Empowering children and youth together in Belgium

Schools and organizations working with, for and by youth create a high-quality and inclusive learning environment which corresponds to the interests, context and identity of all children and youth they work with, so that they can develop themselves as active global citizens. ‘To tackle global challenges, you need new ways of looking at the world, new ways of thinking and acting as global citizens (UNESCO)’. Education is capable of making this happen because of its transformative power. Education is the core business of Djapo and KIYO. Djapo is an expert in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), thinking based education and didactic capacity strengthening, while KIYO specializes in Global Citizenship Education (GCED) and children’s rights education. ESD and GCED are crucial components of quality education and are essential to realize the Sustainable Development Goals. Our shared aim is that ‘all children and youth are able, as active global citizens, to make conscious choices in order to contribute to a sustainable society in which they can realize their rights and their full potential, and have their voices heard’. We want that all schools and organizations working with, for and by youth create a high-quality and inclusive learning environment. Such an environment corresponds to the interests, context and identity of all children and youth, so that all children and youth can develop themselves as active global citizens. Djapo and KIYO work with teachers, future teachers and teachers of teachers from all grades. We motivate, train and support them to adapt their teaching practices to create a learning environment in which children and youth experiment and learn around societal challenges that matter to them. We collaborate with researchers to reflect on our practices and innovate to increase impact; with education policy makers to ensure preconditions for schools to create this learning environment are met; and with other public and private actors that want to reach schools. Lastly, we work with organizations that work with, for and by youth, to create environments in which youth become aware of their rights and potential, feel safe, can express themselves and develop new skills to be stronger in life.