The value of democracy is at stake in Europe. In some countries, a sceptical or negative attitude to democratic processes has emerged. It is becoming increasingly evident that substantial sections of European societies have either lost faith in the democratic process or feel there is no point in participating. This partnership has enabled our target groups to participate more actively and more inclusively in the societies in which they live in our respective countries. Every partner produced a country report about the political landscape; worked on a needs analysis identifying its special target groups the partner wants to focus on. Beside these reports every partner gathered best practice examples in its country, a valuable tool for interested political parties, special interest groups like chamber of commerce, chambers of labour, trade unions, NGOs etc During the workshop – final step of the project work – the partners identified one or more best practices from the other partners to be realised in one’s own institution thus strengthening the idea of sustainability. Objectives The exchange of information between the partners was fulfilled on a high level; the different country reports gave an insight on the political landscape far beyond the average consumption of news from the partner countries. The importance of political education in our institutions was raised, and will lead to new educational offers in every partner country. The collection of best practices is a valuable tool for other educational stakeholders in the partner countries, and will lead to different new formats in reaching out to the target groups we identified. The feasibility studies we worked on during the LTTA are deepening the idea of sustainability and are a promise for the future, and will lead to different other activities in the partner countries. Participants The target groups of the DEMOS Project were people who may not be fully aware of their rights and responsibilities while living under a democracy, they may also display low levels of civic engagement and low patterns of voting e.g. • New and hard to reach migrant groups, refugees and asylum seekers (AT, IE, FI, SE) • Younger learners especially those from marginalised and underserved communities (CZ, BG, RO) • Adults from marginalised and underserved communities (BG, IE, AT, DE) • Women – particularly as they are proportionately underrepresented in our parliaments (PL, BG, RO, FI) Multi sectorial Partner Groups were another target group of interest to the DEMOS project, particularly those who operate in the civic space and who work with underserved communities to promote civic and political engagement e.g. MEP’s, political institutions such as the local Councils, political parties, third level Institutions - departments with a remit around politics and civics, arts organisations who can collaborate with us on this project. Activities We produced 9 country reports including a needs analysis and the target group every partner will focus on Collection of best practices in the partner countries Realising one of the best practices in one’s own institution during the project Collection of feasibility studies. Every partner chose one of the best practices from the other partners and will realise this example in its own institution after the projects end The consortium organised 5 project meetings and an LTTA. Results - Impact • Country reports • Collection of best practices • Feasibility study We learned innovative methods for reaching marginalised groups and we will integrate these into future educational provision. This lead to a higher degree of political and social inclusion and already offered new perspectives to our target groups. Longer-term benefits Political participation is a main topic in the national discussions on improving our societies. As we learned many innovative examples during the project every partner will spread the information nationally and thus influence the future political landscape. Times are over when political parties just presented their program for the elections and the only thing voters had to do is make their mark at the voters bulletin every 4 or 5 years. Participatory budgeting, referendum on cities or districts decision about traffic, urban planning, fighting the climate change are political models for the future. As long as educational institutions are partners in the development of societies they will be playing an important role in this whole spectrum.
The value of democracy is at stake in Europe. In some countries, a sceptical or negative attitude to democratic processes has emerged. It is becoming increasingly evident that substantial sections of European societies have either lost faith in the democratic process or feel there is no point in participating. This partnership has enabled our target groups to participate more actively and more inclusively in the societies in which they live in our respective countries. Every partner produced a country report about the political landscape; worked on a needs analysis identifying its special target groups the partner wants to focus on. Beside these reports every partner gathered best practice examples in its country, a valuable tool for interested political parties, special interest groups like chamber of commerce, chambers of labour, trade unions, NGOs etc During the workshop – final step of the project work – the partners identified one or more best practices from the other partners to be realised in one’s own institution thus strengthening the idea of sustainability. Objectives The exchange of information between the partners was fulfilled on a high level; the different country reports gave an insight on the political landscape far beyond the average consumption of news from the partner countries. The importance of political education in our institutions was raised, and will lead to new educational offers in every partner country. The collection of best practices is a valuable tool for other educational stakeholders in the partner countries, and will lead to different new formats in reaching out to the target groups we identified. The feasibility studies we worked on during the LTTA are deepening the idea of sustainability and are a promise for the future, and will lead to different other activities in the partner countries. Participants The target groups of the DEMOS Project were people who may not be fully aware of their rights and responsibilities while living under a democracy, they may also display low levels of civic engagement and low patterns of voting e.g. • New and hard to reach migrant groups, refugees and asylum seekers (AT, IE, FI, SE) • Younger learners especially those from marginalised and underserved communities (CZ, BG, RO) • Adults from marginalised and underserved communities (BG, IE, AT, DE) • Women – particularly as they are proportionately underrepresented in our parliaments (PL, BG, RO, FI) Multi sectorial Partner Groups were another target group of interest to the DEMOS project, particularly those who operate in the civic space and who work with underserved communities to promote civic and political engagement e.g. MEP’s, political institutions such as the local Councils, political parties, third level Institutions - departments with a remit around politics and civics, arts organisations who can collaborate with us on this project. Activities We produced 9 country reports including a needs analysis and the target group every partner will focus on Collection of best practices in the partner countries Realising one of the best practices in one’s own institution during the project Collection of feasibility studies. Every partner chose one of the best practices from the other partners and will realise this example in its own institution after the projects end The consortium organised 5 project meetings and an LTTA. Results - Impact • Country reports • Collection of best practices • Feasibility study We learned innovative methods for reaching marginalised groups and we will integrate these into future educational provision. This lead to a higher degree of political and social inclusion and already offered new perspectives to our target groups. Longer-term benefits Political participation is a main topic in the national discussions on improving our societies. As we learned many innovative examples during the project every partner will spread the information nationally and thus influence the future political landscape. Times are over when political parties just presented their program for the elections and the only thing voters had to do is make their mark at the voters bulletin every 4 or 5 years. Participatory budgeting, referendum on cities or districts decision about traffic, urban planning, fighting the climate change are political models for the future. As long as educational institutions are partners in the development of societies they will be playing an important role in this whole spectrum.