Benjamin R. Barber, president of the NGO CivWorld at Dēmos and internationally renowned political theorist, will deliver the keynote speech at the conference opening on 17 November 2011.
 
At the conference the complex changes regarding civic participation in Europe and its effects on socially disadvantaged groups will be discussed. On the one hand citizens tend to refrain from traditional political participation. On the other hand a rising number of new ways of getting involved in politics and society i.e. using new media have emerged.
 
However, these new forms of political involvement are to a large extent determined by the access to education, and by income and skills. Groups with no access to these resources remain widely excluded from participation in civil society and political processes. Socially disadvantaged groups with poor educational opportunities suffer from a conspicuous ‘empowerment gap’.
 
Experts and activists in the fields of citizenship and cultural education, youth and social workers, NGO representatives will meet in Warsaw to discuss the role of citizenship education in this context. How can citizenship education become a suitable tool for closing the empowerment gap?
 
The programme of the conference is attached. Follow the latest news at the conference blog http://blog.nece.eu
Conference language is English (without translation).
 
If you have any questions regarding the conference or transport and accommodation, please contact the conference management at:
 
lab concepts GmbH
on behalf of the Federal Agency for Civic Education, Germany
Phone: +49 (0)228 2498 110/ Fax: +49 (0)228 2498 111
nece-warsaw@lab-concepts.de
 
Source: Email from Petra Grüne & Christoph Müller-Hofstede, Federal Agency for Civic Education, Germany 

Date:
From: 17 November 2011
To: 19 November 2011