The day before, there was a meeting between Deputy Minister of Education and Science Pavlo Polyanskyi and the director of the European Center named after Vergeland (EWC) by Anna-Perona Fielstad, representative of the Center named after Vergeland in Ukraine by Iryna Sabor and adviser to the Norwegian Ambassador to Ukraine Richard Scarborough, the main topic of which was the implementation of the 3-year national program "Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights" in Ukrainian education.

The program will be aimed at the development of a democratic culture in schools and the implementation of democratic, decentralized governance in educational institutions with the participation of students, parents, teachers, school principals and regional heads of education.

"Now our steps are aimed at ensuring the autonomy of the school and the autonomy of the teacher, and this policy should also reach the student. Therefore, in the new laws on education, on which the ministry and civil society are currently working together, we must provide for a new - democratic model of education management - noted the deputy minister. - After all, today's model is essentially totalitarian: everyone is enslaved in it - students, teachers, principals, heads of education. And it can't stay like this any longer," said Pavlo Polyanskyi.

Also, the participants of the meeting agreed that it is necessary to involve not only students, parents, teachers, school principals, but also regional heads of education in the seminars and trainings of the "Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights" program. Also, a number of events will be held in the south-eastern regions of Ukraine.

"The main idea of the program is to gather children, teachers and leaders from all over Ukraine for dialogue and cooperation. The democratic model of education management will work only if all participants in the educational process are involved in its implementation," Anna-Perona Fielstad emphasized.

It is planned that the program will cover 120 schools in all regions of Ukraine. Trainings and seminars will be held for the participants of the educational process, as well as representatives of the public and local authorities, with the aim of integrating the principles of democratic citizenship into the educational process and into the education management system. The program additionally provides for the training of local trainers and methodologists in order to increase its effectiveness.

Today, the initiative covers 40 schools from different regions of Ukraine; about 7,000 participants are involved in its various projects. EWC programs combine trainings (the training model involves the participation of teachers, school administration, parents and public representatives), distance learning and support of school initiatives to achieve changes in the school and community.

According to the material: Educational portal "Pedagogical Press"