Can we transform the future? ALE and democracy, Gina Ebner, European Association for the Education of Adults – EAEA
Inclusion and active citizenship
Sixth EAAL Forum on the Future of Adult Education
15 December 2021, online event (Zoom)
Inclusion and active citizenship can be perceived as two separate issues, but we must consider their close intertwinement. What they have in common is, among other things, that lifelong learning and education have been shown to contribute to a more inclusive society and greater involvement of individuals in democratic processes.
When talking about inclusion, we often think only of the vulnerable, the so-called socio-economically marginalised target groups – migrants and members of minorities, individuals without education and/or work, young people leaving school early and people discriminated against based on gender or age as well as people with disabilities. However, it is not just the low level of education or skills acquired in other manners and the consequent risk of poverty. Physical health, emotional-relational aspects, exclusion and loneliness and other dimensions of mental health are also important. Forms of deprivation tend to overlap, as do their consequences.
Strongly affected by the covid-19 epidemic, the vulnerability nowadays has spread to almost all population segments. Therefore, the slogan ‘leave no one behind’ is more relevant and urgent than ever before. It calls for a multidisciplinary, comprehensive approach that provides more equal access to social goods and inclusion based on mutual respect for diversity. Therefore, it makes sense to build bridges between education, social affairs, work, health, culture and other sectors of public life.
The first part of this EAAL forum addressed the challenges of the inclusion of people with special needs in adult education or lifelong learning. For this purpose, the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education (SIAE) cooperated with the Andragogical Society of Slovenia (ADS), which conducted research and prepared a monograph on this topic.
Active citizenship and related civic education are concepts also intended to increase the involvement of vulnerable target groups, but that is not all there is to it. The key is to build a democratic society based on universal human values and rights while respecting different national, political, cultural, religious and other backgrounds. Ideally, each individual – the so-called good citizen – would participate in fair democratic decision-making on matters for the common good of all, which ensure the healthy, sustainable and democratic development of the individual, the community and society as a whole.
We have already touched upon the importance of active citizenship in the previous five forums on migration and the challenges of multiculturalism, digital and green transformation, future of work and skills and ageing society.
At this forum, we learnt about the global and European aspects of civic education, the activities of the Prostorož cultural association, a non-profit urban studio that connects people with public space and people with each other through space, and an example of a young active citizen Nika Kovač.
The event took place on 15 December 2021 in an online version (Zoom).
Website of the event:
Website of the project: