulation game
was opened by the Secretary of the Sjenica Municipality, Ms. Nermina
Karisik, who presented the main responsibilities of this
institution, the process of making decisions in the local
municipality, and the civic participation in decision making
processes. After the introductory part, students were divided in
five groups, mirroring the real power division in the local
assembly: the Social Democratic Party, the Party of Democratic
Action, the Party of Justice and Reconciliation, the Serbian
Progressive Party, and the Socialist Party of Serbia.
Students chose the problem of illegal waste dumps across the
municipality as a topic for the simulation debate. The interaction
during the simulation and the discussion that had followed was
interesting; it clearly reflected the real parliamentary behaviour
and the importance of strong arguments when discussing important
issues. It was obvious that students were aware of the need to find
joint solution - the one that best suits to all or majority of
citizens - instead of just blindly following the interest of
respective parties. The solution that won majority of votes was the
one suggesting to build recycling centers at the margins of the
municipality area, with the financial contribution of the
municipality. What students liked the most was the
knowledge they gained on the functioning of their local assembly,
its work, debates between political opponents, and atmosphere
generally. Some of them emphasized that they needed the final debate
between parties; one student expressed the feeling of being on his
own in some arguments and actions, and unable to cooperate with his
counterparts in the “party”. Almost 90% of participants said that
they have learnt new things about local municipality; for 79,9 %
this was new and nice experience. |
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Bor The simulation of the
assembly session has been conducted on 4 November 2019, in the
Gymnasium “Bora Stankovic” in Bor. This town is well-known for its
mining industry; hence the main topic of the simulation was the air,
water and soil pollution. Despite being timely
invited, the representatives of the local municipality did not show
up on the simulation in order to present the work of the local
institutions. One of the reasons may be “practice of ignorance” of
civil society organizations by local governments and their mistrust
in their work. Thus, the simulation was opened by the trainer Tamara
Miljus who covered this part successfully. She informed students
about main principals of work of the local municipality and the
assembly, who are citizens’ representatives, what are their main
duties, how they make decisions, and most important, how can
citizens be involved in the decision-making processes. This part of
the simulation was an interactive one, with lot of students’
questions reflecting their interest in the topic. It was of huge
importance for the next session in which the participants had
simulated the assembly session on the question how to restrict
further pollution of the town and its surroundings.
13 students in the 2nd and 4th grade were divided in three groups,
following the real political divisions in the local parliament:
Serbian Progressive Party, Socialist Party of Serbia, Democratic
Party. It was evidently that the youngsters were
enjoying the team work and building arguments. They liked writing
proposals and inquires, as well as the internal debate on the best
pro- and con- arguments; they also liked making compromise,
communicating with others, lobbying for their own ideas, learning
new terms and using them in the debate, presenting a proposal to
representatives and the atmosphere of real assembly debate. What
they did not like was the autocracy behaviour of one leader of the
party, and the lack of time for internal debate. Weak sides of this
experience for them was making of defence arguments, refraining from
sudden reaction on someone’s bad argument, listening to opponents,
but the discussion flow in the debate part as well. Some students
did not feel ideologically belonging to the party they were part of
in the simulation, which they found quite uncomfortable; however,
they understood that this was a unique opportunity to practice
argumentation in “the others shoes”, the shoes of the opponent. The
debate was very interactive, fruitful and full of replicas and
questions, with all students actively participating. |
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During November, three simulation games were held
in two Gymnasiums in Belgrade and one in Paraćin in Central Serbia.
Both Belgrade Gymnasiums have discussed the issue of the traffic jam
in Belgrade. Participants were divided in three biggest parties that
are present in the Belgrade City Assembly: Serbian Progressive
Party, Serbian Patriotic Union, and Socialist Party of Serbia.
Representatives of City Assembly were unable to come and participate
in the introductory part due to the previously taken obligations.
City of Belgrade The simulation
game in the VI Belgrade Gymnasium was organized on 27 November 2019,
with 21 students in 3rd and 4th grade taking part in it. All
involved students were active in the school parliament and were
attending the civic education classes. Key note speakers included
the Executive Director of the HCHR, Ms. Izabela Kisić and Deputy
Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Serbia, Mr. Pavel Koblizka. They
explained the goals of the simulation, and its importance for
learning how to be an active citizen in a society. Students have
also heard about the work of the HCHR in Serbia, and the
opportunities the activism offers for one’s personal development.
Mr. Koblizka spoke about the Czech experience with visits to the
local assemblies and simulation games, which were quite common for
their Czech peers. This part was interactive, with lot of questions
and comments showing that students were very well informed and
prepared for the session. Students pointed to the
public transportation and massive traffic jam as being the most
urgent problem in their city and the Zvezdara municipality. Hence,
the discussion topic for this simulation session was how to resolve
this issue permanently. Being aware that lot of citizens from other
Belgrade municipalities travel to and from Zvezdara on a daily
basis, the proposal drafted by the participants reflected the
necessity of cooperation with other municipalities and the City of
Belgrade as well. After this part, students were divided in three
groups. Students emphasized that they liked the process of drafting
and creating the proposals, internal communication, debating, and
persuading each other with their own arguments. That way, they have
learnt debating rules, active listening, presenting ideas,
developing argumentation, and team work. They appreciated activity
of colleagues, lots of new ideas and different perspectives, as well
as the feeling of being in power and able to influence something.
What they did not like was the lack of time for the party work in
creating draft proposals, while some had an impression that they did
not have enough space to present their ideas; some other
participants found it challenging to support suggestions of their
own party which they did not find fitting to their idea, as well as
to equally appreciate all proposals, suggestions and opinions.
At the end, the solution that won majority of votes suggested
creating new lines of public transportation for the Zvezdara
municipality, thus making it better connected with the rest of the
city. This part of the game was very interesting for students, and
they expressed satisfaction with being part of it. The difficult
part for some of them was the public speaking, creating and
defending arguments, lack of time for answering or justifying
proposals. Additional comments of students were
mostly focused on the question on why the game had to reflect the
real political division in the local assembly. One member of the
Serbian Progressive Party group pointed out that only being in this
party gave them bad reputation and an automatic confronting
attitudes of other towards them. The trainer explained them that the
best way to learn is through the simulation of the real-life
situations – in this case how to make decisions with the citizens’
best interest at heart. One student emphasized that this was unique
and important experience for them, as they do not have so many
opportunities to be part of the non-formal education activities in
or outside the school. In the IV Belgrade Gymnasium
the simulation game was held on 29 November 2019, with 14 students
from 3rd and 4th grade who are active in the school parliament
participating. Students were interested to hear more about the civic
initiative and the referendum for resolving the local problems. All
students enjoyed this part of the game; they particularly liked the
process of creating arguments and making compromises, as well as the
cooperation between party members and intraparty debates. They too
find it difficult to work in such a limited timeframe.
The debate was mostly focused on the measures that have to be taken
in order to make easier traffic through Belgrade. The winning
proposal suggested introducing the new, mini bus lines especially
for the territory of the Savski Venac municipality. The debate was
intensive, with lot of questions, arguments and counterarguments. A
bit challenging for the students was defending their arguments, and
voting. They felt very good in this role, but stressed out on
questions and proper argumentation. More than half of them said they
have gained new knowledge on the debate rules, on making decisions,
on functioning of the local assembly and local municipality, and on
the referendum. More than 80% evaluated the game as the very
interesting experience. |
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Paraćin The simulation game was
held in the Town Hall of the Municipality of Paraćin on November 28
2019, with 24 students in 3rd and 4th year of the Gymnasium Paraćin.
The introductory part was held by the Mayor of Paraćin, Mr. Saša
Paunović, who gave a lecture on the work and responsibilities of the
local administration in this town, as well as on his role as a
Mayor. After that, the students were divided into three parties: the
Coalition around Democratic party “Strongly ahead”, the Group of
citizens “All for Paraćin-Tomislav Šaletić“, and Serbian progressive
party. This session dealt with the problem of stray
dogs in Paraćin, a decade old problem affecting the lives of all
citizens. The discussion was fruitful and dynamic, with interesting
suggestions on how to sustainably resolve this problem. The
suggestions included accommodating all dogs in the regional asylum
center in Vrnjačka Banja, vaccinating them, and placing for
adoption. The solution that won the majority of voices was the one
of promoting the adoption of stray dogs by citizens who want to have
pets. Students liked the making of arguments and
developing joint solution within the party, as well as the group
work which in their opinion have expressed the diversity of opinions
and reflected the real situation in the municipality. Here too some
participants did not like being in the given party, but were
explained that the goal was to learn to act in the citizens’ and not
the political party interest. The most difficult
for students was to lobby for the proposal of their group, to write
a proposal, to develop idea and the argumentation. Some found it
hard to be in the role of a public speaker, while some found it
challenging to express themselves in such a short discussion time.
They felt special as councillors; it was an interesting experience
for them, enabling them to learn a lot of new things and skills. As
the most valuable for them was the very work within the group, the
development of the arguments, the insight into the work of the
municipality and the local assembly, and learning about the real
situation on the stray dogs. |
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Three last simulation
games were implemented in December in Petrovac na Mlavi (East
Serbia, Braničevo region), Smederevo (Central Serbia, Braničevo
region) and Gornji Milanovac (West Serbia, Morava region). In
Petrovac na Mlavi and in Smederevo simulation games were implemented
in the town halls and welcomed by officials of local governments.
Petrovac na Mlavi The
simulation game with students of the final year of Gymnasium
„Mladost“ in Petrovac na Mlavi was organized on 3 December 2019, in
the Town Hall. The participants were greeted by the Secretary of the
Assembly of the Municipality of Petrovac na Mlavi, Ms. Milica
Marković, who gave a lecture on the local assembly duties,
functions, structure, and citizens’ influence. Ms. Marković stayed
and participated during the whole simulation game, advising students
on how to prepare good proposal or make a discussion argument. After
that, the students were divided in two groups: Socialist Party of
Serbia and Serbian Progressive Party. The session’s topic was about
the traffic jam during the summer period in the city center. The
groups proposed 1) building the whole new parking lot in the city
center, and 2) toppling the building of the old hotel and building a
parking lot on its place. The discussion was dynamic, and polarized
between the two options, with huge focus on the budget reallocations
and the importance of the old hotel building for Petrovac cultural
image. Students liked the team work, the
cooperation and communication within party and between parties. Some
of them did not agree with the chosen topic, as well as with the
argumentation of their colleagues in the group. Students liked the
participation of the Assembly Secretary Ms. Markovic, praising her
communicativeness, detailed explanations, and presentation skills.
What they liked most was creating and defending the arguments in
support of their proposal, working in groups, voting time, and new
knowledge about the local municipality and assembly. The most
difficult part for some was the voting session, developing and
agreeing on the joint proposal, and debating specific details with
the opposite group. They felt great as councillors, although
sometimes stressed out with the replicas and discussion in general. |
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Smederevo The simulation in
Smederevo was held on 12 December 2019, in the Town Hall, with 23
students in 3rd and 4th grade of the Smederevo Gymnasium. The Mayor
of Smederevo, Ms. Jasna Avramović, welcomed students and spoke about
the importance of civic activism, non-formal education programs, and
the cooperation between the local governments and NGOs. Her speech
was followed by the Deputy of Chairman of the City Assembly, Mr.
Branče Stojanović, who gave an overview of the work, duties and an
everyday dynamic of the Assembly, the purpose and type of
regulations made there, and the citizens’ impact on the
decision-making processes. The Secretary of the Assembly, Ms. Milica
Vračar, held a short lecture on the political structure and the
division of power in the current convocation, as well as the
decisions which most directly influence the life of citizens. The
special key note speech was given by Ms. Ivana Bursikova, Director
of Agora, who pointed out the importance of the non-formal education
for self-development, presented the similar simulation games in the
Czech Republic, and explained the importance of active citizenship.
The students unanimously decided that they want to debate about the
air-pollution, given it to be the biggest and longest pressing
problem for this town. After the introductory part,
the students were divided into three groups, reflecting the real
local assembly structure: Serbian Progressive party, Socialistic
Party of Serbia, and Democratic Party. The division was made in
order to put them in situation to really simulate discussion on this
topic for the first time in Smederevo’s assembly. The debate was
really intense, especially because of the urgency of the problem and
its drastic impact on health of all citizens. Suggestions were
focused on the mid-term mitigation of the consequences of the
pollution, such as imposing taxes to highly polluting cars (diesel
or petrol based), and planting new trees with special anti-pollution
qualities. One proposal was to oblige the biggest polluter
“Železara” to put filters on their chimneys. However, the proposal
to impose the taxes won over other proposals, stating it to be the
best motivation for citizens to stop buying cars which have huge
part in the pollution rate. Students liked the
realness of the simulation, the methodology of work, trainer`s
explanations, sharing information and knowledge, public speaking,
brainstorming on various different ideas, and lobbying. They did not
like having only short time for the intraparty discussion, as well
as the pressure they felt to have the winning proposal.
As a positive experience, students emphasize working within the
group, designing brand new ideas on how to resolve the air-pollution
issue in Smederevo, and discussion on different proposals. While for
some participants making questions, public speaking and presenting
the joint proposal in front of others was interesting and an easy
part, for others it was quite challenging. Majority of them felt
nice in a councillor’s role. The most valuable benefit of this game
for them was the feeling that they can change something for real. As
the most important knowledge gained, students single out the debate
rules, the local assembly’s work and procedures, the referendum, and
a lot of new information on the air-pollution in Smederevo. |
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Gornji Milanovac The last
simulation game was held on 13 December 2019, in the Technical
school “Jovan Žujović” in Gornji Milanovac, with the participation
of 24 students in the 4th grade. Unfortunately, representatives of
the Municipality of Gornji Milanovac could not come, so Tamara
Miljus gave a lecture on the processes, structure, responsibilities
of the local assembly in this town instead. The discussion was
interesting, and full of student’s questions and requests for
clarifications. After being divided in two groups,
the Serbian Progressive Party and the Socialist Party of Serbia, the
students simulated the local assembly session on the issues of the
stray dogs. Two solutions were provided: 1) to build a big asylum
center on the territory of the municipality, and 2) vaccinating and
sterilizing stray dogs. Majority of students liked
the voting session, lobbying, creating and making arguments, and the
feeling of mutual respect. However, for some of them these were the
most challenging parts. They expressed feeling good and important,
and assessed the simulation game as very good. 60% of them said that
they have acquired new knowledge and skills, especially on lobbying,
on the work of the assembly, and on the citizens’ direct influence
in the decision-making processes. For 55% of them this was an
interesting experience, which they enjoyed. |
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EDUCATIONAL OUTREACHES |
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