About the project
This handbook was developed in the project "Resilience through Education for Democratic Citizenship" (REDE), implemented in the programme "Democratic and Inclusive School Culture in Operation" (DISCO) of the European Commission and the Council of Europe. The project aims at strengthening the democratic competences of social and youth workers and young people in times of polarisation and radicalisation. It aims to identify, evaluate and disseminate innovative methods for democratic competences of teachers, social workers and trainers (from CSOs) who work with young people with the aim of strengthening resilience against radicalisation and anti-democratic extremism. The framework of competences for democratic culture of the Council of Europe is an important reference in these endeavours. Project partners include:
The Salzburg University of Applied Sciences offers interdisciplinary Bachelor and Master programmes geared to the needs of the labour market in the innovation-oriented areas of Engineering, Business and Social Sciences, Media, Design and Arts as well as Health Studies. It has around 500 lecturers and researchers and over 2000 students. Its special shareholder constellation with the social partners – the Salzburg Chamber of Labour and Salzburg Chamber of Commerce – guarantee a direct transfer into socially and economically relevant fields of society. The University actively participates in the European Higher Education Area and the international scientific community to assure and increase its academic quality within the framework of its strategic objectives in accordance with the European Union as a peacekeeping community.
The Research Group on Social Innovation of the Department of Social Work brings together sociologists, political scientists, social workers, education scientists, etc. It has carried out a high number of research projects on the local, regional, national and European levels. Main fields of research are social and political inclusion, democracy and participation, migration, labour, public health and social cohesion. The Research Group is intensively involved in the teaching programme of a Master Curriculum on Social Innovation and the Bachelor Curriculum on Social Work.
Institute of Public Affairs, IPA (Warsaw) is a leading Polish think tank and an independent centre for policy research and analysis, established in 1995 (website: https://www.isp.org.pl/en). Its mission is to contribute to informed public debate on key Polish, European and global policy issues. Its main areas of study include European policy, social policy, civil society, migration and development policy as well as law and democratic institutions. The IPA has a team of in-house researchers/policy analysts and an extensive network of associate experts from academia and other paths of life. We publish the results of our projects in research reports, policy papers and books, which are broadly disseminated among members of parliament, government officials and civil servants, academics, journalists and civil society activists. The IPA has extensive research experience. Every year, dozens of projects are being carried out, out of which numerous involve the coordination of the research process and application of both quantitative and qualitative methods (including opinion polls and focus group interviews). Our experts regularly comment on current policy issues in printed and electronic media. The IPA works with key international institutions such as the European Commission and Parliament as well as OSCE, Council of Europe and Community of Democracies. IPA is active as members of many international networks and associations, including Policy Association for an Open Society PASOS, European Civic Forum and European Partnership for Democracy.
“The Conveyors of Knowledge” (“Les Militants des Savoirs”) is an association which aims to contribute to popular education and open up academic knowledge to the urgent needs of the population. The association was created 10 years ago by three academics, and has always been committed to the Anna Lindh Foundation for Peace and Culture in the Mediterranean. In response to the needs of society, it has gradually developed tools to prevent digital violence and radicalisation. For the past six years, the association has worked hand in hand with the UNESCO Chair for the Prevention of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism elaborating training programmes, audit tools and educational tools in order to closely assist local actors. For more information, visit https://militantsdessavoirs.org/en/.
The Vienna Forum for Democracy and Human Rights is a non-university research and training institute committed to the promotion and implementation of democratic principles, the rule of law and human rights at a national, European and international level (https://www.humanrights.at/). The Vienna Forum focuses on practice-oriented academic research and teaching involving a wide range of disciplines. The Vienna Forum is the home of polis - the Austrian Centre for Citizenship Education at Schools (https://www.politik-lernen.at/). The centre helps teachers and multipliers to bring citizenship and human rights education into the classroom. It serves as an information platform and advisory centre, develops new educational materials on a regular basis, plays a part in the European and Austrian discussions on citizenship education, has an influential role in teacher training and organises events. Since 2017, polis has been involved in the implementation of the Council of Europe’s Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture on the national and European levels via the Council of Europe’s EPAN Network, a NECE focus group on the RFCDC (https://www.politik-lernen.at/necefocusgroupcdc) and various European projects (e.g. https://www.politik-lernen.at/citized_en).
Information about the project Resilience Through Education for Democratic Citizenship REDE:
Duration: June 2020 to November 2021
Overall objective
The project is intended to identify, evaluate and disseminate innovative methods for democratic competences of teachers, social workers and trainers (NGOs) who work with young people with the aim of strengthening resilience against radicalisation and anti-democratic extremism.
Specific objectives
REDE brings together university teachers, trainers and social workers who work with young people outside the school environment with the aim of further developing their competences for democratic culture (CDC) and knowledge on human rights and intercultural dialogue, contributing in this way to a higher resilience to radicalisation and extremism among social/youth workers and young people.
Outputs
- Country reports
- Development of a methodology to strengthen resilience against conspiracy theories, hate speech, anti-democratic radicalisation and extremism
- Handbook for university teachers and social workers
- Training sessions, roundtables, conferences