9. Youth and the World
Informing and educating young people about global issues and involving them in dialogue is more and more part of public life in Hungary. But there are still deficits. In particular, efforts should be made to establish a direct link between young people and policy makers, because as research shows, a large part of Hungarian youth is not interested in political issues. Nevertheless, several programmes and initiatives have been implemented in the last decades aiming at getting as many young people as possible to think about and become active in social, environmental and global issues.
According to the Hungarian Government's interpretation, the following concepts are at the core of global responsibility education:
- fair trade,
- sustainable development,
- poverty,
- international development,
- intercultural dialogue (Concept for Global Responsibility Education) (For more information, see sub-chapter 9.1 General context.)
The Concept for Global Responsibility Education (Koncepció a globális felelősségvállalásra nevelésről) outlines the core values of global responsibility, namely:
'openness, empathy, holistic approach, taking global perspectives, engaging in social justice, peaceful and effective conflict management, child and youth orientation, (environmental, social and economic considerations), critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.' (Concept for Global Responsibility Education)
In this context, the following thematic weeks can be mentioned, in which many primary and secondary schools are involved in Hungary:
- Week of Sustainability,
- Financial Awareness and Management Week,
- Digital Theme Week. (For details see sub-chapter 9.4. Raising awareness about global issues)