Citizenship and Democracy

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Citizenship and Democracy
An exploration
Miriam Teuma 2007 President MAY
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Who are we?
The Maltese Association Of Youthworkers kicked
off in 1998 to

• To establish youthwork as a recognised profession
  in Malta
• To serve as a locus of discussion, sharing of
  resources and co-ordination of youthwork
• To mediate as an official representative body for
  youth workers with State entities, local and
  foreign Organisations, Unions and Associations

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And

• To formulate, update, and maintain ethical and
  professional guidelines which are consonant and
  responsive to Malta
• To organise and encourage further research and
  support in issues concerning youth and youthwork
  practice
• To undertake and encourage on-going training
  programmes for members of the Association, for
  continued professional development.

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Why are we here today?
To become aware of the big picture of youth work,
frameworks, models, theories, philosophy, proven
principles, key elements
To become informed on how we implement learning,
processes, strategies, examples, tips
Concepts
To find out how others perceive youth work and
youth beliefs, values, attitudes, outlooks
Approaches
Attitudes
Experiences
To share positive negative experiences,
effective tactics, what was enjoyable/challenging
.
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Building the Youth Workers Arena

• Because.....
• Youth workers do not gather together with a
  predictable set of educational experiences, a
  shared philosophy and language, a common
  understanding of human development, or a shared
  sense of youth work history.

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And......To link to the theme

• Are there signs of alienation and cynicism among
  young people about
• public life and participation in your
• country?
• If so......
• Is this leading to possible disconnection and
  disengagement?

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A question

• What are our key challenges of education for
  Citizenship and Democracy?

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Why Democracy and Citizenship?

• In some countries citizens are trying to
  consolidate and/or improve democracy, while
  others aspire to achieve it.
• Due to this we give importance to EDUCATION
  (Formal/Non Formal)
• WHY?
• People can become educated in
• PRINCIPLES and PRACTICES of democracy.

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Values and Shortcomings

• If citizens are responsible for the upkeep of
  democracy, they should acquire the VALUES of the
  system.
• At the same time citizens should know about the
  shortcomings and the dangers that face democracy.
• First and foremost that of living in a democracy
  when it is not really a democracy, but a
  dictatorship of the majority in parliament.

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Another Question

• What are the basic concepts that young people
  must acquire to know what democracy is, how to
  make it work, and why it is desirable?
• TO BE ABLE
• .....to play in it as democratic citizens

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Young people .....

• Be able to distingish democracy from other types
  of government
• They must be empowered to
• Think critically
• Evaluate

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How do we define Democracy?

• Davies (1999)
• identified more than 300 definitions
• End of modern liberal democratic society to the
  onset of a less certain postmodern world
  ???????????

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Challenges

• Associated with
• Diversity
• Location
• Social Rights
• Participation

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The debate starts from

• Transition from
• Minimal democracy
• TO
• Liberal democracy
• IS Constitutionalism

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Debating further

• The Theory of Citizenship as an identity refers
  to values such as loyalty
• But at the same time
• We are becoming multicultural and cannot think
  only of one identity but rather in terms of
  community of shared fate

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Two Major trends

• Citizenship as an ingredient that promotes
  national identity.
• Citizenship as shared fate, where citizens work
  together for a common positive goal,
  notwithstanding their differences.

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Positive element

• Indeed although we should attempt to safegaurd
  national Identity
• We should also be prepared to accept an idea of a
  community of shared fate since the emphasis on
  diversity in our evolving society is increasing

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Active Citizenship

• Which promotes the highest form of learning with
  understanding, critical skills and life long
  learning and inquiry at CENTRE stage.
• A transformative, not reproductive type of
  education.

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Active Citizenship

• The role of youth workers should be to develop
• attributes incorporating core skills, key skills
  and transferable skills
• Being useful and being virtuous are important
  but the overriding aim is to produce a society
  consisting young people who have independence of
  mind and who are morally free.
• The health OF the democratic state is dependent
  on its members

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Encourage Young People

• To look for
• UNITY
• In
• Diversity

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Might

• Improve
• Links between Human Beings
• In
• Bonds of
• Interdependence
• and
• Mutual Accountability