The year 2023 was marked by an effort to intensify our relationships with the secondary schools present in Luxembourg, with the aim of transitioning from one-off interventions in multiple schools to a more systematic approach in targeted schools where a program of interventions can be planned throughout the year and where teachers and other educators can be progressively trained to lead the workshops.

On the one hand, we began to share this vision with some of the schools we were already collaborating with, such as the International School of Luxembourg and the Lycée Aline Mayrisch, who welcome us to run our workshops and organize training sessions for teachers. On the other hand, we looked for new schools that would be willing to establish a partnership to use our workshops and training courses, and we have obtained accreditation from the National Education Training Institute (IFEN) to enable teachers to obtain certification when they are trained to use our workshops. 

One school with which we have set up a sustained collaboration is the Gaston Thorn International School. After meeting an educator in charge of the school’s student life projects at the BNE fair (foire fir Bildung fir Nohalteg Entwécklung / Education for Sustainable Development fair), an initial meeting was organized with members of the management to present our educational activities in Luxembourg and our workshop offer for schools. Intervention modalities were explored and in October 2023, a first week of intervention was organized to meet each class of the school on the theme of positive leadership, in connection with the class delegate elections.

A facilitator summarizing the aspirations of the students for their school.

Although the training was not yet offered to teachers to run the workshop, this first experience launched the collaboration between UF and the school and reached over 300 students. The impact of the workshops has already been felt in the classroom, through the students’ reflections on the elections and their written feedback on what they learned from the workshops.

Patchwork of students’ final statements on the type of delegates they want to vote for.

Across the final workshop self-evaluations, 60% of students answered “yes”, 30% “average” and 10% “no”, to the question “Did you enjoy this workshop?”. Over two thirds of students were able to express in their own words their understanding of the role of voters and candidates in improving student well-being and the overall school environment. 

In consultation with the school’s contact person, we will continue our exploration of possible spaces and means of raising students’ awareness of development education themes, and we hope to be able to train teachers and organize with them a project week, which will be dedicated to leading various workshops aimed at students’ personal development, strengthening class cohesion and their desire to act in an inclusive, just and altruistic way within and outside their school. 

In parallel, 17 youth from different classes have expressed their interest to join the UF youth ‘Actors of change’ Network : a space for meeting and exchanging ideas, enabling students to acquire knowledge and develop capacities to carry out solidarity projects in and outside their school. 

We continue to explore the possibility of establishing a similar collaboration with other schools in Luxembourg. Contact us to share your ideas and join our network of workshop multipliers!

A game animated by Mara, a youth doing her volunteering service at Unity Foundation.