CIVITAS International Exchange Program: CELD Partners

CELD is part of Civitas, an International Civic Education Exchange Program, which is a consortium of civic education organizations in the United States and emerging democracies worldwide that provides exchange opportunities among leaders in civic education. Civitas is administered by the Center for Civic Education and funded by the U.S. Department of Education under the Education for Democracy Act approved by the United States Congress. CELD has special relationships with three nations in the Civitas network: the Dominican Republic, Czech and Slovak Republics.

Groups involved in this partnership include:

• Michigan Center for Civic Education
• Civitas-CZ (Czech Republic)
• Law-Related Education Program of the Oklahoma Bar Association
• ORAVA Association for Democratic Education (Slovakia)
• Consorcio De Educacion Civic, República Dominicana

Goals for Civitas
Exchange Programs

RECENT CIVITAS ACTIVITIES

• March 2009. Stakeholder Delegation to Dominican Republic.

• May 24 - 30. Civitas World Congress, Ifrane, Morocco.

• Jan. 23-29, 2008. Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic, Professional Exchange

• May 24 - 30, 2006. Civitas World Congress, Warsaw, Poland.

• January 12-16, 2006. Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic Partnership Exchange Exchange with Project Citizen teachers.

• June 1-7, 2005. World Congress on Civic Education. Amman, Jordan. View pictures from Jordan.

New Democracy Lesson: The Amazing Race

In this lesson, adapted from the popular TV show, participants examine a variety of events depicting significant steps (forward and backward) toward fulfillment of democratic principles in their respective nations. Looking back at selected “snapshots” in each nation provides opportunities to discuss the underlying principles of democracy.

• Lesson Agenda
• Principles of Democracy
mm Handout

• Amazing Race Cards
• Amazing Race Handouts
• Race Results

	2005 Civitas Partnership Lessons on Democracy
More countries in the world are classified as democracies than at any time in history. However, democracies differ in many respects– often because citizens in other countries have differing views from ours about what they want government to do. Our partnership has created several opportunities for teachers and students to learn about similarities and differences in our respective countries and states. The lessons posted here feature a set of democratic principles or “signposts” from the Road to Democracy that can be used to analyze the status of democracy in any country, an application to current events using political cartoons, and a lesson comparing coalition formation in multi-party systems using the lower house of the Czech Parliament with coalition formation in a two party system.
• Signposts of Democracy Lesson • Analyzing Current Issues about Democracy • Simulation: Czech Political Parties and Coalition Building

August 7-14, 2004. Czech and Slovak educators participate in CELD Project Citizen Summer Institute Denver.

March 25 -27, 2004. ORAVA Civitas Professional Development Seminar in Civic Education: "From Local to Global," Podbanske, Slovakia.

November 21-22, 2003. Professional Development Conference in Civic Education, "New Ways of Education for Citizenship." Link includes the lesson, Rights at School: Does the Constitution Apply? and the conference agenda.

July 2003. Olomouc Summer Institute for High School Students, July 2003. Links include a syllabus and two Global Issues lessons presented by Suzanne deLemos, Northglenn (CO) High School and Dana Fialova, civic education teacher in the Czech Republic. Also included are student reflections on the lesson, Do We Need and International Criminal Court?

July 2002. Olomouc Summer Institute for High School Students, July 2002. Links include a syllabus and rationale for Global Issues sessions presented by Rich Rosivach, Thomas Jefferson High School, Denver, and Jackie Johnson, CELD Associate Director.