PROMOTING DEMOCRACY AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
Lisbon, Portugal | 19 - 21 April 2023
A well-functioning sector of independent education is one of the pillars of an empowered civil society. And an empowered civil society is a cornerstone of democracy.
Because independent schools are value based organizations, it is the parents` right to choose the school with which they most identify themselves.
But whatever the specific values that each independent school decides to focus, there are fundamental educational aims shared by all independent schools in Europe. Two of them are: the promotion of democracy within our societies and the education of our students for civil engagement. Therefore, the 2023 ECNAIS conference focusses how we, as educators, are able to better achieve these aims.
But the 2023 ECNAIS Conference is very special for an additional reason: we will host the first ECNAIS Debate Event (https://ecnais.org/debate/). In partnership with DDI - Stichting Nederlands Debat Instituut and with support from Porticus, we have trained teachers all over Europe, students have debated at their schools and at the national level and now 12 teams from 11 countries will debate in Lisbon during the Conference.
A visit to independent schools in Lisbon will be part of the program.
We hope this Conference inspires participants and hels them reflect on the opportunities within their national contexts to improve what we do and to show the importance of independent education for societal wellbeing.
REGISTRATION: online only.
The Conference will take place at: Hotel Holiday Inn Lisboa | Av. António José Almeida, 28 A; 1000-044, Lisbon, Portugal
Video of the event
Program
The ECNAIS Student Debate Event and Conference “Promoting Democracy and Civic Engagement” was held in Lisbon, from 19 to 21 April 2023.
On April 20th, the first day of Conference, Oksana Balakshyna made a very emotional portrait of the experience of teaching and studying in Kyiv Private School Athens.
The 2023 ECNAIS Conference was a very special one because we hosted the 1st ECNAIS Student Debate Event (https://ecnais.org/debate/). In partnership with DDI - Stichting Nederlands Debat Instituut and with support from Porticus, we trained teachers all over Europe, students have debated at their schools and at the national level and, in Lisbon, 12 teams from 11 countries (Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkiye, UK) debated in 3 rounds and one final. The motions debated were: “we live in a post-truth world”; “European countries should establish quotas for young people in government” and “it is possible for European countries to achieve a common immigration policy”. In the final, Spain and Bulgaria debated the motion “Parental school choice reduces inequalities”. The Spanish team had the highest score in the final debate.