It is a project with a strong component of teacher training and sensitization/mobilization of students for the promotion of Global Citizenship. The steps taken over these 13 years have allowed the strengthening of links between schools and the community, the focus on training multiplier agents (young people, civil servants,...), the promotion of peer leadership - from teacher to teacher, from young people to young people, from municipal technician to municipal technician - and the promotion of actions involving families and the general public.
To raise awareness, train, and mobilize students, teachers, and municipal technicians for Cooperation among peoples and cultures, Social Justice, Human Rights, and Environmental Sustainability, in the light of Development Education and Global Citizenship.
In the school year 2006/2007, 1st edition, we dynamized participative sessions of Development Education directed to the students of the Educational Center Dª Maria Pia, in the context of the Project Area. The curious looks, the openness to diversity and the solidary hearts of the children accompanied us throughout the project.
In the 2007/2008 school year, 2nd edition, we carried out activities during the school year with 2 pre-school classes, 1 5th grade class and 2 6th grade classes, in the Dª Maria Pia Educational Center. So many remarkable moments, among the participative sessions of reflection and awareness-raising about the Millennium Goals, the school puzzle made by the pre-school children, the solidarity piggy bank of the 5th grade students and the paper flowers that the 6th grade students gave to the facilitator with inspiring messages!
In the school year 2008/2009, 3rd edition, we had the opportunity to work in three Education and Development Centers (EDC) of Casa Pia of Lisbon, with 14 classes (5 from 1st cycle and the rest from 2nd cycle). In 2009/2010 (4th edition), "Educar para Cooperar" (Educate to Cooperate) was in 4 CED, involving 18 classes and about 600 students. Each class had its own identity... some loved the theatrical presentations, others the photographs of volunteer experiences, but all preferred the workshops on building recyclable toys, always accompanied by reflection on why we need to change behavior.
Between 2009 and 2015, "Educar para Cooperar" (Educate to Cooperate) (5th, 6th and 7th editions) was in several schools in Loures, namely General Humberto Delgado, Bobadela, Bucelas and Catujal-Unhos, involving teachers and students around the themes of Global Citizenship, Globalization and Interdependencies, Responsible Consumption, Social Inequalities and Human Rights, among others.
The teachers from the Catujal-Unhos School Grouping were also co-authors of the Global Citizenship Education Manual and of the session plans on the Project's Website - www.educarparacooperar.pt. With them, we participated in many teacher training seminars and gave classes to future teachers... a journey through a country full of joy and citizenship experiences.
Between 2015 and 2017 (8th edition), we aimed to raise awareness about the themes and values of Development Education and Global Citizenship, in articulation with the themes of the heritage of the Rota Histórica das Linhas de Torres (Historical Route of the Tower Lines). Through a truly collaborative process, teachers, municipal technicians and the AIDGLOBAL team created the pedagogical resource "Mochila do Soldado – Partir da Guerra para a Paz" (Soldier's Backpack - Leaving War for Peace). The use of this resource, available for loan in the Torres Lines Interpretation Centers (CILT), only happens due to the extraordinary work of the technical teams of the partner municipalities that work in these CILTs.
In this latest edition, we flew to the other side of the Atlantic, extending our action to Porto Santo and Madeira Islands.... where "Educar para Cooperar" (Educate to Cooperate) Happens!
