In the process of preparation to the Workshop (Organizational Activities Game, Activities 1.2. and 4.1.) on the issue of analysis of real Belarusian situation in 2007 we specified and clarified actual contexts and tasks of this event within the project implementation. We have defined the situation in the system of civic education as unidentified and unclear in conceptual and strategic terms. “Today it is necessary to shift from small and middle-size projects and one-time actions to strategic, conceptual and program activities. For that we need not the short qualification courses but long-term educational program, not trainings and seminars but Schools and Popular Universities, i.e. such structures and institutions that are able to create programs of education. Thus Organizational Activities Game (OAG) should become the method of organization and launch mechanism for system element design for the civic education in Belarus” [Report for results of game techniques preparation, January-February 2007].

Social and political events of 2006 influenced the game contents and composition of participants. The events included (а) street protests in March 2006 which were the vivid example of immaturity of civic society and citizens of Belarus, and therefore the low efficiency of civic education , (b) the action of protestant Christians for protection of church building as the first case of effective cooperation of various informal structures: Movement, NGOs and protestant churches ; (c) the initiative of the Association for Civic education for development of standards of civic education ; (d) starting Belarusian School of Political Studies in support of Council of Europe initiative (as a tendency of Europeanization of elite education in Belarus) .

Considering the mentioned context the following aims should be achieved to launch the process of design and reach the main objective of the game:
1. Study and evaluation of civic education status in Belarus;
2. Search for missing elements in the system of civic education and designing them;
3. Designing the institutions of the civic education and search for potential system element of civic society in Belarus;
4. Engagement of the major participants of civic education to the process of modernization and design of the civic education system in Belarus.

2. Game: Major processes and results

In the analysis of the situation in the game (1-4 day) the major problems of civic education in the modern Belarus were defined.

1. Difference in approach to the “singularity” or “plurality” of civic education.
For more than three days the working groups formed among the participants (see game program) worked basing on the fact that multiple actors are engaged in civic education in Belarus with different ideology and definition of a “citizen” as well as the activities necessary under the current socio-political situation in the country. The groups stated that there are at least two approaches to the civic society and civic education in the country: “state” approach and “informal actors’” approach. On the fourth day of the game the problematization changed this typology to another one, which is the following:

The first approach states that the civic society should be based on the unified integrity of Belarus and unified definition of a citizen and civic education. The second approach states that there should be the plurality of definitions of citizen and therefore the plurality of civic educational systems in Belarus. The first approach supposes that all the actors are united in the general system of activities which is coordinated and goal-oriented. The plurality of civic education means that the formation of a citizen is a natural and uncontrolled process which is the most influenced by the social surroundings of a person. Within this approach the actors, performing civic education not necessarily should have the coordination and agreement structures. They perform local tasks and have no direct responsibility for citizenship as the result of civic education. As the result there are different “citizens” prepared in Belarus.

The situation when the citizens of one country in fact of senses and values are the citizens of different countries is conventionally named “civil war state” (even when there is no real hot war in the country).

This conflict of approaches in the Belarusian civic education became visible in the first three days and it has directed the development of the game design.

2. Unsolved issue of the content of civic education in Belarus, no conceptualization of “citizen of Belarus” definition. Considering the fact of variety of scientific and conceptual results used in the activities of various actors there is no concept of civic education in Belarus. The complexity is in the fact that this concept should on one hand consider the genesis of “citizen” definition in contemporary world and on the other hand the aims and objectives of Belarus today . The absence of the developed content of the civic education means the absence of civic education (education that forms “citizens of Belarus”) definition.
In analysis of the problem the participants formulated the tasks determining the content of the civic education: desovietization – the people should become the citizens of Belarus from the soviet citizens; nation-building – the result of the civic education should be the citizens of Belarus and the citizens of the world or citizens of various countries (Belarus People Republic of 1918, USSR and so on); Europeanization – the content of the civic education should be oriented to the European context.
3. Absence of clear and systematic coordination of activities of various actors of civic education of Belarus which causes no results of civic education. Luck of organization in activities of various civic education’s actors leads to preparation of different citizens in Belarus. Luck of interaction, communication and relation between the various actors makes the united system of civic education impossible.
In the process of preparation to the game workshop the team of trainers developed the scheme of functional places and positions which could provide the integrity of activities in civic education in Belarus. Basing on this scheme the names of the working groups were defined. The dynamics of the game showed that some important functions in the civic education system in Belarus are absent or performed inefficiently: for instance scientific and technology function. The actors that perform other functions hardly “see” each other; they are not interested in the work of other actors and consider them equal and similar in terms of responsibility and qualification.
4. Absence of normal working communication, providing interaction of the actors and positions in the civic education (channels of communication and activities coordination). The reasons are:
а) no common ground of activities, no feeling of belonging to the united (integral) system of civic education and unified concept of Belarusian citizen (no vision of common result);
b) false demonstrative character of activities. At the moment the significant number of organizations and structures in the sphere of civic education are trying just to survive and spend money.
c) “double thinking” as the heritage of the soviet system when simultaneously (even by one person) two contents, citizens definitions and values systems are broadcasted.
After the culmination of the fourth day the situation in the sphere of civic education was analyzed in full. The game logically continued as design of civic education system to solve task 3 and continue task 4. Before the design the participants of the game regrouped according to their self-identification. Regrouping helped to define the missing elements – the activities not covered in the Belarusian civic education but which are necessary. The activities are:
 Launching the program of the united civic education and permanent support and follow-up of its implementation.
 Scientific and conceptual provision of the unified education system in Belarus;
 Standardization and techniques development, providing the educational process unity, synchronization of various activities, possibility to evaluate efficiency
The participants understood that the game is the launch mechanism for further design and programming of civic education. The participants performing design and programming are the real leaders of civic education. The game showed that the process of design and programming is the key element organizing the civic society in Belarus that guarantees the future development.
Group dynamics and work in day 5-7 showed that two other missing activities (conceptual provision; standardization and technique development) in the civic education is possible basing on the processes of communication and coordination. The mass media have not only the role of communication channel today: They actually should create everything that is missing in the system of the civic education through formation of expectations. The “Communications” group defined that to solve the task it is necessary to develop and implement so called “screen technologies” in civic education, to provide transfer of general grounds and concepts in civic education and organize functional interaction between all the positions.
As the result of specific projects development the participants defined the main tool for systematization of the civic education in Belarus – rating creation – that allows to make visible the structures of positions in civic education and creates requirements for pretenders to the positions.
After the game the participants not only had the general system view of civic education (and its current status) in Belarus but also learned about new activities positions necessary for normal functioning of civic education.
The reflection of the participants in the last day 8 showed that the aims specified by the the game team were achieved fully. The major problems of the civic education – the problems of activities and thinking - were defined and thought over, self-identification of participants in the implementation of the current project which is aimed to establish the missing elements of civic education in Belarus was defined.

3. After the game. New aims and objectives

The game launched the process of socio-cultural projecting in the sphere of civic education in Belarus. We suppose that the follow-up events will help to implement everything defined and designed during the game and make the process of civic education in Belarus inevitable.

The Project team has the following tasks after the game:

1. To ensure the transfer of aims, objectives and methods of project making from methodologists and the game organizers to the real actors of civic education in Belarus (members of Association for Civic Education, state authorities, NGOs leaders, mass media management and so on).

2. To organize the development of the Concept of civic education in the mode of constant problematization and engagement of the intellectual community of Belarus. The implementation has already started by draft Concept of civic education in Belarus in 21 century .

3. The development of “screening technologies”, rating of civic education actors, training of people who can implement the technologies under the current situation in the country. We plan to solve the task through the organization of Web-sites (Activity 2.2., 2.3), seminar in Lithuania (Activity 1.3.) and Germany, and communication platforms’ organization (Activity 3.2., 4.2.)

Report made by:
Andrei Yahorau, game leader
Tatiana Vadalazhskaya, game leader
Sviatlana Matskevich, project manager

1 Sviatlana Matskevich. History and actual status of the civic education in Belarus. Pragmatics, Paradigmatics, Syntagmatics// Adukatar, №1(7), 2006
2 Tatiana Vadalazhskaya, Andrei Yahorau. A test of solidarity // http://worvik.com/news/2006/10/14/271
3 V. V. Matskevich, S. А. Matskevich, Т. Vadalazhskaya. Standards and standardization in informal education: approaches and definitions // Adukatar, №9, 2006, http://adukatar.net/storage/users/2/2/images/499/standartyGA.pdf
4 http://www.coe.int/t/r/press/%5BTheme_files%5D/%5BPol_Studies%5D
5 See. T. Vadalazhskaya, А.Yahorau. Set report // http://worvik.com/news/2007/03/23/315 6 Some content approaches to development of the Concept see Vladimir Matskevich. First reflection notes after the game // http://worvik.com/news/2007/04/03/320