Promoting active citizenship through a collaborative project - Maria Tsiamtsiouri
- Maria Tsiamtsiouri , Greece
- Jun 11
- 3 min read
Active citizenship means being involved in your community and helping to make it a better place. It is about caring for others, respecting rules, and working together to solve problems. Active citizens speak up when something is wrong and take action to improve things, like recycling, helping a neighbor, or joining a school project to learn and then pass their knowledge to the community. They understand their rights and also take responsibility for making positive changes. Being an active citizen helps create a kinder, safer, and more fair world for everyone.
But how can all the above be promoted through education? How can we make our students active and what kind of citizens do we need for our society to by a prosperous one? This is one of the most important challenges of our time. While the use of technology becomes more and more frequent in various aspects of our daily life – often resulting in isolation and alienation – it is our mission both as educators and as parents to overcome the difficulties that are caused and to use technology and ICT as a means to help our kids become more aware of their surroundings and their role in a global society that keeps expanding day by day.
Keeping this in mind, educators from Hungary, Greece, Spain, Poland, Romania, Türkiye, Italy, Croatia and Ukraine have designed a European eTwinning project titled « A.ll I.nclusive», involving 33 teachers and around 200 pupils. The main aim of the project was to create learning environments where all pupils, regardless of ability, background, or socioeconomic status, can thrive. "A.ll I.nclusive" empowered pupils to become not only knowledgeable but also compassionate global citizens who are actively engaged in building a sustainable future for all. The collaborative activities that partner schools engaged in, promoted well-being and emotional development among teachers, pupils, families and local communities. In our project, we used the power of Artificial Intelligence to enhance innovation and efficiency. By integrating AI, we aimed to unlock new possibilities and elevate the quality of our work.
Various activities were included, such as coding, writing collaborative stories, outdoor scavenger hunt and online meetings. One of the activities that focused on the issue of active citizenship was about celebrating Earth Day on 22nd of April 2025. The pupils were divided in mixed-nationality teams. They did research and tried to learn more about how to prevent heatwaves, fires, floods and earthquakes. They got information from scientists, the Municipality and Civil Protection, took action and disseminated their work to the rest of the school community. They got in touch with nurses, doctors, meteorologists, volunteers, firemen.
The final products of the activity were the following collaborative digital presentations and of course their knowledge about how to protect themselves and the other community members.
All about FIRES and the precious work of the heroes who fight with it.
EARTHQUAKES: let’s find out more about them
https://carnet-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/ana_kodric-ivelic_skole_hr/EcpscMnIP5VOibeB1BB39ooBn0K5AEVbTXSYstVKISbZ7g?e=E0vZJx
HEAT WAVES: Stay safe and protect the planet
https://www.canva.com/design/DAGpv1UWRpU/hvMh_k36dBvJYBWGNBXETw/view?utm_content=DAGpv1UWRpU&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h22dfdafeb4In conclusion, active citizenship begins at a young age, and pupils have a powerful role to play in shaping their communities. Through collaboration with peers, teachers, and local leaders, students learn the value of working together to make positive changes. Schools play a key role by teaching not only knowledge, but also responsibility, empathy, and the importance of taking action. By encouraging teamwork, critical thinking, and real-world involvement, education helps shape young people into responsible, caring citizens who are ready to build a better future for all.
So, let’s all keep in mind that the future is in our hands and in our classrooms and it’s never too early to take action!
Maria Tsiamtsiouri,
English language teacher
4th Primary school of Karpenissi, Greece
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