YOUNG PEOPLE AND EUROPEAN VALUES

Centre for the Production of Knowledge and Skills (CPZV), the “Novi Sad 2021 – European Capital of Culture” project and OPENS2019 have implemented the project called “Young People and European Values” this year.

The main purpose of the project is to improve the activist potential of children and young people through their active inclusion in the process of European Youth Capital and preparation of the city of Novi Sad for European Capital of Culture 2021, so that their generations would take the responsibility of the development of cultural values in the future.

“We have tried to bring the artists who have spent a longer period of time and lived in European Union closer to pupils of high-schools, so that they can mutually reach the values that are important, especially when talking about the life in Europe”, Milica Rašković says before the “Novi Sad 2021 -European Capital of Culture” project.

Through personal stories and the prism of mentors, the pupils of high-schools of Novi Sad have met the templates and models of organisation and work in EU, and through mentoring process, they are encouraged to create and implement their own project ideas. As a result of mentoring work with young people, the pupils of high-schools have implemented their creative projects.

“What we have done together is some kind of reconsideration of values which are not only European, but primarily human. We have tried to mutually see the differences between Europe, my experience and the life in Spain and life here and we have realised that the intolerance does not differ abroad and here. Our project finally comes to bringing all that to light, and young people liked that. They are thrilled to be able to participate in the things that are related to the improvement of their lives and the society we live in”, Đorđe Obradović, one of the mentors explains.
Nevena is a pupil of “Svetozar Marković” Gymnasium and she has been included in the project from the very beginning, through workshops about recycling.
“I liked the workshops because I learned something new, primarily about European values and how important it is to know that”, Nevena adds. Her peer, Marina is a pupil of the third grade of the gymnasium in Sremski Karlovci and she is equally included in the project.
“With the help of workshops and I have learned a lot new things, within my workshop I learned a lot about Roma population and I met a lot of people”, Marina concludes.
Apart from that, the institutions of culture and education and organisations which deal with culture will be encouraged and empowered to implement the programs which contribute to the purpose of this project, by being training to prepare and implement the projects in the field of culture, and which cherish the European values and will get support in terms of preparation of project proposals.