Council of Europe lance un appel à participation au World Forum on Democracy 2016 Retour vers les opportunités

As a response to the success of the 2015 edition of the World Forum on Democracy, the Joint Council on Youth has agreed to involve the youth sector of the Council of Europe, through the Youth Department, in the 2016 edition of the World Forum for Democracy.

The fifth edition of the Council of Europe’s World Forum for Democracy will engage with decision-makers and opinion-formers in a reflection on how education and democracy can reinforce each other and address the risks of new social divides.

Is education fulfilling its democratic mission or is it failing to build the key qualities for democratic citizenship? What is the role of different education actors – teachers, learners, families, civil society organisations, public authorities, and the media? Is it necessary to reform the organisation and functioning of educational institutions in order to better respond to the requirements of democracy? Can schools and other educational environments become spaces for democratic experimentation, including new forms of democracy in the digital age? Are there new, alternative forms of learning and practicing democracy in educational institutions and how to analyse them? What can we do better? How can education not only preach but also practice democracy? And how can democracy adopt more inclusive and participatory methods which give a voice to all citizens and not only the educated elites?

The Forum will explore how education and democracy:

• Nurture active citizens with critical and analytical skills, as well as other key democratic competences
• Through grassroots innovation and bottom-up reform, promote and strengthen democracies and thereby help bridge social divides and improve opportunities for all

The core content of the Forum will consist of discussions about successful initiatives and actions, which have real-life initiatives as a starting point. General guiding principles will then be drawn to encourage and support future policy responses and field action.

The draft concept note about the 2016 edition of the World Forum for Democracy can be found here.

In this context, the Youth Department will invite 75 young people to participate and engage with decision-makers and opinion-formers in a reflection on the question of education today: its opportunities and limits, its various forms as well as real stories linked to formal, non-formal and informal education.

In this edition of the World Forum for Democracy, we wish to invite young people to share their own testimonies and initiatives in relation to education and its role in their life.

For this purpose, applicants should send a 1-minute video (see instructions below) explaining their motivation, and how they relate to the topic of education, learning and democracy. The video should be inspiring and based on real-life testimonies or examples of how participants themselves are concerned by the topic. Where do you learn? How do you learn? What does education mean for you? What have been life-changing learning experiences? Do you learn in formal, non-formal, informal contexts?

Preparing for the World Forum on Democracy

Once selected, participants will be informed about the labs which will take place and will be invited to choose their preferred labs. They can make contact with the organising bodies which will implement the initiatives (labs) in order to receive further information about their structures.

A small online space will be created for participants to get to know each other, share ideas and experiences beforehand and consult documents related to the World Forum.

In order to best prepare for the World Forum, selected participants will gather in Strasbourg two days before the start of the World Forum to learn about the Council of Europe and it’s work with youth, to get to know each other, to develop their ideas, plan their actions and work together with the guidance of an international team of trainers. The Youth Department will partner with openDemocracy for the first time with the aim of creating a Youth Citizens’ Newsroom during the World Forum.

Therefore, all selected participants should arrive on Friday 4th November and depart on Thursday 10th November. A Youth meeting will take place for all participants on Saturday 5th, Sunday 6th and morning of Monday 7th November in the European Youth Centre before the World Forum begins in the afternoon of the 7th of November. Participants will be asked to be innovative and to link their local youth work context to the event in Strasbourg.

During the World Forum for Democracy

During the World Forum, participants will represent Youth and join the different labs. In order to be recognisable as “Youth Ambassadors”, the 75 participants will be asked to wear the commonly designed T-Shirt or accessories. Participants will be given particular roles in the labs and newsroom according to their interests and competences (rapporteurs, audience, critical

thinkers…).

Altogether, young people should be active partners and contributors to this World Forum, bringing in own ideas and initiatives. Beyond the labs, the participants may organise parallel activities to make their voices heard and present their visions of education and democracy (flashmobs, creative walls, living library, storytelling etc…).

Financial and practical conditions of participation

Working language

The common working language of the event will be English. Candidates must be able to use English independently in order to be able to work and communicate efficiently.

Travel expenses

Travel expenses and visa costs will be reimbursed upon presentation of the relevant receipts, according to the rules of the Council of Europe. Only the participants who attend the entire event (pre-Forum meeting and World Forum) can be reimbursed. The payment will be made by bank transfer after the World Forum. Prepaid tickets for travel can be arranged in exceptional and justified cases.

Accommodation

Board and lodging are provided and paid for by the Council of Europe (arrival on Friday 4th November and departure on Thursday 10th November). Participants will be accommodated at the European Youth Centre in Strasbourg (EYCS). The EYCS is fully accessible to young people with disabilities and ready to adapt to young people’s special needs in order to ensure full inclusion and quality working conditions.