Annex B: Generic skills relevant to citizenship

Being an effective citizen means being able to use and develop in a variety of contexts:

• core skills:
  • communication skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing; visual and non-verbal), for example being able to research, discuss and share information about social, political and community issues; being able to contribute to debates and discussions in ways that are both assertive and respectful of others' contributions
  • the ability to work confidently with numerical information, for example being able to examine statistics regarding various social and economic issues and to consider ways in which they are used and abused
  • ICT skills, for example using ICT to analyse situations, events and issues, to communicate effectively, to find and handle information, and to make contact with people and organisations across the world, and developing critical use of the internet
  • the ability to work well with others, for example by participating willingly, confidently and constructively in team efforts
  • problem-solving skills, including the ability to identify and frame one's own questions and problems rather than depending on others to define them, for example identifying and describing a practical community problem

• other generic skills:
  • the capacity to work autonomously in pursuit of one's own needs and purposes and those of communities, for example in defending and promoting the rights and welfare of others as well as exercising one's own rights
  • decision-making skills, for example making thoughtful and informed decisions in the course of being involved in political and community issues
  • creative skills (related to problem-solving and other core skills) including:
  • the ability to respond in imaginative ways to social, moral and political situations and challenges, for example developing a personal response to a topical moral issue, or making a decision in response to a local political development
  • the ability to apply knowledge and skills gained in one context to another, in order to take advantage of an opportunity, solve a problem or resolve an issue
  • the developing capacity to imagine alternative realities and futures that could benefit society and the environment
  • the ability to consider and empathise with the experience and perspective of others.

Combined with relevant factual and conceptual knowledge and with positive dispositions and personal qualities, these generic skills provide the basis for active citizenship that is also imbued with a sense of social and environmental responsibility.

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