What?
Our Activities
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has severely damaged or destroyed large parts of the country, harmed critical infrastructure, and disrupted millions of lives. Due to the severity of losses, Ukraine’s recovery is predicted to span over the next few decades. It will require a concentrated effort and engagement of many parties, from small local communities and municipalities to big international partners and donors. It will entail not only physical reconstruction of architectural objects but a socio-economical recovery as well.
Despite the ongoing attack on Ukrainian territories, the first initiatives that focus on reconstruction have already emerged. Vidnova Lab is a program that aims to strengthen the voice and role of Ukrainian civil society in these processes and ensure that civil society actors can facilitate the dialogue between the communities and authorities, as well as advocate for the necessary solutions. Vidnova Lab is created by Commit with kind financial support of EVZ Stiftung and Robert Bosch Stiftung.
horizontal school offers spaces to learn how to facilitate, develop practices on the levels of self, team, organization, or community, and to connect with peers. The year-long Facilitator Qualification Course stands at the center of horizontal school.
Additionally, we offer open trainings, and tailor-made in-house facilitation for organizations and networks, as well as design educational projects on participation, collaboration, organizational development, or intercultural understanding. Learners at horizontal school are simultaneously co-creators and contributors: they learn in the process as much as they share their knowledge and experience.
The Civil Society Toolbox is a comprehensive resource designed to empower teams and organizations involved in the development of civil society. It provides a framework of methodologies aimed at supporting organizational growth.
At the heart of the Toolbox are shared values that promote a collaborative work culture, a systemic approach, and a vision for social change. These values include self-organization, encouraging active participation and inclusion in decision-making processes, promoting continuous horizontal learning as well as fostering sustainable partnerships.
The Toolbox is freely available online and as printed materials. Its content and approach are continuously refined through collaborative efforts in multiple languages and regional versions.
Many civil society actors in Ukraine have lost their local context as well as their integrality as teams and organizations and have been disconnected from their communities due to Russia’s full-scale invasion. Moreover, opportunities for civic engagement have been constrained by the economic hardship that has resulted from the displacement of refugees.
Vidnova Fellowship is a support program for civil society actors from Ukraine who have been forced to leave. Activists and professionals from sectors such as human rights, support for vulnerable groups, media literacy, environmental protection, and others are invited to apply for fellowships that allow them to continue their activities in a country of residence and with local partners. This program is created by Commit and EVZ Foundation with the kind financial support of EVZ Foundation, Robert Bosch Stiftung, Gerda Henkel Stiftung and Stiftung Mercator. Vidnova Fellowship Ukraine is coordinated in partnership with NGO Insha Osvita.
In times of polarization, deep political divisions, and declining trust in democracy, civic cohesion is at stake. Civic Europe was born to tackle these societal challenges. The program supported individuals, initiatives, and civil society organizations in the regions of Central, Southern, and Eastern Europe, challenged by low civic literacy and lacking civic infrastructure.
Civic Europe had two program lines, the Idea Challenge and the Capacity Building. Both lines strove to support organizations and individuals in the peripheries and places we call civic deserts. This program was a cooperation between MitOst, Commit, and Sofia Platform Foundation, funded by the Mercator Stiftung, and ended in April 2023.
In cooperation with the Adream Foundation Shanghai (China) and the Mercator Stiftung, Commit conducted the Intercultural Teacher Training aiming to train school teachers in China on the topic of intercultural learning and global understanding as well as to grow and strengthen connections between Chinese and German teachers.
Intercultural Teacher Training was implemented from 2021 to 2023 and was a collaboration between international trainers and trainers from China.
Publications
Rethinking Citizenship Education
Handbook on Theory and Methods of Facilitation and Intercultural Communication
Take a look at more resources and publications our team has collaborated on.
