ARGENTINA, ROSARIO
Citizen School Lab, Pre-University School of Social Sciences and Humanities
- Hub
- Activity
- Model
- Citizens’ Assemblies
- Actors
- Citizenship and communities
- Youth
- Public sector
- Public authorities
- Civil society and intermediaries
- Facilitators
- Social organizations
- Purpose
- Citizen empowerment and capacity building
- Civic capacities
- Deliberative skills
- Strengthening democracy
- Democratic education
#ParticipativeBudgetSurvey
The Laboratorio Escolar Ciudadano (LEC – Citizen School Lab) aims to actively involve students in the critical analysis and constructive deliberation of social and environmental issues directly affecting the República de la Sexta neighborhood, where both the school and university community are located.
This collaborative process with neighborhood organizations seeks not only to address local social challenges but also to build civic capacities in students—such as dialogue, active listening, and proposal development. At the same time, the LEC aims to strengthen ties between the university, local organizations, and residents to foster a more inclusive and participatory environment.
- Building participatory and democratic skills through a participatory pedagogical pact.
- Identifying social and community issues both inside and outside the school.
- Engaging with neighborhood institutions and organizations with expertise in culture, society, and the environment.
- Using participatory tools such as voting as mechanisms for deliberation and decision-making.
- Defining action paths through multi-stakeholder groups based on prioritized problems and facilitated deliberation.
- The first implementation of the lab in 2024 enabled significant coordination among stakeholders, creating valuable interactions and initial insights into local and school-related issues where students could participate actively. It also helped identify key challenges for future iterations in 2025, such as strengthening pedagogical approaches in playful and participatory terms, and increasing the involvement of decision-makers to ensure a higher level of political and community impact for the collective projects that emerge from the process.
Pre-University School of Social Sciences and Humanities – UNR (Universidad Nacional de Rosario)
KEY CONCEPTS
Contextual: Socio-environmental awareness, neighborhood challenges, participatory pedagogical agreement.
On Democracy: Active citizenship, deliberative skills, youth decision-making capacity.
