Make our issues heard
ICCS also takes action in a wider European context. It advocates for Church and School related issues, thus putting it on the agenda and shaping the debate around it in church and political settings. The other way around, ICCS also monitors Europe-wide discussions and developments and reflects them in national contexts and other forums related to church and school issues.
Raise the Voice of Education in European Churches
ICCS is well connected within the Europe-wide structures of Churches. It has close contacts to the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC). Within these structures ICCS promotes the idea that education is a core issue of churches and that it should be one of its priorities. ICCS is an official organisation in partnership of the CEC. As such ICCS has participated in several of the CEC’s working groups, especially those dealing with issues of Education for Democratic Citizenship and the role of religious education in intercultural dialogue. Via the CEC’s advocacy work, ICCS also participates in political debates about Education on European level.
Raise the Voice of Church in Political Institutions
ICCS sees itself as a facilitator of dialogue between the field of Church and School and the political sphere. Since 1986, ICCS has been registered as Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) at the Council of Europe (CoE) and has gained consultative status. Every two years, ICCS organizes the Klingenthal Colloquium, a forum of exchange between the players of the political field on the one hand and the players of the Church and School context on the other. Furthermore, ICCS contributes to the Council of Europe’s politics and programmes in the field of education, often in cooperation with the Conference of European Churches (CEC). Due to the CoE’s main rationale to promote democracy and human rights, the role of education is discussed in this context and ICCS seeks to explore the contribution of Church and Religious Education to these pillars of our modern societies.
Klingenthal 2020: Let’s tell our stories
How are modern stories told? How do they spark interest? In a time of increasing secularisation, some might say there is no place for telling the story of religion anymore. Under the headline “Let’s tell our stories – the positive impact of religion in public...
The CEC thematic group – a place of European solidarity
Education via distant learning, democracy under restricted basic rights – only two of the many effects the Covid-19 crisis has on our lives and society. The effects of the pandemic in the different European countries was one major part of the discussion at the first...
Discover the newest partner in CoGREE: CEEC
In an interview, Guy Selderslagh, General Secretary of the European Committee for Catholic Education (CEEC), presents his organisation and his ideas for the cooperation among CoGREE members. In December 2019 CEEC officially joined the Coordinating Group as its sixth...
Interview with Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen, new CEC General Secretary
On 1st January 2020, Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen started his job as new General Secretary of the Conference of European Churches (CEC). Fortunately, he agreed to an interview with ICCS, organisation in partnership of the CEC. ICCS: What was your motivation to become...
10 people and 7 nationalities on 1 screen
Kick-off for new CEC working group That is Europe! People coming together looking to learn from each other and exchange about the main challenges of our times. In this case, it was the first – at least virtual – meeting of the Thematic Group on “education, democracy...
Update RE in Greece: European Court of Human Rights confirms national rulings
The European Court of Human Rights held that Greece's system of exemptions of children from compulsory religious education classes in public schools violates freedom of education provisions and freedom of thought conscience and religion protected by the European...
Newsletter December 2019 now available
Together with the IV, ICCS publishes regularly a common newsletter presenting current developments of the two organisations and of other CoGREE members as well as information about debates, events and developments concerning Church and School issues in Europe. Please...
CPCE launched new working group on education
The Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE) has established a new working group on education. The specific task of the group is to monitor and supervise the Religious Education syllabus of European schools that is currently under revision. European schools...
Klingenthal 2020 plannings go ahead
The 5th-9th October 2020 is an important date to highlight in your calendar. It is the date of the next Klingenthal Colloquy. At their December meeting in Düsseldorf, Germany, the CoGREE steering group, in which ICCS takes part, reflected on the last colloquy and...
Migration, cultural identity and North Syria: the topics of the Conference of INGOs at the CoE
From 28 to 31 October took place the biannual meeting of the Conference of International Non-Governmental Organisations at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Over 300 organisations – among them large aid organisations such as Caritas or Amnesty International, but...