Welcome to Re-Thinking Education in Turbulent Times, the latest podcast series from the 89 Initiative’s Civic Education research team. Tired of long podcasts with standard political commentary and boring jokes? Longing for fresh, evidence-based solutions to the challenges facing Europe? Need something stimulate your mind while cleaning the dishes? Look no further!
With just a half hour of your time, we will introduce you to urgent debates and our most recent findings on the connection between civic education and politics in Europe. In the coming weeks, we will cover topics ranging from fighting populism through civic education to ambitious ideas such as setting up a European Agency for Civic Education. Civic education is a critical pillar of democracy drastically underestimated by society and academia. Our mission is to change this and spread the word about its political power.
EPISODE 1 | Revolutionizing European Civil Society with a European Agency for Citizenship Education
In recent years, Europeans have become divided over its fundamental values, such as democracy and the rule of law. Moreover, the widespread prevalence of conspiracy theories and fake news in 2020 has demonstrated the fragility of truth in European society. We sat down with Susanne Zels, co-founder and manager of Values Unite, to discuss how a European Agency for Citizenship Education (EACE) might strengthen our civil society. In this episode, we chat about the diverse landscape of civic education in Europe, the lack of research on the topic and the tasks the EACE would take on.
Follow Susanne on Twitter: @susannezels