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About the project

The IDM is setting up new Democracy Workshops in cooperation with the Austrian Parliament and supported by ERSTE Foundation.

The Democracy Workshops in the Austrian Parliament offer workshops for children and young people. They were developed in 2007 by the Austrian parliamentary administration and quickly became a very successful political education project. Young students aged 8-15 deal with different topics under motivating guidance in six workshops: Parliament: The way of a law; Media: How do I get information?; Politicians: Who will represent me?; Participation: My opinion counts; Time Travel: Explore the Republic; Europe: Getting to know the European Union; To this date, around 120,000 children and young people have completed the democracy workshop in Vienna.

With the support of ERSTE Foundation, other parliamentary administrations were able to set up their own democracy workshop, each of which was coordinated with the Austrian Democracy Workshop in terms of format, didactics and standards. The Democracy Workshops in Montenegro (since 2014) and Kosovo (since 2018) have become an integral part of democracy education in their countries, with large numbers of participants. During the visit of National Council President Sobotka to Albania and North Macedonia in spring 2020, the parliaments in Tirana and Skopje reaffirmed their desire to set up their own democracy workshops in cooperation with Vienna. Cooperation in setting up a Democracy Workshops in Bratislava was also discussed during the visit of the Secretary General of the Chancellery of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, Daniel Guspan, to Vienna in autumn 2020.

For the implementation of these plans, the IDM serves as implementing partner. In the course of implementation, the IDM will also intensify the further networking of the existing and new Democracy Workshops in order to continue to support the professional exchange and the high didactic level of the trainers from all countries in coordination with the Austrian Parliament.

 

Project coordinator: 

Robin Gosejohann

 

Call for Expression of Interest for Non-Governmental Organizations to implement the Democracy Workshop Project in the Albanian Assembly

 

The Austrian Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM) supported by ERSTE Foundation invites all interested non-governmental organisations (NGO) in Albania to apply for the implementation of the Democracy Workshops in the Albanian Assembly.

IDM supported by ERSTE Foundation together with the Albanian Assembly as the beneficiary, seeks to implement the Democracy Workshops in Albania with the goal of establishing them as one of the core civic education programmes of the Albanian Assembly.

The Democracy Workshop programme was originally established by the Austrian Parliament in 2007to familiarize young people with the basics of democracy, parliamentary life and media competence in all its aspects. Based on the Austrian model, the programme will be implemented in Albania. It is designed as four-hour workshops through which primary and secondary school children, with the help of selected expert trainers, can learn how parliamentary democracy works through interactive activities and the creation of a media feature.

The goal of the Democracy Workshop programme is to promote an interest in democratic and political processes as well as to contribute to a better understanding of the principles of democracy and to gain knowledge about the role of the parliament in the democratic structure of a state, the parliamentary processes, and the daily work of MPs. The workshops also strive to illustrate additional key elements for political participation: the willingness, the ability, and the courage to express an opinion and media literacy.

The selected NGO will recruit trainers who will receive the necessary trainings to deliver the workshops. The technical equipment required to conduct the workshops will be provided. In addition, the Administration of the Albanian Assembly will provide administrative support and expertise in conducting the workshops. During the initial implementation phase the project will be realized by the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe. This initial implementation phase will be completed by the end of May 2023. Following the completion of this phase, the Administration of the Albanian Assembly intends to continue the programme.

 

Eligible organisations must meet all the following criteria:

· registered according to Albanian law and in full compliance with all Albanian legal requirements;

· proven experience in recruitment and team management;

· proven experience in project management;

· have team members proficient in the English language for work on a day to day basis;

· previous experience in civic education and/or work with school children will be an asset;

· previous experience with projects in the field of democratisation, governance and human rights will be an asset.

 

Eligible organisations must submit the following documentation:

· letter of interest;

· CV of the person(s) representing the NGO and the working group in charge of implementing the project;

· CV of the NGO and a short description of working field of respective NGO;

· written report on a good practice (up to two pages);

· copy of the NGO registration (“Ekstrakti më i fundit nga Gjykata e Rrethit Gjyqësor Tiranë”);

· certification from the tax authorities that the NGO has no debts with Albanian fiscal authorities (Vërtetim nga organi tatimor që organizata nuk ka detyrime të pashlyera për sa i përket kontributeve për sigurimet shoqërore, sigurimet shëndetësore dhe tatimet);

· certification from the tax authorities that the NGO is active (Vërtetim nga organi tatimor mbi statusin aktiv të organizatës dhe kopje e dokumentit të regjistrimit në organin tatimor, NIPT);

· copy of the most recent approved statute (Kopje e statutit të organizatës që aplikon; varianti më i fundit);

· yearly budget of the organization and official financial disclosures of the last two years (Buxheti vjetor i organizatës, pasqyrat financiare të dy viteve të fundit me firmën dhe vulën e organizatës sipas formatit të deklaruar në organet tatimore);

· copy of any other documentation (e.g., performance report, certificates, awards, publications) that addresses the qualification requirements as listed above.

 

NGOs may send their application documents as PDF-files, in English, via e-mail to the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe, Robin Gosejohann, r.gosejohann@idm.at by 30 September, 2022 (COB).

 

A certified translation of official documents is not necessary. Please note: any costs incurred for the application will not be covered.

The applications will be reviewed by a screening committee against the listed requirements. Organisations meeting these requirements will be contacted and notified of further steps.

Call for Expression of Interest (as a PDF-document)

 

Further information:

 

Relevant publications:

 

 

Über das Projekt

• Projektkoordination: Mag. Robin Gosejohann, MA