Blog

On November 6, 2026, in the Ceremonial Hall of the Karlovac High School, there was a public screening of student video works created within the international Erasmus+ project “ARTivists – Empowering Youth to Explore and Strengthen Democracy with Creative Artistic Expression”, in which the Dunav 1245 Association is participating as a partner from Serbia.

In addition to the students of the Karlovac High School, the event was attended by representatives of the civil sector, as well as councilors in the local parliament, which created an opportunity to connect young people with representatives of the local community and institutions.

The public projection was preceded by an intensive creative and educational process, realized through ten working days of workshops lasting 90 minutes each, during English language classes with students of the fourth grade of the Karlovac High School.

The activity called “Digital Storytelling” (Digital Storytelling) was dedicated to the research and presentation of the topics of civil rights and responsibilities, democratic values, social inclusion and active participation of young people in modern society.

Through individual and team work, students chose topics, researched relevant information, developed ideas, wrote scenarios in English and created original video materials. In this way, they got the opportunity to talk about the issues they consider important in their own language, using digital media as a means of creative expression and social engagement.

Among the topics covered by the students were issues of environmental protection, including the problem of pollution of the Danube. Through the process of digital storytelling, young people explored social challenges, considered the responsibility of individuals and the community, and shaped the messages they want to convey to the public. At the final screening, their works were given the opportunity to reach a wider audience, which achieved one of the important goals of the project – to make the voice of young people heard outside the classroom.

During the workshops, the students, in addition to improving their language and digital competences, developed the skills of critical thinking, argumentative presentation of views, team cooperation and responsible use of information and digital content.

The final public projection was the central moment of this local project activity. The students presented their work to the audience, showing how creativity, digital technologies and artistic expression can contribute to raising awareness of important social issues and encourage young people to participate more actively in the democratic life of the community.

The special value of the activity is reflected in the connection of formal education with informal learning methods. Through work on concrete digital products, students applied the knowledge acquired in English language classes in authentic communicative situations, while simultaneously exploring their own role in society and the possibilities to contribute to positive changes with their ideas.

The ARTivists project is implemented within the Erasmus+ program (KA154-YOU – Youth participation activities), with the financial support of the European Union. The project brings together partner organizations from Italy, Greece, Latvia and Serbia, with the aim of empowering young people to actively participate in democratic processes through art, creativity and modern digital media.

The works created during the local activities will be part of a wider international exchange of creative results, and the project foresees the creation of a digital gallery, the development of educational tools and a joint youth manifesto on democratic values.

Association Dunav 1245 continues to support the creativity of young people, their active civic participation and the connection of education with real social challenges through international projects. The activity realized in the Karlovac High School showed how important it is to provide space for young people to research, create and publicly express their views on issues that shape their future.