Interactive Toolkit Encourages Romanian Students To Become More Engaged EU Citizens 

Young people across Romania are being encouraged to make their voices heard about the issues they care about and become more active European citizens with the aid of a new interactive toolkit.

The ECI toolkit for schools, “EU Democracy in Action – Have Your Say with the European Citizens’ Initiative” introduces students to the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI).

Now in its 11th year, the ECI enables citizens to engage with the EU’s democratic process by offering a platform to start a political debate and raise awareness of common causes that unite people across borders.

Since its inception in 2012, the ECI has accepted 103 initiatives from European citizens on policy areas relating to the environment, agriculture, transport, consumer protection, social rights and other areas that impact people’s daily lives.

Ramona Chiriac Head of the European Commission Representation in Romania said, “To become active citizens, young people need to understand how democracy works and what their rights and responsibilities are. The “EU Democracy in Action – Have Your Say with the European Citizens’ Initiative” educational toolkit introduces pupils to the European Union in general and to European Citizens’ Initiative in particular. It encourages them to take an active role in European issues.” 

ECI Toolkit for Schools – EU Democracy in Action  

The toolkit is a flexible learning solution that can be used in civics lessons or where a topic-based approach is used. It is available in all the official EU languages, including Romanian.

The ECI Toolkit for Schools includes four thematic units covering general information about the EU and specific information and activities related to the ECI. It is designed to facilitate many different approaches to teaching and learning, including direct presentation, group work, project work, individual study, research work, problem-solving, role-play, and multimedia presentations.

Learning about the Citizens’ Initiative, students will find out how to take an active role in EU affairs.

Positive Teacher and Student Feedback  

Teachers and students have reacted positively following successful pilot tests of the ECI Toolkit in schools across Europe.

A secondary school teacher who piloted the toolkit said, “I have asked my students their opinion on the materials, and I have to say they have liked them very much. They didn’t know a lot about the European Citizens’ Initiative, and they found the materials interesting. They enjoyed the approach chosen to present everything and work on the information, and they especially liked the videos; they found them short and clear, which they appreciated.”  

Another teacher involved in the pilot tests said, “What I and my students appreciated the most was the fact that engagingly and concisely, they acquired a lot of knowledge about the topic that is neglected in school. The reference materials available on the EU websites have been practically interwoven with the course of the lessons and activities for students. The learners are directed at particular resources with concrete tasks, so they see a connection to the documents and yet are not overwhelmed by the volume of the resources.”  

Get Involved and Become a More Active EU Citizen  

Students considering launching their initiatives can follow in the footsteps of successful campaigns such as Save Bees and Farmers! Towards bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment, which called for phasing out synthetic pesticides, restoring biodiversity in agriculture, and supporting farmers in the transition to sustainable farming. After collecting more than 1 million signatures, including 24,829 from Romania, the initiative received a positive reply from the European Commission.  The Commission has recently also presented a reply to the citizens’ initiative Stop Finning – Stop the Trade, which called for the end of trade of loose shark fins in the EU.  Out of over 1.1 million signatures collected, 2857 were from Romania. The European Commission positively followed up on the ECI, announcing, among other actions at EU and international levels, the launch of an assessment of the environmental, social and economic impact of trading in full sharks, with fins attached, on the EU market and in international trade.

The ECI in Romania 

To date, more than 900 citizen organisers have started 102 European citizens’ initiatives, and 46 organisers were Romanians. More than 18 million signatures for citizens’ initiatives have been collected from across the EU, of which 471 000 signatures were collected in Romania.

The ECI’s 100th Initiative 

The European Commission registered the 100th citizens’ initiative in April 2023 it runs under the banner: Connecting all European capitals and people through a high-speed train network. This 100th initiative joins seven other initiatives currently collecting signatures.

Three additional initiatives were also registered during the summer and will start collecting signatures soon.

Join us in Romania! 

Join us at the ECI stand during the PLAI festival, 8-10 September in Timisoara, Romania, to interact with the ECI ambassadors and learn more about the ECI.

EU Democracy in Action Competition    

Students using the ECI Toolkit will also have a chance to learn more about EU democracy in action and win a group trip to Brussels.
The ‘EU Democracy in Action – Have Your Say with the European Citizens’ Initiative’ toolkit is available for download here.