KAS

Every year, the international network brings together political educators from Germany and abroad in Berlin.

The International Network for Civic Education (INPB) aims to bring together people from Germany and abroad who are committed to civic education, both professionally and privately. They should exchange their experiences with each other, define future challenges together and learn from each other.

Promoting Democracy Together - Review and Outlook

A first event, entitled International Conference on Civic Education, brought together civic educators from other European countries and Germany for the first time in Berlin from 22 to 24 June 2022. This resulted in an intensive exchange on relevant topics and challenges that moved everyone together. The threat to security posed by the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine ran like a thread through the conference, but the consequences of globalisation and digitalisation, the division and fragmentation of societies, the changed discussion cultures and the loss of trust many people have in politicians and democratic institutions were also dominant themes of the discussions.

At the end of the conference, all agreed that the opportunity for such an exchange was unique so far and should definitely be continued. It is precisely the diversity of civic education and civic culture that makes the dialogue valuable and helpful for one's own work. The need to network and exchange practical experiences was shared by all.

In future, the project will be called "International Network for Civic Education" and, in addition to annual conferences, will be supported by a "group" on LinkedIn for the communication and documentation of civic education work.

Sustainable networking

Apart from the focus on the international conference, the aim is for the participants to network with each other in the long term and beyond the framework of this series of events. For this purpose, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's International Issues in Civic Education Department offers a modern platform where questions about common European civic education can be discussed. Private networking as well as joint transnational projects outside the Konrad Adenauer Foundation can also emerge as a result. Therefore, the International Civic Education Network should serve as a cornerstone for a joint European initiative.