Education is
central to democratic societies. Schools, universities, civil society
organisations and other learning institutions should encourage the acquisition
and practice of values and skills which are essential for democracy.
However, the
economic crisis and unemployment have lead many countries to focus education
mostly on preparing learners for the labour market. Education is instrumental
for community-building, social cohesion and a sense of belonging to society. In
today’s increasingly diverse, interdependent societies, the capacity to engage
across cultural and other differences and transcend a narrow understanding of a
national interest in order to address the common challenges for humanity, is
becoming crucial. Is it possible to build upon successful innovative
initiatives from across the world to strengthen the democratic mission of
education?
The World Forum
for Democracy 2016 will focus on how education can help bridge the social
divide and become a real asset for our diverse democracies. The Forum will
analyse the impact of education systems on democracy and identify innovative
initiatives and practices which can make education (both formal and non-formal)
more democracy-centred, and critically assess their potential to trigger
systemic change. It will focus on the issue of how education can become better
at nurturing citizens as active members of society who engage in public space –
and how grassroots innovation can be enhanced to promote change in education
practice on a greater scale. The Forum will discuss not only what Education can
do for Democracy but also what Democracy can do for Education.
The World Forum
for Democracy is a platform for dialogue and innovation dedicated to democracy
which promotes the Council of Europe principles across the world. A unique
event of its kind, it deals with challenges facing democracy taking as a
starting point innovative initiatives and practice, and fostering debate
between different actors in order to find SOLUTIONS. The Forum highlights and
encourages democratic innovation to strengthen the foundations of democratic
societies. A democratic exercise in itself, the Forum aims at giving the people
– demos – their rightful place
in political decision-making. It thus contributes to the evolution of democracy
towards more participatory and inclusive structures and institutions.
The labs are the
heart of the World Forum for Democracy. Their idea is to address specific
issues through the critical analysis of tested initiatives. The initiatives
will be presented in short speeches of ten minutes and critically assessed by
multidisciplinary panels and participants in the labs. Cartoonists will
illustrate the sessions live. The key conclusions and lessons learnt from the
labs will be discussed in a summing up session in order to prepare the overall
conclusions for the Forum.
Interested
organisations/institutions worldwide are invited to express their interest in
presenting an example/initiative to make education more democracy-centred or to
revitalise democracy through education, by answering the questionnaire in the
appendix and sending it to forum_democracy@coe.int
by 15 May 2016. The World Forum
Task Force will select the most interesting and relevant proposals in June
2016.
One presenter
for the selected initiatives will be invited to Strasbourg to take part in the
World Forum. Funded places are available. Any public or private organisation is
eligible to apply.
Online
registration for the Forum will open in
September. The Forum is open to the public and participation is free of
charge.
For further
information about the World Forum for Democracy 2016, please visit the
following websites:
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