The “Improve Your School” project allows elementary and high school students to decide how to improve their school environment actively. Through participatory budgeting at their schools, they gain experience in decision-making, collaboration, and bringing their own ideas to life.
Students work together to develop ideas for improving the school environment or instruction, focusing on what is important and necessary to them. They learn to collaborate, listen to each other’s opinions, and seek common solutions and consensus. They develop specific projects within the maximum allocation of the school’s participatory budget, submit them to the school administration for review, and then present them to their fellow students. The students then use an online vote to select the winning project, which will be implemented before the end of the school year.
Participating schools receive funding, and the students themselves decide how to use it. They come up with their own ideas for improving the school, develop project proposals, and present them to their classmates. A vote is then held, in which the students select the project with the most support. The winning proposal is then implemented directly at the school with the help of the school coordinator. The entire process is supported by methodological guidance and online tools that facilitate both project preparation and the voting process itself.
For students, the project offers an opportunity to shape their school and turn their own ideas into reality. They learn to collaborate, plan, present their proposals, manage a budget, and reach consensus with others. For schools, the project fosters more active student participation in school life. It promotes an environment in which young people have the opportunity to take the initiative and participate in decision-making.
The project is entering its next phase today. Following a successful pilot year during the 2023–2024 school year, 57 schools and one children’s home participated in the program's first full year. The second year saw record-breaking interest—95 elementary and secondary schools participated, again including one children’s home. Students have already implemented their winning projects, and preparations are currently underway for the project’s third year, which will begin in September 2026. School registration has already closed.
Schools can find all information, rules, deadlines, and updates on the website www.vylepsisiskolu.cz.
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Project name |
Improve your school |
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Grant provider |
Jihomoravský kraj |
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Project coordinator |
JINAG |
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Implementation period |
10/2023 - present |
| September 2023 |
Press Release: Launch of the "Improve Your School" Project https://jinag.eu/en/a-project-to-promote-civic-engagement-and-financial-literacy-it-is-possible |
| November 2023 |
The "Improve Your School" Project Has a Logo — Announcement of a creative contest among students at pilot schools to design the project's official logo. The winner was student Barbora Kmetíková https://jinag.eu/en/the-improve-your-school-project-has-a-logo |
| January 2024 |
"Rising Star" Award for Healthy Cities, Towns, and Regions 2024 |
| June 2024 |
Completion of the Pilot Phase of the Project |
| September 2024 |
A Strong Start to the First Year — Expansion of the Project and Involvement of a Total of 56 High Schools in the South Moravian Region in the Implementation Phase of School Participatory Budgets |
| January 2025 |
Award in the Smart Cities Competition—the project won the prestigious first place in the national competition in the Education and Youth category for its innovative approach to fostering civic engagement https://jinag.eu/en/the-improve-your-school-project-won-the-smart-cities-competition |
| April 2025 |
Press Conference Marking the Launch of the Full-Scale "Improve Your School" Program for All Secondary Schools in South Moravia |
| 23th April 2024 – 7th May 2025 |
Launch of the project’s second year—registration is now open for the new year. The target group has been expanded to include elementary schools, children’s homes, and other educational institutions operated by the South Moravian Region https://jinag.eu/en/we-are-launching-the-2nd-year-of-the-improve-your-school-project |
| May 2026 |
Conference: "School as a Laboratory of Democracy" https://jinag.eu/en/press-release-school-as-a-laboratory-for-democracy |
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The "Improve Your School" Project—An Opportunity for Secondary Schools in South Moravia |
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Official project website: https://vylepsisiskolu.cz/
This event is part of the activities of the “Healthy Region” project and Local Agenda 21.
Participation Specialist
