concept
What is the European Education Congress?
The European Education Congress (EEC) is an international congress critically engaging with the status quo and current developments of the education system in Europe, both on a participatory political and an analytic theoretical level. The event is organised by young people from all over Europe.
The goals and targets set for the congress are purposely multifaceted and open. The reason for this wide-ranging conception can be found in the heterogenous interests and key areas of work of the participants, which, of course, will be reflected in the structure. The results of the congress will directly depend on the ideas and analyses of all involved in the congress and the outcomes of the various discussions and workshops in the course of the week. Therefore the following objectives should be understood as a frame of reference, which is not meant to be followed to the letter; instead participants are encouraged to develop and extend these points so as to make them their own.
- Give an overview over the situation and structure of the different education systems in europe
- Develop and critically reflect political positions together
- Allow for critique of and reflection on the educational movements in europe in the last few years
- Give a theoretical analysis of the current problems in the educational sector and identify their causes
- Develop approaches and practical strategies for action
- Substantiate political practice with a theoretical basis
- Extend theoretical analysis into ideas for political practice
- Encourage everyone, but especially young people, to participate in political decision-making processes, both in the educational system and society at large
- Give a basis for understanding and discussing education in the context of the current political and social system
How is the EEC organised?
The EEC is organised by an international group of young people. Originally initiated by two German and two French organisations, the organisational team has since grown considerably and become more international.
Decisions on the concept, course of events and guidelines for the congress are made in grassroots-democratic fashion in international preparatory meetings, teleconferences and via the English language mailing list. The immediate infrastructure is organised by a local group in Bochum; financial planning is the responsibility of the main organising body, the “Bochumer Bildungschancen e.V.” and is – as much as possible – performed in constant contact with the international structures. The project is financially supported by the “Youth in Action” programme, as well as a number of other organisations.
So far there have been two international preparatory meetings, Paris in February and Barcelona in April; in addition these offical meetings, people from the organisational team gathered in Vienna in March to discuss and expand upon the results of the Paris meeting. People from several european countries took part in the grassroots and open organisation of the congress; following phases of work in smaller groups decisions were discussed and then made by consensus in a general plenum. A final preparatory meeting prior to the congress will be held on 8th and 9th of May in Bochum. It is possible to sign up for this meeting on the congress website.
Programme
Temporal structure
The programme for each day is divided into four parts. In the morning contributions with a focus on theoretical analysis will take place, which, after a shared break, will be complemented by contributions focusing on more practical aspects and the development of approaches and solutions for the problems identified. Following that, an Open Space will be held, and the day will be concluded by a cultural program.
The division into a theoretical and practical part should not be seen as a separation of practical political participation and theoretical analysis, the exact opposite is intended. Both approaches to a topic or problem should be linked to each other, to allow for a better understanding by taking into account both perspectives. Political practice cannot develop its full potential without a theoretical background; theoretical analyses of a problem need strategies to allow for a solution and practice to bring about change. Ideally, the theoretical approach to a problem explored and further developed in the morning would culminate into the initiation of practical solutions for this problem in the afternoon.
Open Space
During the Open Space phase in the evening, discussions begun during the day can be continued and new topics touched upon during one of the contributions explored. In the beginning of each Open Space, all participants are invited to gather in a central room for a short meeting, where organisational announcements will be made. After a short introduction, participants can enter topics they are interested in, concisely present them on a board, and match them to the available rooms. Each group, at any time, can decide to split or change the topic, however this should be posted on a centralised board for overview. To make the course of discussion and possible results visible to all congress participants, the groups are encouraged to use placards for a kind of protocol. Those placards will be exhibited near the infopoint each day.
Workgroups
In addition to regular contributions and Open Spaces, “workgroups” will give opportunities for people to develop concrete ideas for projects. These workgroups are self-organised and can meet throughout the week to work on their specific project. To open these up for all participants, an information board near the infopoint will present these projects and announce time and place of their meetings. The content of the projects discussed is completely dependent on the ideas of congress participants. One group could, for example meet to work on an international theatre project for the cultural program, another might plan an international platform for further communication after the congress. Workgroups cannot sign up for the programme beforehand, but should instead form during the congress.
Cultural Programme
In the evening, each day, time is reserved for cultural activities. The program will not be decided beforehand by the organisers of the congress, but instead created in a “do it yourself”-fashion during the congress itself. Everyone is invited to get involved, contribute ideas and offer something for the cultural programme. If equipment or infrastructure is needed, this might be possible to organise, given sufficient notice.
Communication
Communication during the congress will be in English for most of the time. As our financial means are unfortunately limited, we are unable to translate all workshops into several different languages. Of course contributions can be offered in other languages, according to the language skills of the participants. The infopoint will feature a list, where people willing to translate a contribution from/into another language, are encouraged to enter their name and contact details. This way it may be possible to open more contributions even to non-English speaking people.
How can you participate?
Sign up to become a participant on the congress homepage: http://www.educationcongress.eu/?page_id=141 As the division between active contributors and passive visitors exemplifies one of the many problems of current educational systems, one of the aims of the congress is to resolve this. Therefore we are asking everyone interested in education, both in theoretical approaches and their applications in practice, not just to visit the congress, but also to actively take part by offering a contribution to the congress programme. Registering a contribution can be done on the congress homepage as well: http://www.educationcongress.eu/?page_id=251 Should you have any questions, please write an email to info@educationcongress.eu. In case you have ideas for the cultural program or want to perform something yourself, write an email, or mention this at the infopoint.
In general visiting the congress should also mean participating and contributing to the congress, and not just in respect to the thematic contents. At the infopoint lists will be prepared, with possibilities for you to help with the infrastructure of the congress: giving out food, washing the dishes, helping at the infopoint, preparing contributions and Open Space phases etc. Please enter your name into these lists, to have a share in making the congress a great experience for everyone. Don’t just consume, create and contribute!