Conference Agenda

The panel will discuss new perspectives for strengthening the education for democracy in contemporary European context based on the 1,5 years of work in the Horizon Europe Democrat project. We examine both the conceptual and empirical aspects of education for democracy, with case studies in six EU countries, with a special attention to responsible democratic citizenship and the possibilities to achieve change through educational interventions.

Strengthening education for democracy has become an increasingly urgent need due to several recent and ongoing crises in Europe. Challenges such as mediatization, technocratization, disenchantment, radicalization, populism, securitization, digitalization, illiberalism and others (e.g. Hay 2007, Papadopoulos 2013, Guillaume, Huysmans 2013, Moffitt 2016, Bigo, Isin, Ruppert 2019, Keane 2020, Schäfer, Zürn 2021, Sajo, Uitz, Holmes 2021) put pressure on the democratic system and citizens. An autonomous, constructive and effective citizen agency is under threat as citizens increasingly turn to either extreme ideologies or feel alienated and withdraw from civic life. How to better use education in supporting responsible democratic citizenship is nowadays a very relevant question.

The discussion will be based on but not limited to the EU Horizon Europe Democrat project that aims to strengthen liberal democracy in the European Union by supporting its embedding and sustainability through participatory redesign and implementation of innovative and context-sensitive Education for Responsible Democratic Citizenship curricula and learning methods. Both content- and process- related aspects can support the development of citizens as reflexive, autonomous and constructive democratic agents and address the challenges outlined above. Contemporary digital tools for learning and participation are taken into account, as are aspects of democracy and responsible democratic citizenship that include the individual’s relation to the natural environment and sustainability in its interconnected environmental, social, economic and governance dimensions, as per the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

The Democrat project includes both conceptual and empirical work, both supported by national and transnational living labs. The conceptual work is based on relevant academic literature and policy documents from Europe and beyond that is used to develop an approach to facilitate responsible democratic citizenship building into education content and pedagogies that respond to today’s requirements.

The empirical work includes statistical analysis, targeted research on specific key topics and educational interventions. Statistical analysis focuses on identifying the contextual factors relevant to education for democracy. Targeted research identifies i.a. the educational arrangements, aims, objectives and measures, competences, and the key agents and their discourses on education for responsible democratic citizenship. The educational interventions are designed and implemented, and their results reflected on and discussed in the project network.

The living labs offer a key channel for reflection and including the perspectives of key stakeholders in education for democracy and responsible democratic citizenship. Altogether ca. 40 living lab events will be conducted at various stages of the Democrat project.

The panelists will discuss key conceptual and empirical aspects based on the first 1,5 years of the work of the Democrat project, including initial results and designs for further work.