The project At the School of Cohesion is the Slovenian version of the successful Italian educational programme At the School of Open Cohesion (ASOC). In Slovenia, we have adapted the programme’s content and methodology to our school system, offering students a more tailored and accessible way to learn about Cohesion Policy. The aim of the project remains the same: to encourage young people to become active citizens, think critically, and understand the impact of EU funds in their environment. The Slovenian version also emphasises local research, tailored mentoring support, and cooperation with Slovenian institutions. The project demonstrates how a successful European model can also be brought to life in the home environment – by listening to specificities, needs and opportunities.
The education programme combines civic education, digital and statistical skills, journalism, and horizontal competences such as critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, interpersonal and communication skills, integrating them into the main education programme.
Using public data and information on projects implemented with the help of Cohesion Policy funds in their local area, students develop a civil society monitoring project to investigate the effectiveness and efficiency of Cohesion Policy investments. They publish the research results and actively involve citizens in their research work.
The education programme is delivered in a hybrid manner, combining project-based learning with asynchronous learning, where students are encouraged and guided by teachers, alongside group work and online interaction with the project team. The course is divided into three learning sets spread over the school year. For the 2025/2026 school year, the programme is coordinated by the Association for Culture and Education PiNA on behalf of the Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development.
Selection of a project, co-financed by Cohesion Policy funds, in the students' local environment to be monitored by the students, definition of the research question, formation of working groups in the classes, assignment of roles and tasks to the students, and collection and review of other information on the selected project.
Getting familiar with the data, identifying and researching data related to the chosen topic, creating an indicator based on the collected data, understanding the workflow, and grasping the basics of journalism. Monitoring the progress of the selected project through on-site visits, interviews with project implementers, and visits to institutions.
Learning about communication techniques and methods, planning and implementing an awareness-raising and active citizen participation campaign and presenting the monitoring results. Produce a video and a press release to be published as an article on the monitoring project, and involve the relevant community to monitor the project.
The project is based on the Italian educational programme A Scuola di OpenCoesione, an innovative educational model and method which is internationally recognised as a good practice.
The project is part of a broader initiative OpenCohesion, a national open programme about Cohesion Policy in Italy, which is financed by the EU and with national resources and coordinated by the programme analysis and evaluation team under the Cohesion Policy Department of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. The ASOC project was implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and the Representation of the European Commission in Italy and was financially supported with Cohesion Policy funds.
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