The donor of the Project is the Swiss Confederation.

 

The Project is implemented by the Zurich Pedagogical University (Switzerland).

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The Project partners in Ukraine are the Kyiv Regional Institute of Postgraduate Education of Teachers and the Odesa Academy of Continuing Education of the Odesa Regional Council.

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The main objective of the Project  is to support the sustainable development of civil society through the dissemination of knowledge about Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education (EDC/HRE) in Ukraine through the following: 

 

✔ the system of training civil servants and local government officials; and
✔ the system of postgraduate education of teachers and school leaders.

 

The Project aims to improve the process of cooperation between public authorities, the education system and the public to create a democratic environment in local communities.
 

Pilot regions are Kyiv, Odesa, Kherson, Poltava, Lviv, Luhansk, Ivano-Frankivsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Phase I of the Project implementation will last from September 1, 2013 to December 31, 2018.

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During the implementation of the Project, the cooperation and support of the Administration of the President of Ukraine, the Committee on Education and Science of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service, the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine, regional state administrations, international and public organizations are important.

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Dissemination of knowledge about gender equality is an integral component of the implementation of the EDC/HRE. Gender equality issues are an important part of educational programs for civil servants, local government officials and teachers.
 

The Project provides for widespread and in-depth implementation of the EDC/HRE to achieve the following goals: 

 

• Strengthening local self-government through support to democratic educational institutions.

• Implementation of the principles of "good governance" by disseminating knowledge about the EDC/HRE among civil servants through the introduction of an appropriate training course in educational programs to improve the skills of civil servants and local government officials at the national and regional levels.

• Strengthening the national debate on Democratic Citizenship based on the Council of Europe's Charter based on the EDC/HRE.
   

The DOCCU Project aims to introduce the EDC/HRE at the national, regional and local levels among civil servants and educators, sharing relevant knowledge and practical experience that will be made available to the general public through inpatient and distance learning, as well as disseminating knowledge through the media and issuing special publications for civil servants, representatives of local governments and educators.

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The DOCCU Project involves the implementation of three main and cross-cutting
components: 
 

• Component #1: Civil Servants. Implementation of the EDC/HRE at the national level in the system of training civil servants and representatives of local self-government bodies of Ukraine.

• Component #2: Headmasters (school principals). Implementation of the EDC/HRE in the system of postgraduate education of headmasters in the Kyiv, Odesa, Kherson, Poltava, Lviv, Luhansk, Ivano-Frankivsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

• Component #3: Teachers. Implementation of the EDC/HRE in the system of postgraduate education of headmasters in the Kyiv, Odesa, Kherson, Poltava, Lviv, Luhansk, Ivano-Frankivsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

 

The Project in particular aims to create an environment in which the rule of law and human rights, gender equality, balanced power-sharing and economic stability are priorities. Good governance and gender equality are related topics that SDC pays particular attention to. Although both concepts are enshrined in law, much effort must be made to minimize the gap between the theory of law and reality.

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During the implementation of the DOCCU Project , the EDC/HRE experts translated and adapted the training manuals of the Living in Democracy series. Volumes I-VI of the Living in Democracy series received certificates from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and were recommended for use in the educational process of primary and secondary schools, as well as in the system of advanced training of pedagogical personnel. Translations of the manuals into Ukrainian are widely used and implemented within the DOCCU Project and other EDC/HRE Project s. The materials are posted in open access on the  Live in Democracy educational web platform.