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.
Overview Council of Europe’s work in the field of religious education
Robert Jackson and Kevin O'Grady published an article in the journal "Interncultural education" giving an overview over the Council of Europe's activities in the area of religious education in the last around 20 years. Under the headline "The religious and worldview...
EU starts new funding for exchange on religion
From 2020, there will probably be an interesting new funding opportunity offered by the European Union: the "Global Exchange on Religion in Society" programme has been announced as a kind of Erasmus+ for multipliers from civil society actors working on faith and...
New education expert group to be founded
The field of education becomes more and more a core issue for the CPCE. Last year, the study of the Regional group Southeast Europe entitled “Education for a future” was published and adopted by the General Assembly. One of the suggestions made in the study is now to...
26 Sept 19: Second European Education Summit
The second European Education Summit takes place on 26 September 2019 in Brussels. This second edition will focus on the teaching profession discussing questions like: What challenges are teachers facing today – and what future developments do we need to anticipate?...
European Parliament wants to triple funding for Erasmus+
The negotiations about the Erasmus+ programme for the 2021-27 period enter the next round. In its second session after the elections the CULT committee (committee on education and culture) voted in favour of entering into negotiations with the EU Council on the future...
Governing board sets guidelines for 2019-23
The CEC Governing Board met in May in Strasbourg, France, to set priorities for the work of the CEC under the slogan “Together in Hope and Witness”. The 20 members ‑ representing the various member churches (see for a full list here) ‑ adopted a strategic work plan...
Klingenthal Colloquy 2018 and before
2018: Let's talk about Religion and Education - Dialogue, Values and European Integration 2016: Committed to Europe's Future - Challenges and opportunities for Religion in Education 2014: Intercultural Education and the Religious Dimension 2012: Social Cohesion,...
ICCS publication “Education for Democratic Citizenship”
ISBN 978-3-943410-02-0, to be purchased for 8 € at the Comenius bookshop Or download the PDFDownload The publication "Education for Democratic Citizenship in the context of Europe" is a tool to provide information about basic elements and initiatives in Education for...