Freedomtalks
Freedomtalks is a citizenship education tradition for schools. We aim to spark interest and engage young people in discussions about issues relevant to them and their communities—creativity, citizenship, morality, opportunities, and freedom. One of the most important tasks for every educator is to develop a young person who thinks critically and independently. These qualities are especially important later in life, when a young person begins to engage in solving community…

Freedomtalks is a citizenship education tradition for schools. We aim to spark interest and engage young people in discussions about issues relevant to them and their communities—creativity, citizenship, morality, opportunities, and freedom.

One of the most important tasks for every educator is to develop a young person who thinks critically and independently. These qualities are especially important later in life, when a young person begins to engage in solving community and social problems.

We learn to think independently by debating—when we must justify our opinions and argue for the decisions we make. In this way, we learn to listen to others and to counter views we disagree with. We can cultivate all these qualities throughout life, but the foundations are laid at school.

For students, these skills are crucial as they take their first steps into independent life—when they move from being observers to becoming active problem-solvers in social and community matters. Studies show that students who think critically achieve better results, are more creative, and can make decisions beneficial not only to themselves but also to the community.

For these reasons, the Lithuanian Free Market Institute launched Freedomtalks to encourage local community and student engagement in examining the most pressing social, economic, and ethical issues.

Freedomtalks offers

  • A way for young people to learn to analyze problems and find solutions through discussion.
  • Access to materials selected for each topic, textbooks, and a teaching platform with teacher’s guides filled with additional information, tasks, and tips to support student learning.
  • A debate methodology created specifically for this project, including sample topics.
  • Topics that enable participants to find strong arguments both for and against.

Freedomtalks Guidelines

  • Provide a debate structure and teach how to argue and articulate ideas.
  • Offer sample topics: Should everyone be able to start a business right after finishing school? Should higher education be free for every citizen?
  • Include clear instructions for educators and evaluators.

Interested? Contact llri@llri.lt.

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