The European Democratic Education Community (EUDEC) is a

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an non-profit organisation that promotes

democratic education Democratic education is a type of formal education that is organized democratically, so that students can manage their own learning and participate in the governance of their educational environment. Democratic education is often specifically ...

as a sensible educational model for all democratic states. EUDEC aims to further democratic education in Europe. Founded in February 2008The beginning of EUDEC, 2006-2009
Retrieved March 21, 2019Gronert, Maren & Alban Schraut (Hrsg.), Handbuch Vereine der Reformpädagogik, Bibliotheca Akademica, Reihe Pädagogik, Band 13, , Ergon Verlag, Baden-Baden, 2018, p. 455 as a project of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

-base
Phoenix Education Trust
the organisation has been an independently registered

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

since 2009.

About EUDEC

EUDEC's members are individuals, schools and institutions throughout Europe with decades of experience in democratic education. The organisation of EUDEC reflects the democratic education philosophy which advocates that school students should play an active role at all levels of the organisation: e.g. as individual members, in conference-planning, the organisation of programmes and on the EUDEC Council itself. EUDEC facilitates a network of mutually supportive democratic education practitioners and institutions through the exchange of online information about democratic education in theory and practice, publications, conferences, meetings and seminars, school partnerships and exchanges. Individuals, schools, school start-up groups and organisations may become members of the Community. As of November 2018 the Community represents some 8000 people in 72 groups from 29 countries including over 7,800 school students, 44 schools, 26 start-up groups and 2 organisations including th
German National Association of Free Alternative Schools (BFAS)
and UK-base
Phoenix Education Trust
as well as about 400 individual members. EUDEC is mentioned in several publications about inclusion in education. EUDEC seeks collaboration with other European organisations concerned with education such as the Council of Europe, the European Union through its Erasmus Programme, th
Swiss Union of Student Organisations (USO)
and the

Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions The Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU) is the umbrella organization of 35 national school student unions from 24 European countries. An interlocutor with the European Commission, European Parliament, Council of Europe a ...

(OBESSU). It seeks dialogue and information exchange with national state education systems through these international activities. In 2016, EUDEC participated in the

World Forum for Democracy The World Forum for Democracy is a gathering each November in Strasbourg, France to debate the complex challenges facing democracies today and foster democratic innovation. The Forum is hosted by the Council of Europe and brings together members of ...

organized by the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

. In 2018, a EUDEC member school, th
Netzwerk Schule (Berlin)
participated with 10 state schools from many countries in the Council of Europ
Free to Speak, Safe to Learn. Democratic Schools for All
project conference held at the European Wergeland Centre in Oslo. EUDEC also seeks dialogue with state school systems at the national level through its growing number of national chapters such as EUDEC HUNGARY, EUDEC FRANCE and EUDEC GREECE. In 2008/2009, EUDEC was an official project of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. The Community was formed in parallel with the

European Democratic Education Conference The European Democratic Education Conference (EUDEC) is an annual conference of the European Democratic Education Community, a European network of people involved in democratic education. The first conference was held in Leipzig, Germany, from 25 ...

, which is now a part of the Community's regular activities. The conference, which takes place annually, also includes the EUDEC's annual general assembly of members, in which officers of the community are elected and decisions are made about Community policy. Every two years the Community elects a Council of 7 to 11 members who administer its business between assemblies.

Democratic Education

There are two main pillars of democratic education: self directed/managed learning in a community based on democratic process and human rights with equality and mutual respect between adults and children/young people. Students in democratic schools and universities choose how to spend their time in school, pursue their interests and prepare themselves for their lives and chosen careers. Learning can take place in classrooms, as in conventional schools, but also in many ways outside classrooms as

informal learning Informal learning is characterized "by a low degree of planning and organizing in terms of the learning context, learning support, learning time, and learning objectives". It differs from formal learning, non-formal learning, and self-regulated ...

, such as independent study, internet research, internships, playing games, volunteering, doing projects, visiting museums, travel and discussions with friends and teachers. The best setting for living, learning, or indeed working, is one in which our rights and opinions are respected. Democratic schools have school meetings in which all members of the community have an equal vote, regardless of age or status. Students and teachers sit together as equals to discuss and vote on school rules, curricula, projects, the hiring of staff and budgetary matters. This process is one of the ways that democratic schools create an environment in which children can flourish and grow up to be tolerant, open-minded, responsible individuals who know how to express their opinions and listen to those of others and be active citizens of a modern democratic society. They are well equipped to manage their own lives and create their own identities and thus to face the emerging challenges of the

Fourth Industrial Revolution "Fourth Industrial Revolution", "4IR", or "Industry 4.0", is a neologism describing rapid technological advancement in the 21st century. It follows the Third Industrial Revolution (the "Information Age"). The term was popularised in 2016 by K ...

EUDEC Events

The first EUDEC Conference took place in Leipzig, Germany from 25 July – 3 August 2008. Since 2008, there has been an EUDEC annual general meeting or conference each year. The events are listed below in chronological order: *2008 - EUDEC Conference Leipzig, Germany - hosted by th
Freie Schule Leipzig
*2009 - EUDEC Annual General Meeting Cieszyn, Poland *2010 - EUDEC Annual General Meeting Roskilde, Denmark - hosted b
Det frie Gymnasium
an
Den Demokratiske Skole
*2011 - IDEC@EUDEC Conference Devon, England. This conference was a combination of the EUDEC Conference and the 2011 International Democratic Education Conference (IDEC)

*2012
EUDEC Conference Freiburg
Germany - hosted by th
Kapriole

*2013 - EUDEC Conference, Netherlands

*2014 - EUDEC Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark - Hosted by Det Frie Gymnasium

*2015 - EUDEC Conference, Warsaw, Poland - Hosted by Fundacji Bullerbyn

*2016
IDEC@EUDEC
Mikkeli, FinlandIDEC 2016 Report
Retrieved March 22, 2019 *2017 - EUDEC Conference, Paris, France -

*2018 - EUDEC Conference, Crete, Greece

*2019 - EUDEC HUNGARY conference, Budapest March 2019 *2019 - IDEC@EUDEC Conference, Kiev and Vinnytsia, Ukraine, 1. - 9. August

Member schools

* Summerhill School, Summerhill Great Britain (founded 1921) *

Sands School Sands School is a private democratic school in Ashburton, Devon in England. Background Sands School is the second democratic school in England and was founded in 1987 by a group of students and teachers from the recently closed Dartingto ...

Great Britain (founded 1987) *

Neue Schule Hamburg Neue Schule Hamburg () is a private Sudbury school in Rahlstedt, Hamburg, Germany, established in 2007. History The school was founded by Philipp Palm, who was the school's principal, his partner the German popstar Nena Kerner, Silke Steinfadt and ...

Germany (founded 2007)
Det frie Gymnasium
Danmark (founded 1970) More member schools can be found a

References

{{Reflist

External links