Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU)
Coordinator
Nature of the organisation: University
Location: Basque Country, Spain (campuses in Bilbao, San Sebastián and Vitoria-Gasteiz)
Website: https://www.ehu.eus/ EHU
Description:
The University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) is the main higher education and research institution in the Basque Country and has been recognised as a “Campus of International Excellence”. With more than 45,000 students and more than 30 centres across three campuses, it is a key reference in democratic education, inclusion, childhood wellbeing and the digital society. The coordinating ALHE research group has extensive experience in European and national projects on democratic schooling, combating misinformation and educational innovation, especially in disadvantaged environments.
Tallinn University
Nature of the organisation: University
Location: Tallinn, Estonia
Website: https://www.tlu.ee/en tlu.ee
Description:
Tallinn University is one of the three largest universities in Estonia and a leading institution in social sciences, governance and education. The team contributes expertise in democratic citizenship, populism, migrant transnationalism and political communication, as well as co-creation methods with young people. Through initiatives such as the Proovikivi platform and projects like DEMOCRAT and ReCoCreaYOUTH, Tallinn University brings strong experience in participatory, project-based learning and in engaging youth and local communities in democratic processes.
Jyväskylän Yliopisto – University of Jyväskylä (JYU)
Nature of the organisation: Public research university
Location: Jyväskylä, Finland
Website: https://www.jyu.fi/en Jyväskylän yliopisto
Description:
The University of Jyväskylä is an internationally renowned research university and a leader in education research. It brings unique access to, and expertise with, large-scale international assessment datasets (ICCS, ICILS, PIRLS, TALIS and PISA), enabling detailed analysis of students’ civic knowledge, democratic attitudes, digital skills and wellbeing. JYU contributes strong methodological capacity in quantitative and registry data analysis, providing an evidence base for improving democracy education and civic participation among children and young people.
ALDA – European Association for Local Democracy
Nature of the organisation: NGO / association
Location: Strasbourg, France,
Website: https://www.alda-europe.eu
Description:
ALDA, the European Association for Local Democracy, is a global alliance of local and regional authorities and civil society actors working together with a participative approach for resilient, inclusive, and sustainable communities. Today, ALDA is a key stakeholder in the field of local democracy, active citizenship, good governance, EU integration, human rights, and cooperation between local authorities and civil society. Most of its work is based on multilateral decentralised cooperation.
The Association has a network of more than 300 members, including local and regional authorities and civil society organisations from 45 different countries.
Kistler-Ritso Eesti Sihtasutus – Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom
Nature of the organisation: Museum
Location: Tallinn, Estonia
Website: https://vabamu.ee/en
Description:
Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom is Estonia’s leading museum dedicated to the history of foreign occupations, resistance and the country’s struggle for freedom. It combines historical exhibitions, the former KGB prison cells site and innovative educational programmes to promote human rights, democratic values and critical thinking. Through initiatives such as Youth Engagement NoVa, global conversations and educational activities on disinformation, propaganda and media literacy, Vabamu contributes strong expertise in historical awareness, democratic memory and digital innovation in education.
EUDEC – European Democratic Education Community
Nature of the organisation: NGO
Location: Berlin, Germany
Website: https://eudec.org
Description:
EUDEC is a European non-profit organisation promoting democratic education as a viable and desirable model for all democratic states. Its network includes almost one hundred democratic schools, school start-up groups and partner organisations across Europe. EUDEC supports the right to create and attend democratic schools, facilitates exchanges between schools, organises conferences (such as IDEC@EUDEC) and collaborates with international bodies including UNESCO. In this project, EUDEC strengthens the connection to grassroots democratic schools, supports co-creation with young people and helps disseminate practices and materials throughout its European network.
University of Galway
Nature of the organisation: University
Location: Galway, Ireland
Website: https://universityofgalway.ie
Description:
The University of Galway is a long-established public research university with strong expertise in political science, sociology, human rights and intercultural education. Its team works on themes such as citizenship, youth engagement, race equality, democratic participation and the role of media and new technologies in democracy. Previous and ongoing projects include work on urban youth citizenship, EU public policy engagement and democracy-related research. In this project, the University of Galway contributes comparative research, conceptual work on democracy and citizenship, and innovative approaches to arts-based and community-based education.
Università degli Studi di Siena
Nature of the organisation: University
Location: Siena, Italy
Website: https://www.unisi.it
Description:
The University of Siena is one of the oldest universities in Europe and a prominent Italian public university. The Department of Social, Political and Cognitive Sciences (DISPOC) hosts the research team involved in the project, with strong expertise in inclusive education, special and general pedagogy, media education and diversity management. Through METLAB and the Laboratory of Experimental Linguistics, the university develops empirical research on inclusion, disability, educational robotics, emotional education and innovative teaching practices. It contributes to the project with research on inclusive and democratic school cultures, teacher training and tools to support participation of students with diverse needs.
The University of Cambridge
Nature of the organisation: University
Location: Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
Website: https://www.cam.ac.uk University of Cambridge+1
Description:
The University of Cambridge is one of the world’s leading universities, with outstanding research in education, technology and society. The participating team, based in the Faculty of Education, contributes cutting-edge expertise on generative AI, digital literacy, systems theory and the entanglement of technology, democracy and education. Their work includes research on AI use in schools, teacher professional development, policy contributions on AI in education and master’s-level AI literacy courses. Within the project, Cambridge leads the reflection on opportunities and risks of AI for democratic education and helps design pedagogical approaches that support critical, responsible and participatory use of digital technologies.
Department of Education of the Basque Government
Nature of the organisation: Regional public authority (education ministry)
Location: Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain
Website: https://www.euskadi.eus/basque-government/department-education/
Description:
The Department of Education of the Basque Government is responsible for planning, coordinating and managing education policy in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, from early childhood to upper secondary and vocational education. It oversees a large network of schools and leads strategic initiatives such as the Digital Transformation Plan, the Framework Plan for the Development of an Inclusive School, Ikaslab learning spaces and guidance and youth participation policies. In this project, the Department provides the policy context, access to schools and decision-makers, and contributes its experience in inclusive and democratic school development and large-scale implementation of innovative educational practices.
I-Civic Project 