Within the project, an interactive web tool “CivilRightsWatch”, featuring the fundamental civil and political rights guaranteed by the Bulgarian legislation, will be developed. A series of tests will allow citizens to check if they know how institutions operate, the responsibilities of the President, the Prime-minister and Members of Parliament, as well as their understanding of the mechanisms of the judiciary, the forms of civic participation in the development of public policies and their rights and obligations as voters. In addition to their results, citizens who take the tests will also be provided with the correct answers to wrongly answered questions.
The aim of the project is to measure the level of citizens’ understanding of their own civil rights and to strengthen their willingness to actively participate in the decision-making process. The data obtained on the understanding of government body functions and opportunities for citizens to influence national and local policies will be used for developing future projects for raising awareness on the topic and civic education.
The project is aimed at socially engaged citizens who use the Internet as a primary channel for obtaining information and knowledge. The project is implemented with the financial support of the Council of Europe.