Ba da, putem! (Indeed, we can!) · Initiative · Education
Stop scrolling. Don’t just hit the like. Take action.
Youth engagement and civic involvement
A structured educational intervention, consisting of civic culture and resistance to disinformation, for teenagers that are high school students.
Target audience
High schoolers, 9th-12th grade
3 AREAS
The citizen - Democracy - The state
PURPOSE
Forming active citizens, that are more informed and that do not fall for manipulation
Length of the programme
2 years
CONTEXT
A crisis of civic engagement
amongst the youth
Romania is facing a profound crisis of civic engagement amongst the young generation. Romanian and European Democracy is tested and challenged simultaneously by disinformation, political polarization, institutional corruption and a deepening mental health crises, aggravated by the dependence on the digital environment.
It is in this context that the generation which will overtake its responsibilities as citizens in the upcoming decade is currently being raised in an environment with a substantial deficit of civic competences and motivation.
Analysing the current situation
The data that is painting a dire picture
of people aged 18-35 believe that Romania is going in the wrong direction
intend to leave the country in the next 12 months (33% among 18-24 year olds)
of children aged 11-15 show signs of a psychological withdrawal symptoms when their access to their phone is cut off (1st place out of 44 countries)
consider that corruption is the biggest threat to Romania
of 8th graders have a high interest in politics and social issues.
do not consider themselves sufficiently well informed about the activity of the European Parliament.
have faced a mental health problem in the last 12 months
consider working abroad a solution for improving their living standards.
The analysis is based upon the INSCOP 2025 NAtional Barometer for the Youth, the ICSS 2022 study (Romania’s first participation), WHO HBSC 2020-2021 report and Romania’s 2050 Agenda
The civic paradox
Real potential, that is blocked by three types of barriers.
The young hold a real civic potential (volunteering, voting intention, European identity), but they are hit by structural barriers that impede transforming this potential in action.
01 - COGNITIVE
Lack of civic knowledge
Lack of digital and media culture, the incapacity to critically judge sources of information and to operate with complex civic reasoning.
02 - EMOTIONALLY-MOTIVATIONAL
Lack of trust and pessimism
Lack of trust in institutions, pessimism regarding the direction of the country, precarious mental health and dependence on the digital environment.
03 - STRUCTURAL
Inadequate civic education
Civic education that is not taught uniformly, teachers that are not sufficiently prepared for sensitive civic topics, and a lack of concrete opportunities to participate.
Describing the project
Two complementary pillars, one goal
Forming active, involved and resilient citizens against manipulation. Students learn that they are agents of change, not just passive spectators and their freedom and prosperity depend on the capacity to think critically and to be informed when deciding how to act.
Pillar 1
Civic culture
Citizen · Democracy · State. Civic guidelines of active participation, from one’s own identity of being a citizen to the relation with the state’s institutions.
VOTE
INITIATIVES
DOCTRINES
INSTITUTIONS
Who am I, as a citizen? How does democracy function? How is the state built and how can I interact with it?
Pillar 2
Resistance to disinformation and manipulation
Critical thinking · Digital culture · Fact-checking. Capacity to recognize and reject disinformation and manipulation in the public and digital space.
Fake news
ALGORITHMS
PROPAGANDA
FACT-CHECKING
How does disinformation work? How do I recognize manipulation? How do I check information? How do I resist algorithms?
GET INVOLVED
NOW IS THE TIME TO CHANGE THE WORLD WE LIVE IN!
Ba da, putem! (Indeed, we can!) needs people like you – active, dedicated citizens who want to drive change.
Specific objectives
Four objectives. Two pillars. One ready generation.
The objectives are structured on the two pillars and integrated transversally in all thematic topics of the curriculum.
01
Pillar 1 - Civic culture
Forming the active civic identity
Students understand their rights and responsibilities as citizens, the state’s obligations towards them, know who they are addressing and with what tools they can act – from voting, to legislative initiatives and advocacy.
02
Pillar 1 - Civic culture
Understanding the architecture of democracy
Democracy’s mechanisms, ideological spectre, the functioning of their local, national, European institutions and their democratic control.
03
Pillar 2 - Resilience
Critical thinking and resisting disinformation
Students recognize manipulation techniques, understand how algorithms and echo chambers function, how to check sources and how to apply fact checking instruments.
04
Pillar 2 - Resilience
Responsible digital citizens
Students utilize the digital environment as an instrument of active participation (complaints, digital petitions, online advocacy), not as a passive form of consumption.
Educational curriculum
From me, to us, to institutions
The curriculum is organized in the logic of the participants’ world: starting from their own identity as citizens, continuing with understanding democracy, and the relation with the states and institutions. The two pillars are integrated transversally in all domains and both levels.
TOPIC 1
Citizen
“Who am I, as a citizen”
- Voting - a right and a responsibility. Why do we vote? The consequences of not voting
- Civic tools: legislative initiative, lobbying, advocacy, NGOs, political parties
- Digital citizenship - participation and resistance to manipulation
Topic 2
Democracy
“In what system do I live?”
- Fundamental democratic values
- Political doctrines: left, right, center, environmentalism, sovereigntism
- Political involvement and the manipulation techniques that sabotage it
Topic 3
The State
“With what institutions do I interact?”
- The institutional architecture of the state - local, national, European and international
- The separation and control of powers, and democratic vulnerabilities
BENEFICIARIES
Two main categories of beneficiaries
Direct beneficiaries:
Students from grades 9 – 10 and 11 – 12 in high school, organised on two levels of curricular complexity (lower high school, upper high school).
Civic education, history, philosophy, homeroom teachers, that participate in training sessions and become multipliers of the project’s approaches in their current classroom activities.
Indirect beneficiaries:
Parents and local communities where the partner high schools operate, through civic campaigns and student-led initiative projects, as the practical component of the workshop activities.
Indicative budget
One annual cycle, one measurable impact
The budget is structured around an annual cycle (October–May), with a 3-year projection. The values are estimates and will be adjusted according to the final number of partner high schools.
Medium scenario: 20 high schools · ~3,360 students · 60 teachers trained.
The costs comply with the salary scales for projects funded from European and national funds. Teaching materials may be partially co-financed by schools or county authorities.
Budget per annual cycle
592.070
RON
≈ 116,000 EUR / year · medium scenario
420,000 RON
Partners & Donors
Fund THE NEXT GENERATIONS
Every contribution shapes the future of Romanian democracy. Your donation helps us build the Romania we all want to see.
VOLUNTEERS
JOIN OUR TEAM
Do you believe Romania deserves a generation that is better prepared civically? Join our volunteers and make a direct impact in schools and communities across the country.
STAY INFORMED
SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER
Directly receive in your inbox news, articles and invitations to our events.