Kosovo Calling

Globally connected yet locally engaged.

Community work, voluntary sector and active citizenship are concepts that are mentioned time and time again. Everyone has participated or at least knows of someone who has participated in local, community projects or performed a bit of voluntary work themselves.  I held the position of vice president for the University of East Anglia’s RAG (Raise and Give) charity society during my last year of my Bachelors.  I managed to become involved in the third sector quite late in respect to my demographic.  Furthermore the impact and importance to influence valid and sustainable change in a local community is not always fully understood or acknowledged.  Many of us partake in voluntary work for the benefit of our resumes and forget about the real importance these activities play in local communities.

The British Council are taking a global approach to local community action.  Globalisation allows communities to communicate with other communities elsewhere in the world with a view to personal interaction (physical exchanges), exchanging ideas and working on projects together.  Through this global outlook, ideas, concepts and successful implementation techniques can be exchanged through the participating active citizens in numerous countries worldwide.  Active citizens in Kosovo for instance can and will most probably benefit by liaising with fellow participants in the Balkan region and with their exchange community in the UK.  Through learning and understanding the difficulties and process that third sector communities in the UK face, the communities (in Kosovo) can apply learned processes to remedy sustainable change in their Social Action Projects.  The process and successful implementation of voluntary work and active citizens is perfectly summed up by Tom Broadhurst (British Council): “It’s about exchanging skills for taking direct action, about helping people help themselves.” Its about addressing the same or similar issues but in different settings. Here there needs to exist NO blanket policy for the execution of sustainable change.

An example of this was an SAP that managed to develop relations between communities in Derry (Northern Ireland), Addis Ababa (Nigeria), the Rift Valley and Kano (Nigeria). Here the problems surrounding “The Troubles” in N.I and the religious divides in Kano were addressed in relation to each other.  Again the situation and projects are similar but different.

Active Citizenship is a form of literacy: (Council of Europe, Education for Democratic Citizenship, Dec 2004) coming to grips with occurrences in public life, developing knowledge, understanding, critical thinking and independent judgement of local situations and issues. It is about applying this knowledge and critical thinking to implement sustainable change.

Local projects can have a wider impact, but it’s vital to begin with the community you love and have a connection with.  Only then will your projects and aims be able to be achieved.  Remember action is louder than words: don’t just say it, do it.  And who better to do it than The British Council who has over 75 years of cultural relations experience.

The British Council Kosovo will be launching their Active Citizens programme October 2010.

Jamie Pickton
Jamie.Pickton@britishcouncil.org

The British Council Kosovo are launching the Active Citizens programme In Kosovo from this October 2010.  

Active Citizens can also be followed on Facebook  

The British Council seeks a world where we are to be globally connected and locally engaged.  The Active Citizens programme aims to encourage participants to realise their potential and exercise their responsibility in order to understand how to interact, engage and influence change within their local communities.  They learn and act together to address community level issues and in turn influence global change.  The African Philosophy of ‘Ubuntu’ which is to be understood/translated as “I am, because you are, because we are,” is a key feature of the Active Citizens programme.  

Active Citizens will aim to increase the contribution of participants (motivators) who are already involved in local community projects by training them through a series of modules within a workshop environment.  The programme will assist the growth of Active Citizens through the training workshops provided, enforcing a collective sense and ability to develop responsible attitudes towards sustainable development, values for working effectively with difference and cultivating project planning and management skills.  

The Project fundamentally aims to stress the importance that small local, community issues, if addressed correctly and managed sustainably, can provide the opportunity for improvement and/or change.  Participants will understand that numerous community Social Action Plans (SAP’s) in various countries Europe and worldwide leads to the possibility of global change.  The global, cross national aspect to the programme is represented with the community exchange that occurs at the closing stages of the project.  Successful Active Citizens will have the opportunity to visit a UK community to learn their techniques and share ideas, concepts and methods that aim to implement sustainable change.  

Active Citizens was launched in 2009 and is currently running in 20 countries in Europe in addition to countries in both Africa and Asia.  

In Europe the ambition is to:  

• Build a network of 120 community leaders and master trainers, 1800 Active Citizens Motivators who will in turn build networks with 100,000 community members participating in SAP’s (Social Action Projects), workshops and exchanges.
• Another 10 million will be reached through on-line social networks and media based projects.

• Strong sense of local culture and history.
• Knowledge and understanding of local community.
• Project and business planning and management skills.
• Demonstrated sense of responsibility towards global sustainable development.
• Value for, and works effectively with, difference.