The purpose of this initiative is to create the Participatory Budgeting in Schools Network. Participatory budgeting is a tool to empower students as well as the entire school community. During the project, 10 schools will implement participatory budgeting with at least 2 language immersion programme schools. A seminar will take place in 2022 with the aim to spread participatory budgeting to more schools and to provide support to participant schools. The target group of this initiative is youth (until 19 yo) and teachers.
In the long-term, the purpose of the network is to grow into a Democratic Schools Club where a wider selection of interactive interventions will be shared and practiced to increase school democracy.
Participatory budgeting is necessary to increase the awareness of youth on corruption and democratic values through experience in order to impact their citizen activism later in life. Additionally, schools will be offered to use the e-platform kaasavkool.rahvaalgatus.ee which can be used to increase students’ digital skills in e-voting. For project implementers, Transparency International Estonia and the Estonian Cooperation Assembly, creating a network of schools and teachers with access to youth is the most efficient way to reach young people.