About CEPNET

The CEPNET Project works with children and teachers in primary school settings with the aim of introducing them to new approaches in relation to promoting empowerment and self-activation within the classroom.

As part of this project, the students will get a chance to carry out self-directed project based activities, looking at issues in their lives that connect them to the UN’s sustainable development goals. They will discuss and debate these issues and then carry out action research projects on topics that motivate them. They will then present their findings to a wide range of different audiences. This may include members of the school community, as well as members of the wider community.

The methodology to be used during CEPNET is based on a prior project1, where over 2000 young people from across Europe worked together to develop and refine a means of advocating and communicating their concerns and voices about issues that were affecting them. Through this WYRED project, these children and young people influenced change in their schools and colleges, set up activist groups and became leaders within their communities. They also discovered innovative ways of taking a stand and expressing their opinions.

This new project takes the research team and the learning from WYRED and will transfer it to the specific environment of the primary school. Throughout the CEPNET project, the primary level students will share experiences and interact with their peers from schools in Ireland, Italy, Austria and the north of Ireland. The teachers will also get to work with teachers from these schools, as they share their tips and techniques in making children and young people into the leaders and active citizens of tomorrow. In the background, research teams in each country will provide support to the teachers and document the results.