January 14^th was the deadline for the submission of proposals for the implementation of the “Citizenship Education” project in Portugal, in order to foster a systemic change in citizenship education, and to strengthen the role of civil society organizations in public policies and in promoting a more open and engaged society.

In line with the National Education Strategy for Citizenship, the project has had its Terms of Reference defined by the Active Citizens Fund in Portugal and aims to achieve the following outcomes:

– To create a measuring instrument for the assessment of citizens’ ”level of citizenship” at the outset, in order to design tailored programmes to each group’s needs and measure the progress later on;

– To promote the close cooperation between NGOs and schools, profiting from their expertise in different fields;

– To strengthen the role of NGOs in influencing the public policies.

A total of 14 proposals were submitted. After going through the admissibility analysis, the proposals will be evaluated by a jury appointed for this purpose. The winning bid is expected to be announced in February.

More information here.