ACCES Groups
At the heart of the ACCES project are students gathered in groups that each partner school.
ACCES groups gather around 10 students in each partner high school who meet regularly for fun and participatory activities. The objective is to explore, question and discover the different meanings that citizenship can take on and how they translate into the daily lives of young people. It is also an opportunity to express themselves on common subjects that directly concern them.
Accompanied and supported by their teachers and EYP France, students will have the opportunity to set up different activities such as, for example: debates on a current topic, presentations by students on a subject of their choice, exchanges with actors in the field (elected officials, associations…), civic actions….
The students are the real driving force behind the dynamics of this program through their participation and their suggestions.
ACCES activities
All organized activities will allow students’ participation, debate and exchange on current issues. Through those concrete activites, students will be able to discover active citizenship, how it is perceived and understood by students inside and outside of school. They are designed to help the group reflect on what exists and what constitutes citizenship and democracy and their relationship with other values such as equality, freedom of expression, etc. In addition, students will learn about what is done differently in other European countries by exchanging with other young people in the project. Finally, the activities should lead them to imagine and suggest new or better ways to live their citizenship and civic education experiences in their daily life, especially in relation to school.
Debates
Debates are free exchanges between students. It gives them the opportunity to express themselves on subjects and to compare opinions with those of others in a less formal setting than a lecture. It is possible to rely on documents of all forms that students will consult beforehand and that can enlighten them to form their opinion (press articles, documentaries ....). Debates could be organized following several participatory hods such as moving debates, brainstormings..
Presentations
Students choose a topic of interest to them and provide their peers with a well-researched and well-argued presentation to enable them to understand the issues surrounding the topic so that they can form an informed opinion.This exercise is based on the transmission of knowledge between students. It allows them to learn how to research and construct an argument.
Role playing
Role-playing is a variation of debate where students put themselves in the shoes of field actors to discuss a topic. they do not defend their own position or opinion but those of others. This then requires an understanding of each person's roles and interests. This exercise allows students to become decentralized and see the world from the point of view of others.
Civic Actions
Students can engage in civic actions to help the community related to topics that will be discussed (for example, after debating environnemental matters studends could lead a cleanwalk....) This encourages them to be active citizens and to think differently about their potential power in society
Debate on the road:
This form of debate brings together not only the pupils from one ACCES group but from all ACCES groups to exchange on the same subject. One group will discuss a subject as it is experienced in their country/community and sends a summary of the exchanges to a different ACCES group who will then add their own experience and opinion on the subject both regarding what is happening in their country/community as well as what the previous group shared.
Questions and answers between ACCES groups
Groups should be able to send questions to each other regarding specific topics. Ideally the group answering should be able to prepare a presentation well documented addressing the questions raised in order to share their experience and highlighting the differences and similarities between them.