We understand civic education as education that has democracy as a topic and lives democracy as a programme. Thereby, we pursue our goal: the strengthening of our democracy.

Democracy is multifacetted and is shaped and lived differently at different levels of a state and in different areas of society. We promote the consideration of different facets of democracy and the understanding of and respect for basic democratic values. These basic values are the common foundation of democratic diversity: the participation of as many people as possible, respect for human rights and the rule of law.

Photo: Associations with democracy at a workshop 2021

Democracy as a topic is an important component of political education because knowledge about democracy and political issues are central democratic competences. Knowledge is an important basis for classifying information, analyzing political processes and forming an opinion. Democracy as a topic can be fundamental questions of democracy and democratic participation, as well as current political issues. In our activities, we convey scientifically sound content and include different positions of the professional discourse.

Foto: Demokratiebaustein-Workshop 2019

Democracy as a programme means that we strive to live up to democratic basic values and principles and to make democracy tangible. This applies to our cooperation in the office, the organs of the association, our relationship with partners, as well as to our behaviour toward the addressees of our educational programmes. Our educational offers are action-oriented and thus offer experiences with democracy; actions and experiences are reflected together and the understanding of different experiences and perspectives is promoted.

Photo: Prototype of the game Utopia 2021 developed within the project Demogames.

Civic education shares foundations and goals with approaches such as democracy education, education for sustainable development, human rights education, promotion of participation and the subject of civics. We are guided by the internationally recognized foundations and principles in these areas and actively participate in professional discourse. Important points of reference include the Beutelsbach Consensus, the approaches of the Council of Europe (currently in focus: competences for a democratic culture) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).