Projects
Carl Bertelsmann Prize 2007 'Civic Engagement as an Educational Goal'
Examples of good practice -- On the way to becoming a prize-winner
The motto of this year's Carl Bertelsmann Prize is "Educating role models -- Civic Engagement as an Educational Goal". Against this backdrop, a team assembled by the Institute of Organizational Communication (Institut für Organisationskommunikation, IFOK) from Berlin and the Education Development Center (EDC) from Boston identified -- as part of an international research project - more than 200 programs which have already successfully and systematically established positive conditions and structures for the promotion of civic engagement among children and adolescents in educational institutions, e.g. daycare centers and schools.
Their search included 12 countries: Brazil, Germany, Estonia, Finland, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa and the United States.
Of the programs identified, 68 fulfilled the criteria set out for potential prizewinners. These criteria were developed jointly by the project team and the selection committee that comprises members of the youth advisory council "mitWirkung!," the Bertelsmann Stiftung Board of Trustees and experts from other foundations, non-governmental organizations and the academic sphere.
Fifteen programs regarded as outstandingly suited to the prize's purposes were chosen from this wide and varied assortment. Descriptions of the programs are available here on our website.
Following identification of the preliminary 15 programs, the research team, selection committee and CBP project members shortlisted 4 initiatives as finalists. Representatives from the Bertelsmann Stiftung and the research team then visited each of them on-site to have an in-depth look at their activities. Once the visits were complete, the selection committee and the youth advisory council made their recommendation to the jury for the 2007 Carl Bertelsmann Prize...
Top 4
Citizenship Foundation (UK)
With its multiple programs, the Citizenship Foundation wants to motivate children and adolescents to work with nonprofit organizations as a way of supporting social justice and social change. The organization's G-Nation, Go-Givers and Youth Act programs are designed to address a number of target groups in an age-appropriate manner. Early contact with nonprofits through Citizenship Foundation activities is meant to help young people develop a lifelong affinity for civic engagement.
Common Cents (US)
Common Cents is a nonprofit organization that promotes service learning among young people. Its best known program is Penny Harvest, through which children can express their natural empathy by collecting pennies and donating them to charitable organizations and institutions. The program acquaints children and adolescents with the importance of social solidarity while showing them that they have the ability to change the world.
Project Citizen (US)
Project Citizen is geared toward students and youth organizations. Developed by the Center for Civic Education, the program teaches participants how to observe the political process, develop strategies and, as a result, influence policy decisions at the appropriate level. As part of the program, which has been implemented throughout the United States, students cooperate with local civil society organizations. Through the CIVITAS International Program, Project Citizen also operates in over 50 countries around the globe.
Topic-Oriented Project for Social Engagement (Germany)
"Learning by taking action" is the motto of the TOP SE (Topic-Oriented Project for Social Engagement) initiative in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany. For participating students, the classroom experience is augmented with hands-on charitable activities. The state's secondary schools cooperate with nonprofit organizations to realize the program's collaborative agenda. Since 2004, the program has anchored social participation within the state's secondary curriculum, and TOP SE is now a standard feature in participating schools.
Other nominees
Enviroschools (New Zealand)
Schools and daycare centers in New Zealand have the opportunity to participate in the three-year Enviroschools program offered by the Enviroschools Foundation. The foundation provides classroom materials and supports the schools as they carry out their projects, which focus on sustainability and the environment. The program also emphasizes New Zealand's ethnic and cultural diversity and includes the wider school community in project activities.
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Envision (UK)
In 2000, four adolescents founded the Envision program with the goal of motivating young people to get involved in their communities. The program, which is integrated into the classroom experience, encourages students to develop their own projects. Participants discover how they can impact the political process, for example, or how they can make a positive contribution to society. The program's school teams are supported by volunteers from community organizations, nonprofits, universities and businesses.
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The Giraffe Heroes Project (USA)
The Giraffe Heroes Project discovers, rewards and creates genuine role models for civic engagement. Teaching concepts and materials geared specifically to the curriculum help children and adolescents to identify problems in their immediate environments and find solutions to them. The program has been implemented at schools in the USA since 1991. It is now firmly anchored in the curriculum for "character building" and in service learning projects.
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Learn and Serve America (US)
The Learn and Serve America program promotes service learning among children and adolescents in the United States. The program, administered by an independent federal agency, works primarily with schools, but also includes kindergartens, community groups and higher education institutions in its activities. More than 1 million young people have participated in the Learn and Serve America program, contributing their time and talent to the common good.
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National Center for Learning and Citizenship (US)
The National Center for Learning and Citizenship (NCLC) is a combined training center, research lab and policy advisor for issues relating to service learning and civic engagement. Using this centralized information repository, the Education Commission of the States (ECS) offers a range of resources and support for teachers, policymakers and others. In addition, NCLC has developed and implemented a series of quality standards for service-learning activities throughout the United States.
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North Carolina Civic Education Consortium (US)
The Civic Education Consortium is a strategic alliance between schools, nonprofit organizations and the state of North Carolina in the United States. The alliance's goal is to support young people as they become socially engaged citizens. The Civic Education Consortium trains teachers in the use of innovative instruction models and methods. In addition, young people can participate in the alliance's program for developing and implementing their own projects.
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Public Achievement (US)
Public Achievement teaches young people about the most important aspects of democracy and supports them as they realize citizenship-related projects, some 80 percent of which are implemented in conjunction with educational institutions. As part of the program, small groups of students meet regularly to discuss social issues and problems and to develop strategic solutions. Adults -- mostly from local community groups and civil society organizations -- only participate indirectly as "coaches."
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Civil Society Generation der Open Estonia Foundation (Estonia)
In order to strengthen its young democracy, the government of Estonia is working with nonprofit organizations to promote the concept of civic engagement. The program School as a Center of Local Community Life (Kool kui kohaliku elu keskus in Estonian) facilitates partnerships between schools and nonprofits in order to promote youth participation at the community level. The program develops materials for classroom instruction and offers continuing education opportunities for teachers.
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Valued Citizens (South Africa)
Valued Citizens is an educational program designed to help schools create an atmosphere that helps students take responsibility, promotes a sense of self-esteem and lowers the risk of violence. Through the means of art and artistic expression, young people learn about South Africa's democratic constitution and the importance of social responsibility. Valued Citizens runs its own instruction center, which trains educators in creative methods of teaching the program's objectives and in evaluating the program's outcomes in participating schools.
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The Voice of the Young (Finland)
The city of Helsinki has implemented the program Voice of the Young (Hesan Nuorten Aäni in Finnish) in all of its state-run schools. Designed to include civic engagement and self-initiative as interdisciplinary concepts in the classroom experience, it has been part of the national curriculum and the country's national education policy since 2004. The program's overall objective is to teach young people how to become involved in the world around them by providing them with access to the decision-making and governance structures in their school.
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Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (Canada)
The Toskan Casale Foundation's Youth and Philanthropy Initiative supports young people as they assess the problems their communities face and then design responses to them. Students carry out a competition to decide which nonprofits will receive financial support from the foundation. The program teaches students the values of responsibility and respect, and helps them become aware of how they can make a positive contribution in their own community.
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