[EXTENDED] Open Call for Partnerships: Organisations Working on Critical Literacy for Youth in Europe

4 minutes read | First published: December 11, 2023
Visual Open Cal lfor Partnerships
Tactical Tech is an international NGO that engages with citizens and civil-society organisations to explore and mitigate the impacts of technology on society. Our initiative for youth aims to put young people in the driving seat of their digital futures through education, co-creation and capacity building.
We are looking to partner with formal or non-formal learning institutions and organisations across Europe on a project funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe project. The project, called Critical ChangeLab, comprises a consortium of 10 established organisations in Europe who are developing a new, participatory pedagogical method for assessing the state of democracy among youth. We are seeking schools, libraries, cultural centres, civil society organisations and other who work with youth to test and implement the Critical ChangeLab model in their contexts.

What is the Critical ChangeLab?

The Critical ChangeLab is a new pedagogical workshop model designed to empower young people to envision alternative futures for European democracy. The Critical ChangeLab model uses participatory, creative and critical approaches to encourage youth to think about their relationship to everyday democracy – including their relationships with individuals, society, and technology – in order to act on them. Partner organisations will receive training in how to carry out a Critical ChangeLab and will become part of a Europe-wide community of practice.

What does partnership look like?

We would like to partner with organisations that work with youth ages 11-18 across Europe who can:
  • Recruit participants for, host and co-facilitate Critical ChangeLabs with local participants between January – March 2024.
  • Take part in one online training session organised and led by Tactical Tech
  • Facilitate a Critical ChangeLab: three non-consecutive sessions of at least 1 hour each, taking place with at least 1 day in between each session. Each session should have the same group of at least 10 youth participants and 2 facilitators. Sessions can be held online, in person, or a combination of both.
  • Have the option to host two additional Critical ChangeLabs in 2024 (with additional budget provided).

Who can apply?

Applicants should meet all of the following criteria:
  • Be an organisation who works with youth or with access to a target audience of youth ages 11 to 18.
  • Be equipped to host at least three in-person or online workshops with youth, including at least 10 youth participants and at least 2 facilitators.
  • Be based in Europe (Horizon partner countries in Europe) except Austria, Croatia, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Slovenia, Spain, or The Netherlands (these countries are already represented by the consortium partners).
  • Commit to follow the project’s ethical requirements. This includes informing participants about Critical ChangeLab research, research participants’ rights and obtaining consent to collect data from the educators and the youth taking part in the Critical ChangeLab beforehand. In case of youth aged 11-14 years old, consent from guardians should also be sought. Depending on national regulations, consent from guardians of youth aged 15-17 years might be also sought.
  • Document the Critical ChangeLab sessions according to guidelines provided.
  • Follow the project’s communication channels and contribute to disseminating the project’s activities.
  • Have the capacity to carry out the activities as noted in this call.

What we can offer you:

  • The opportunity to take part in a European-wide community of practice focused on critical literacy for youth.
  • The opportunity to test and contribute to a new pedagogical model for empowering youth to envision and shape their democracy.
  • An honorarium of 1,000 Euro.
  • The opportunity to take part in two further Critical ChangeLab partnerships in 2024 and 2025 (with additional honoraria provided for each).
  • Promotion within Tactical Tech’s networks (approx. 6,000 monthly newsletter subscribers, 49,000 Twitter followers, and more across social media).
  • Access to Tactical Tech’s extensive virtual library of resources and materials that you can use for your own projects, including those which have not yet been released publicly.
  • Access to the Critical ChangeLab’s project updates and outcomes.

How to apply:

If you are interested in applying, please click on the link below. We’ll contact successful applicants to take the conversation further after the call closes.
Tactical Tech will review all of the applications and select candidates for interviews. The interviews will take place in January 2024. Due to limited capacity, we are unable to respond to unsuccessful applicants.

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