The project Democratic Citizenship through Non-formal learning started in January 2002. It is a SOCRATES - Grundtvig project, coordinated by Tallaght Partnership Ireland and implemented in cooperation with the Council of Europe, UNESCO, the Intercultural Institute of Timisoara (Romania), The Open Education Centre (Bulgaria) and the Social Centre Bellavista (Spain).

The project is developed within 4 sites of citizenship - located in Romania, Bulgaria, Spain and Ireland - previously connected with the Council of Europe's project "Education for Democratic Citizenship" (EDC). If the EDC project was highly effective in terms of exploring, analyzing and documenting the wide range of innovative actions across a broad spectrum of contexts, which have given rise to more active citizenship, this project is built on the idea that, within all the sites, non-formal learning makes an important contribution to strategies aimed at enhancing democratic life, at empowering people to gain a greater stake in the society.

It aims thus at exploring the techniques and the mechanisms within non-formal learning which empower people to participate more fully in the democratic development of their communities.. Through a participatory research, people at grassroots level explore the practices, tools and approaches within non-formal learning that enable people to become more empowered. The Intercultural Institute choose for this project two previous BANNET projects - Banat Network for Intercultural Citizenship Education and With Roma People from Banat: Working together for a Local Sustainable Development.

The results of this research will provide grassroots organizations concerned with promoting human rights, address social exclusion, challenging poverty and promoting citizenship, with an explicit set of tools that can be applied and developed within non-formal learning. The application of this learning will enable such organization to support those distanced from decision-making structures, to develop their voices and stake within society.

The learning will be of value to educators within the formal sector also. It could enhance the capacity of education planners, trainers, teachers etc. to apply approaches that build the analytical and decision-making skills of learners. Ultimately, the tool will be of benefit to the socially disadvantaged and minority groups, as it will provide insight and direction for analyzing and critically reflect upon non-formal learning experiences of which they are part.