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Editorial December 2021 |
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On 4 October 2021, our dear friend Dr Peter Schreiner said goodbye as Director of the Comenius Institute in Münster. He has worked at the Institute for precisely 30 years - since 1991 - first as a research assistant and then from 2015 as director. His area of work initially had three main tasks:
- to inform about the school and education system in European countries and to analyse developments in education policy,
- to perceive the different concepts of religious education and their changes across Europe and to remain capable of discussion given the increasing problems of legitimacy for RE,
- to follow developments in the cultural and religious sphere in Europe and participate in the solution of central problems (e.g. preservation and implementation of human rights, education for plurality and democracy, strengthening European values from the common Christian-humanist heritage).
These tasks remain relevant today and it continues to be essential to address them together in cooperation with numerous actors and different institutions in the European context. From the beginning, Peter Schreiner has worked intensively to build up such a cooperative network. As president of the ICCS for many years and as moderator of the CoGREE, he helped develop essential cooperation structures and played a leading role in them. He has also continuously advised the Board of the IV for many years.
ICCS and IV, as actors in the European field of religion and education, owe him a great debt of gratitude! In close cooperation, we will continue what he has created and work in his spirit. We will continue to carefully observe the tendencies of an economisation of education in the European context and counteract the danger of a functionalist narrowing of the education concept. Religion opens up a "more" for education that must not be lost.
The IV, unfortunately, has to say goodbye to another person: Hans Groen from the Netherlands, the long-time webmaster of the IV homepage, is ending his work at the end of the year for health reasons. The board of IV thanks him very much for many years of excellent and reliable cooperation!
We wish you all a joyful Christmas season and God’s blessing for a good and peaceful coming year in 2022.
Dr Tania ap Siôn and Prof Heid Leganger-Krogstad
Michael Jacobs and Piet Jansen (IV)
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Rainbows and opening boxes – Klingenthal participants produce RE stories, which inspire
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How can we communicate why religion in public education matters? This was the guiding question of the Klingenthal online conference… |
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Initiative for common Christian RE in Lower-Saxony, Germany
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Please note: All quotes are freely translated from German to English. For original quotes, please read the corresponding press release. |
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IV General Assembly 2021 (again via zoom) |
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Everything was well prepared: President Piet Jansen and Secretary Michael Jacobs had travelled to the Latvian capital Riga in September to prepare this year's IV General Assembly for the end of October with Anna Jermakovica, the headmistress of Riga Catholic High School. For the planned ... |
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Commemorative publication for Dr Peter Schreiner |
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A commemorative volume was published in honor of Dr Peter Schreiner and on the occasion of his retirement. The contributions in German and English in this volume highlight aspects and topics of his 30 years of activity in the field of Protestant educational work in Germany and Europe. |
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Schools joining up for Communities of Peace: Theme weeks |
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Innovative tools and materials for good peace education in Protestant schools – this is the aim of the Erasmus+ funded project "SchoolCoPe". To get closer to this vision, four theme weeks are taking place in November and December for the students of the six participating Protestant schools. The content taught is intended to help them create an online map of places of peace and/or conflict (the "EduMaP - Education makes Peace"). |
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German Protestant School Unions meet |
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On November 25/26, 2021, the General Assembly of the Association of Protestant School Unions in Germany (AGES) took place. Representatives of the three regional associations of school leaders in Germany (North, Southwest, Bavaria) met in Fulda to ... |
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School conference on motivation, stress and communication |
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Teachers of religion met in Poprad for the 7th School Conference of the Evangelical Church A. B. in Slovakia. At the turn of the month from September to October a two-day training was offered, which was prepared by the School Committee of EKAB. The participants discussed ... |
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CoGREE and member organisations
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European research project on Covid-19 and RE |
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The pandemic has put us all, who are working in education across Europe, in similar positions. And while it has been and still is a tragic and challenging situation in manifold ways, it also provides us with the unique opportunity to analyze what kind of conclusions are drawn ... |
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EFTRE Conference postponed to 2023 |
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EFTRE very much regrets to announce that the triennial Conference, due to be held in Rome at the end of August next year, 2022, will be postponed. Due to the pandemic, it has not been possible for the executive and the Italian partners to make the necessary preparations for the event. The conference is rescheduled... |
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Seeds of Hope in complex Times – From Latin America to the World |
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From September to November 2021, member schools, universities, and organisations of the Global Pedagogical Network - Joining in Reformation, as well as education leaders from Protestant churches worldwide, were invited to come together in a series of digital events. During the Week of Hope for students, the Talks of Hope for teachers and the Conference of Hope for Protestant education actors, about 750 people shared their "Seeds of Hope". |
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A fresh website for PILGRIM |
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CoGREE's member network PILGRIM has a new website. For its development, they have chosen innovative ways and involved young people. |
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New Erasmus+ project linking interreligious competences and sustainability |
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Good news: the project “SysMind - Discovering a Sustainable Mindset: New dimensions of an education of sustainable development focusing intercultural values and ethics” has been awarded funding ... |
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Difficult turn in peace education, views from Armenia
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This is a guest article by Arutyun Karapetyan, colleague in the CEC thematic group on education, democracy and diversity and Programme Officer at… |
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CEC invitation to take part in worldwide ecumenical gathering |
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In 2022, an exceptional occasion arises for experiencing the international community of Churches: The 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches will take place in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 31 August to 8 September 2022, under the theme "Christ's love moves the world to reconciliation and unity". The Conference of European Churches contributes to these event and holds an additional European regional Pre-Assembly from 25 to 27 February 2022 in Warsaw, Poland. |
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Council of Europe & European Union
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Online courses for teachers |
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The Council of Europe platform LEMON now offers 17 self-learning online courses. Each 2h session offers a practical training on specific issues related to democracy, such as democratic competences for social media. |
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NGOs assess educational programmes against intolerance and discrimination
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Since April 2021, within the framework of the Conference of NGOs at the Council of Europe, an “Interreligious and interconvictional… |
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International Association for Christian Education, c/o Kirchenamt der EKD
Herrenhäuser Str. 12, 30419 Hannover |
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Intereuropean Commission on Church and School
c/o Comenius Institut, Schreiberstraße 12, 48149 Münster, Germany
Licence for all content: CC by 4.0
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