Following the adoption of the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education in 2010, this project supports the promotion of the values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law through education in the States Parties to the European Cultural Convention, and data collection, analysis and ongoing dialogue among the key actors.
The core element of this project is the development of a reference framework for identifying and describing the competences needed by individuals to participate effectively in democratic society, which may be acquired through formal, informal and non-formal education.
This project builds on the achievements of the current Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education programme and will promote and share best practices from member states on effective policies and programmes for the acquisition of digital citizenship competences for students through the curriculum, and for teachers through initial and in-service education.
Higher education plays a crucial role in developing the democratic culture without which democratic institutions and laws will not function in practice. Democratic institutions should also play a key role in assessing and rethinking how our democracies should evolve over the coming generation to ensure a commitment to European values and the active participation of citizens in public space.
The purpose of the Education Department of the Council of Europe work is not so much to examine religious education and the role it plays in official curricula but to construct an approach to intercultural learning that promotes dialogue, mutual understanding and living together.
The main objective of the project “Explore and act for human rights” is to achieve implementation and enforcement of the human rights in the education sector through a better understanding of the principles of the European system of protection of human rights and the functioning of its mechanisms.
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