Sponsored by the Congress, Lab 4 of the World Forum for Democracy, held in Strasbourg on 8 November, launched a discussion on “Unlocking parliament”. Speaking at this Lab, Gudrun Molser-Törnström, Congress President, stressed the importance of educating young people about politics on a more regular basis as well, as part of the national curriculum. She also commended the professionalism of two initiatives on which the Lab drew on. These are recent experiences of two publicly funded initiatives, one in the Netherlands (ProDemos) and the other in the United Kingdom (the Parliamentary Education Centre). In 2015, ProDemos developed a fun, interactive method involving “educational excursions” in The Hague, while in London, the Parliamentary Education Centre has introduced Q&A sessions with members of parliament to complement the academic education process. Andreas Kiefer, Secretary General of the Congress, pointed out that there were various challenges facing initiatives of this kind. “The process must not be elitist. More public spending is needed, and action must be taken to ensure the long-term viability of the programmes and to create networks of teachers so that political education is embedded in the everyday life of schools. At the same time, more must be done to situate these efforts at municipal level,” he concluded. 

Background Paper
Lab 4 - Unlocking parliament
Interview - Gudrun Mosler-Törnström
Congress Special File