International Project Citizen Showcase, Washington, DC

Teams from 20 countries to showcase their public policy portfolios

More than 150 young people from approximately 20 countries will gather in Washington, DC to showcase a remarkable international civic education program called Project Citizen. The Center for Civic Education, which developed the Project Citizen program, is convening the first International Project Citizen Showcase in the US capital to demonstrate how the Center’s international programs empower young people for responsible and effective democratic citizenship.

Student teams representing classes from participating countries will present their Project Citizen public policy portfolios. Teams identify a public policy problem, present information they have gathered about the issue, discuss alternative solutions, propose a solution chosen by team-members, and provide an action plan to implement it.

According to research conducted by independent scholars, students who take part in Project Citizen show improved political knowledge and participatory skills. “By taking part in Project Citizen I learned that rights and responsibilities are the ideal formula for life,” says Mohammad Abdallah, a student from Jordan who recently participated in the program.

In the words of Jovan Mirnic, a Project Citizen teacher at Vuk Karadzic Elementary School in Bosnia and Herzegovina: “Through this program, I have found a way to share the learning experience with my students on an equal basis—we all learn how to become good citizens. In my forty years of practice, I have never experienced such exponential growth of my students’ competencies and their ability to work together. I’m beginning to know optimism for their future.”

“From Poland, Ukraine, and Russia to South Africa, China, Indonesia, Colombia, and points in between, young people have used the lessons of democratic citizenship taught by Project Citizen to improve their lives and communities,” notes Charles N. Quigley, Executive Director of the Center for Civic Education. “Our goal is to share these Project Citizen success-stories--the results of America’s ten-year investment in the program.”

Students will present their projects at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill Monday, July 16^th, and student portfolios will be exhibited on Capitol Hill Tuesday, July 17^th. Veteran film producer Patrick Davidson will also be on hand to film student presentations for a new documentary on Project Citizen scheduled for release later this year.

The Center’s Civitas International Programs, including Project Citizen, are funded by the US Department of Education under the Education for Democracy Act approved by the United States Congress (Grant no. Q304B060001); additional support is provided by the US Department of State, the US Agency for International Development, and others. Currently, students in all 50 US states and in more than 60 countries participate in the program. Their teachers collaborate in education for democracy programs and exchanges managed by the Center for Civic Education and a worldwide network of partner institutions.

For more information about Project Citizen, the International Project Citizen Showcase, or Civitas International Programs, please contact Darius Udrys at the Center for Civic Education by telephone at (818) 591-9321 or email at udrysd@civiced.org, or see the Center’s website, www.civiced.org.