News

Between 10-14 November 2025 in Szentendre, coordinated by the Váci SZC Petzelt József Technikum és Szakképző Iskola, the three-year cooperation of six European countries – Hungary, Romania, Lithuania, Italy, Slovakia, and Portugal – started within the framework of the “Awareness of Children’s Rights in Secondary Education – Through Escape Rooms” Erasmus+ project.

The aim of the programme is to make children’s rights understandable and experiential for young people using modern, experience-based methods, especially through the creative and interactive tools of escape rooms.

The teachers and professionals participating in the project became familiar with the common objectives, the responsibilities of each country, and the main milestones of the three-year work plan already on the first day of the meeting.

Escape rooms are a complex yet highly attractive method for young people: they introduce the world of children’s rights in a playful form while developing teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving skills.

First steps of the joint work:

The participating teams arrived on Sunday afternoon at the Mathias Rex guesthouse in Szentendre, which welcomed them with a calm, homely atmosphere. Monday began with a rich breakfast and informal conversations, followed by the official opening where the Hungarian Education Chancellor greeted the international team. The leadership of the Petzelt József Technikum and the key professional partners involved in the implementation of the project were also present at the event.

In the morning the online platform designed for sharing project materials and tasks was introduced. After an overview of children’s rights, the participants tried the first escape room, created on the basis of “The definition of a child” (Article 1 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child). The experience, containing quizzes, code-breaking tasks, and playful puzzles, served as inspiration for all countries for the further creative process.

Joint creation – designing escape rooms:

Tuesday was spent in a calm, creative atmosphere: each country began developing its own tasks in smaller groups. The aim was for the partners to contribute unique and inventive elements to the escape room collection being developed. In this spirit, participants worked with the keywords of the 28th children’s right – the right to education (e.g. support, education, equality) – and created new tasks based on their own professional experiences.

On Wednesday the teams presented their completed tasks to each other, and there was also an opportunity to try them out. In the second half of the day the voting for the project’s official logo took place – out of several excellent submissions, the Romanian team’s design received the most votes.

Testing the escape rooms with local students:

The highlight of Thursday’s programme was the practical testing of the tasks. Ten students from the Petzelt József Technikum és Szakképző Iskola participated in the testing, providing real feedback to the teachers on how young people respond to the games they created. The students’ enthusiasm confirmed that the project is heading in the right direction and that the method is indeed suitable for developing children’s rights awareness.

In the afternoon the participants set out to explore Budapest, visiting Buda Castle and the House of Terror Museum. The cultural programme not only enriched the team with historical knowledge but also provided opportunities for informal conversations and for deepening international connections.

Looking ahead: 42 escape rooms in the service of children’s rights!

During the project a total of 42 escape rooms will be created – both in online and offline form – which will be freely available for students and teachers to try in their own institutions.

The emphasis throughout is on collective thinking, creativity, and sharing experiences. It is hoped that by the end of the three-year cooperation a complex pedagogical toolkit will be created that effectively supports schools in teaching children’s rights.

Authors: Melinda Kornis and Borbála Nagy, teachers of the Zeyk Domokos Technological Lyceum.