In 2019, Sumy State University launched a project to implement an interactive and innovative civic education course «Democracy: from Theory to Practice»
The course was developed by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Global Affairs Canada and British Aid from the United Kingdom. It is aimed at enhancing an active civic position of students, developing critical thinking skills, media literacy, consensus building, public speaking, group work and team decision making . At SSU the course is taught jointly by the Psychology, Political Science, and Socio-cultural Technologies Department and the Department of International, European, and Civil Law.
IFES provides trainings with innovative techniques that are offered in the course and networking meetings. On February 17-20, Vladislava Zavhorodnia, the Head of the Department of International, European and Civil Law, participated in such an event. Within 4 days, representatives of 14 Defense Law Offices of Ukraine, led by an international consultant Dr. Greer Burroughs, mastered interactive exercises that enable students to develop practical skills and values crucial for establishing a conscious civic position in the digital age.
