In Slovakia, we desperately need to reform our educational system. It is even more obvious now, when challenged by an unprecedented crisis. The call for change has to come mainly from the parents. They need to be informed and to see how a good education can differ from what they´ve known as children. This can be achieved by sharing good educational practices with them. By involving them into a dialog about their children´s educational needs a possitive change can occur.

The project will take place in the region of Banská Štiavnica, central Slovakia.

Our region is still endangered by powerty, isolation, intolerance. The people living here are quite conservative, dissmissive towards new progressive ideas. The conservative mindset is often fully displayed when children´s education comes into question. It is very difficult to change educational practices in this region.
We´ve started and run a small privite school which implements inovative curriculum and teaching methods in Banská Štiavnica. We try to empower and enlarge community around this school. We try to spread modern concept of education aimed at soft skills, mutual respect, co-operation, critical reasoning, meeting individual needs of children which from a long term perspective would increase quality of life within this community and beyond it.

Mainly we are doing it for young children who are actively involved in the school system or who are going to enter into this systems in the upcoming years. If their important adults understand what they need in school it can make their lifes much easier.
Another important group are their parents and their broader families. We would like to activate them. We would like them to be more interested in what their children are doing in their school.
We also aim at teachers from our and other local schools. We would like them to share their good practices, to be ensured and acknowledged. We would like to help teacher who are progressive and pationate to spread their knowledge and passion more.

Open classes for parents where they could observe the work and learning process of their children. The observations would be discussed with the teacher afterwards.
Short lectures and workshops about innovative educational approaches our teachers would give for parents and other family members, for other teachers and other public members.
Preparation of instructional videos and writen materials about innovative educational practices for broader public.
Workshops / short term trainings in inovative educational approaches (e.g. critical reasoning, co-operation and participation, inclusion) for our teachers, parents of our pupils, members for broader public.
A local conference about innovative educational approaches and active citizenship.

The parents will be better informed, assured, more confident, more able to spread ideas in a confident authentic way. They will be more able to inspire, enthuse, persuade other members of their families.
Broader public, more members of the community will be better informed, less reserved, better understanding, more open, more ready to accepts reforms of the school system.
They can even be more active in demanding these changes and campaining for them.

By inviting people, opening our doors, showing them how things can be done differently we provide them with personal experiences, first hand evidence which can help change their minds, shift their perspectives a bit, accept different ways of doing things, accept different approaches.
The educational principles we try to promote and advocate for contribute to democracy strengthening for they help educate open minded active responsible and critical generation of people.

We strongly believe in the work we´ve been doing for eight years now. We consider modernizing of the Slovak educational system our mission and we are doing so locally, step by step, in an everyday practice, within a very traditional and conservative area. We are a group of motivated parents who started a civic organization aimed at innovations in education. This civic organization runs a primary and secondary school in Banská Štiavnica.

Personnel costs 25000 EUR
Travel and accommodation costs 500 EUR
Production costs (videos and short publications) 2000 EUR
Conference (organization and production) 800 EUR
Workshops and trainings (organization and production) 500 EUR
Public relations 1000 EUR
Office expences 500 EUR