20 June 2017. Session I (11h-12h) and Session II (13h30-15h)

Description

The aim of this workshop is to facilitate a discussion among different actors on the conclusions of the Report on the State of Citizenship and Human Rights Education in Europe, with a view to develop a shared understanding of the current challenges and opportunities in this area, while taking into account the diversity of contexts, needs and approaches.  In particular, the participants are invited to discuss the following findings of the Report:

 

  • Conclusion 1: Inconsistencies between policies and their implementation are reported by 66 per cent of government respondents in 2016 compared to 20 per cent in 2012.
  • Conclusion 2: Over 80 per cent of government respondents felt that awareness of relevance of citizenship and human rights education for addressing the current challenges in our societies is needed in order for such education to receive a greater priority in their countries.
  • Conclusion 3: Over a third of government respondents stated there is scarcely to none at all reference to EDC/HRE in laws, policies and strategic objectives, in vocational education and training, and higher education (14 out of 40 respondents).
  • Conclusion 4: About half of government respondents stated that evaluations of strategies and policies undertaken in accordance with the aims and principles of the Charter have been done or foreseen. 
  • Conclusion 5: In almost two-thirds of the countries no criteria have been developed to evaluate the effectiveness of programmes in the area of citizenship and human rights education.

 

Moreover, there exist important differences in perception among government and civil society respondents.  For example, 78 per cent of government respondents claimed that there is a shared definition of education for democratic citizenship and human rights education in their countries compared to 17 per cent of civil society respondents.  90 per cent of government respondents were aware of measures or activities planned to promote education for democratic citizenship and human rights education in their countries compared to 30 per cent of civil society respondents.

Time schedule

11h - 12h

Recommended outline (to be adapted by the moderators as required):

  • Introduction (5 minutes)
  • The participants’ expectations from the conference in general and the present session in particular (10 minutes)
  • (Initial) discussion of the Recommendations of the Report with focus on specific types and levels of education, based on the participants’ experiences (45 minutes)

13h30 - 15h

Recommended outline (to be adapted by the moderators as required):

  • (Continued) discussion of the Recommendations of the Report (50 minutes)
  • Discussion on the recommendations for future action with focus on specific types and levels of education (15 minutes)
  • Discussion on the three key messages to be presented at the plenary session (15 minutes)
  • Conclusions (10 minutes)
Topics
Expected Outcome

List of recommendations for specific areas and levels of education to be included in the conference report, based on the recommendations of the Report on the State of citizenship and human rights education in Europe and including possible means of implementation and qualitative and quantitative indicators for evaluating progress (a model will be provided prior to the Conference).

Questions for discussion

Based on your experience, what are the main inconsistencies between policies and their implementation?  How can they be overcome?


Would you agree that lack of awareness of the relevance of education for democratic citizenship and human rights, for addressing the current challenges in our societies, is a major obstacle to their successful promotion? How can such awareness be raised?


Would you agree that references to education for democratic citizenship and human rights in laws, policies and strategic objectives need to be further strengthened?  What needs to be done to achieve this, and who needs to take action?


How is the effectiveness of programmes in the area of education for democratic citizenship and human rights evaluated in your country?  How can this evaluation be further improved? How can the Council of Europe support such evaluation and in what ways should the Council of Europe tools, such as the Charter and the Framework of competences for democratic culture, be used for this purpose?


In your opinion, what are the main reasons for the important differences in perception among government and civil society respondents with respect to education for democratic citizenship and human rights?  Are they inevitable?  Can and should they be reduced, and what actions and approaches could be helpful in this respect?