This workshop was to discuss and reflect on the causes and impacts of the current crises of democracies, in particular the trends towards illiberal democracies in the eastern member states of the EU and electoral "revolts" which took place in the US and the UK in 2016.
We focused on the following questions:
Which are the long-term trends behind the symptoms of crisis in the "West" and the authoritarian developments in the "East"? How are both trends connected and related with each other?
What are the new lines of conflict: Is this primarily about cultural or social/economic issues?
And how should civic education and civil societies react to these new challenges in an effective way? How can dialogues beyond the progressive mainstream be organised?
The workshop brought together NECE partners and European experts, intellectuals, and practitioners, among them Ivan Krastev, Karolina Wigura, Jan Sowa, Edit Inotai, Marek Cichocki and Wolfgang Merkel. The diversity of perspectives and backgrounds will serve to shape a transnational agenda for civic educators and civil society in times of crises and uncertainty.
Conclusions and papers of the workshop are part of the preparations for the next NECE conference in Marseille in September 2018.
The workshop took place at the Europejskie Centrum Solidarności (European Solidarity Center). The ECS is a cultural institution and museum that commemorates the revolution of Solidarity and the fall of communism in Europe, but it is also an educational, research and academic centre, an archive, library and multimedia library. Last but not least, it is a public meeting space for citizens who feel responsible for the development of democracy: a place where solidarity and citizenship are put into practice.
Interner Link: Report of the workshop (by Marinko Banjac, University of Ljubljana)
Workshop programme: Interner Link: NECE Workshop Gdansk Programme
Participants List: Interner Link: NECE Workshop Gdansk List of Participants
Biographies: Interner Link: NECE Workshop Gdansk Biodossier
Abstracts of Interner Link: Marc Soignet / Interner Link: Karolina Wigura / Interner Link: Marek Cichocki /
Interner Link: Wolfgang Merkel / Interner Link: Edit Inotai
Interner Link: Presentation of Wolfgang Merkel (Copyright Wolfgang Merkel)
Impressions from the NECE 2017 workshop in Gdansk, Poland