Workshop on Democracy and Human rights education and the future of democracy

On 25–26 May 2026, researchers, teachers, teacher educators, policymakers and students gathered at the University of Jyväskylä for the workshop Democracy, Human Rights and the Future. The event was jointly organised by Demos Helsinki, the University of Jyväskylä, the University of Helsinki and several ongoing research initiatives, including the Horizon Europe project CO3 – Resilient Social Contracts for Democratic Societies.

The two-day workshop brought together perspectives from political history, educational sciences, democracy studies and human rights research to discuss how democracy and human rights can be taught, studied and renewed in rapidly changing societies. Participants included researchers, teachers, education specialists, representatives from public institutions and students and school pupils.

The programme combined brief keynote presentations, expert commentaries, panel discussions and co-creative workshop sessions. Discussions explored the long-term conceptual history of democracy and human rights, changing youth values and participation, and the role of education in strengthening democratic agency and inclusion. Discussion touched for example upon the growing tension between formal participation structures and young people’s actual experiences of influence and belonging.

Several recurring themes emerged throughout the workshop. Participants reflected on the increasing emphasis on participation in democratic societies, while also questioning whether participation too often remains symbolic in educational settings. Teachers and researchers alike highlighted the challenge of creating genuine spaces for discussion in schools at a time when public debate is increasingly polarised and shaped by social media dynamics. Concerns were also raised about the pressure placed on schools to address broader societal problems while operating under limited time and resources.

At the same time, the discussions highlighted many hopeful examples of democratic practice in everyday school life. Teachers shared experiences of student-led political events, school democracy initiatives and classroom discussions that encourage students to engage with disagreement constructively. Participants repeatedly emphasised that democracy education is not only about teaching political institutions or civic knowledge, but also about enabling experiences of agency, dialogue and collective problem-solving.

CO3 contributed to the workshop particularly through discussions on resilient social contracts and democratic participation. Anna Björk’s presentation approached democracy and human rights education through the concept of the social contract, highlighting how changing ideas of citizenship — such as digital and environmental citizenship — reshape expectations of participation and democratic agency, while also stressing the importance of critical reflection and future imagination in renewing democratic societies. Björk argued that democracy education should help people understand society not as something fixed, but as something continuously negotiated and collectively shaped. The workshop also connected current debates on democracy and human rights education to broader questions concerning trust, legitimacy and the renewal of democratic societies.

One of the key conclusions of the workshop was that democracy education should not be understood merely as a separate school subject or institutional responsibility. Rather, it is closely connected to broader societal experiences: whether people feel heard, whether disagreement can be handled constructively, and whether participation feels meaningful. In this sense, schools remain important spaces where democratic futures are continuously negotiated and imagined together.

Date and place: 25–26 May 2026, University of Jyväskylä

Organisers:

Demos Helsinki 

Department of History and Ethnology, University of Jyväskylä

Finnish Institute for Educational Research, University of Jyväskylä

Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyväskylä

Struggles for Human Rights in Finland project, Political History, University of Helsinki

Participating projects:

International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS)

Struggles for Human Rights in Finland 1945–2020 (Kone Foundation)

CO3 – Resilient Social Contracts for Democratic Societies (Horizon Europe)

Political Representation: Tensions between Parliament and the People from the Age of Revolutions to the 21st Century (Research Council of Finland)