Current Projects

lab concepts is presently planning and implementing the following projects and events:

Closing the empowerment gap through citizenship education: How to address educationally disadvantaged groups

NECE Conference
17 - 19 November 2011, Warsaw (Poland)

All over Europe, citizens are turning away from classic political participatory processes. This is reflected by low numbers of voters at polling stations during elections and a general disenchantment with politics. One criticism is that – increasingly influenced by private or narrow-topic interest groups – the people and institutions active in politics are losing legitimacy, and no longer work as elected representatives for the general public good. Feelings of powerlessness and disillusionment when it comes to ‘institutional politics’ are rife as trust in representative democracy ebbs. What Colin Crouch calls ‘post-democratic’ tendencies now share the field with a rising number of new ways of getting involved in politics or socially conscious projects. This development could be considered a positive one, interpreted as proof that democracy is still alive and kicking. However, these new forms of political involvement are to a large extent determined by access to education, income and competencies. Groups and individuals with no access to these resources remain excluded from participation in civil society and political processes. It can be shown empirically that socially disadvantaged groups with poor educational opportunities suffer under a conspicuous ‘empowerment gap’.

How can citizenship education at the national and European levels contribute to the closing of this empowerment gap? What concepts, instruments, practical approaches and projects have been developed to work with educationally disadvantaged groups? What competencies have to be strengthened? Which ones already exist? What roles do different political and economic starting points play in Western and Eastern Europe?

The NECE conference invites multipliers in the fields of citizenship and cultural education, youth and social workers, NGO representatives and experts from a wide range of academic disciplines from all over Europe to come and take part in an exchange of concepts and ideas, and find out more about the possibilities of transfer and new networks. Presentations will include theoretical and practical approaches from Europe, both in schools and in out-of-school or informal learning environments, providing a platform for the discussion on inclusive approaches of citizenship education for educationally disadvantaged groups. The conference format aims to be both participatory and interactive.

• Programme

NECE Website Online Registration

Latin America - Focus for the German Economy

30 November 2011, Haus der Deutschen Wirtschaft and KfW branch, Berlin

The focus of this high profile event will be Latin America’s great economic potential as well as current and future market opportunities for German companies arising from it.

“Latin America – Focus for the German Economy”, will be the motto for this event aimed at decision makers from industry, politics and society in Latin America and Germany, paying particular attention to small and medium-sized enterprises from Germany. During the event, selected key topics will be addressed to inform German companies currently active in Latin America or planning to start up there, about the many different options for support and funding available from KfW Bankengruppe, the Federal Ministries, various organisations, foreign trade associations and institutions. The conference bundles the vast technical and regional expertise of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), KfW Bankengruppe and partners, and provides you with an opportunity to meet many of the players who are active in the region. Discuss your plans with representatives from the German Chambers of Commerce in the various countries and from the offices of KfW Bankengruppe in Latin America, and network with important decision makers from politics and industry.

Around 300 participants are expected to the conference, which will take place in the Haus der Deutschen Wirtschaft and the KfW branch in Berlin and includes a cultural programme on the evening before the main event. Nine workshops will focus on different countries and introduce the attendees to relevant key topics as well as options for funding and support available to German companies, giving attendees the opportunity to actively participate in the discussions.

The conference is organised by KfW Bankengruppe and the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) in cooperation with the Latin America Initiative of German Business (LAI).

Conference Website Online Registration

Networking European Citizenship Education (NECE)

NECE newsletter

The NECE newsletter introduces players, organizations and projects in citizenship education in Europe, provides information about current professional debates, reports on important initiatives and highlights relevant publications and upcoming events in the field of citizenship education. Additionally, you will receive the announcements for all upcoming NECE activities and events.

The Newsletter is published by the Federal Agency for Civic Education three times a year and is distributed via e-mail and is open to everyone on the website: www.nece.eu.

• NECE newsletter 01_09

• NECE newsletter 02_09

• NECE newsletter 01_10

• NECE newsletter 02_10

• NECE newsletter 03_10

• NECE newsletter 01_11

• NECE newsletter 02_11

• NECE_Newsletter 03_11

Federal Agency for Civic Education - NECE Subscribe to the NECE newsletter

European Database: NECE – Networking European Citizenship Education

Until now, contact between professionals involved in citizenship education in Europe has been sporadic at best. Discourse in the field at a European level is very scarce. The growing together of Europe however demands a much stronger transnational character in citizenship education. Within the framework of the long-term focus on “NECE - Networking European Citizenship Education”, the German Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) is now promoting even more exchange of methods and concepts – both face-to-face and via the Internet: The NECE Database is the first European portal to pool projects and initiatives and make them available for instant access. The English-language database is a joint effort, developed by the bpb and the University of Bielefeld. It aims to encourage a Europe-wide network of partners, experts and projects from the field of citizenship education in Europe. An advanced search function in the database allows users to streamline query results, whether they are looking for the certain categories of organisations, institutions based in specific countries, or groups involved in particular areas of interest. Once found, participants can then use information provided by the database to get directly in touch with a potential partner. Users are also offered the chance to submit their own entries on experts, projects and organisations, which means the database grows continuously. Administrators check all submissions closely to ensure that only qualified entries are accepted.

• Databaseflyer

• Pressinformation

Link to the NECE-Database