May 22, 2008

LIVINGSTON, Ala.--Dr. Louis Smith, The University of West Alabama’s dean of online programs, will travel to Morocco at the end of May to take part in the Twelfth World Congress on Civic Education. Educators representing more than 65 countries and 30 U.S. states will meet in Casablanca and Ifrane to share ideas and best practices in securing the sustained commitment of educators, policymakers and civil society to civic education programs around the world.

Workshops will showcase civic education success stories, with a special focus on the achievements and challenges of civic education in Morocco. Smith says the program helps teach children in the emerging democracy about the workings of local and national government.

Smith serves as Alabama state coordinator for the Project Citizen initiative, a federally funded interdisciplinary civic education program designed to develop the interests of middle and secondary students in public policymaking. UWA recently hosted the statewide Project Citizen competition, with schools who had previously won local contests across the state competing to represent Alabama in the upcoming national competition.

“Project Citizen is such a great program because it teaches students early on that they can make a difference by getting involved,” said Smith, who has worked with the program for 18 years and previously judged similar competitions in Poland, Russia and Ukraine. “The classes identified problems in their schools and communities and tried to change the situations by approaching school boards, mayors and city councils with their solutions.”

The Center for Civic Education, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that promotes civic education worldwide, both sponsors Project Citizen and hosts the annual World Congress on Civic Education in a country that has shown progress in education for democratic citizenship. This year’s World Congress will be co-hosted by the Moroccan Center for Civic Education, in collaboration with the Higher Council for Education, the Moroccan Ministry of Education and Al Akhawayn University under the High Patronage of His Majesty Mohammed VI King of Morocco.

Previous Congresses have been held in Argentina, Latvia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Northern Ireland, Russia, Mexico, Hungary, Jordan and Poland.

The Center for Civic Education’s Civitas International Programs, which are supported by the U.S. Department of Education under the Education for Democracy Act, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development, represent a commitment to strengthening democracy and mutual understanding throughout the world. Civitas International Programs include partnerships linking U.S. educators with educators and policymakers from more than 65 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.