On 15 March, the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) adopted a resolution that aims to restore European civic education in all stages of the educational system across Europe.  The discussions pointed to a lack of understanding in the Union’s democratic processes and mechanisms of participation amongst young people in Europe and highlighted the need for concrete contributions from EU programmes to the advancement of citizenship education. 

The Erasmus+ programme was referenced as an example, which has had some success in the field through the exchange of good practices, achieving greater contributions to the advancement of citizenship education. Nevertheless, more is expected in this area under the Erasmus programme 2021-2027, as the programme will devote greater attention to ‘common values, civic engagement and participation’ in lifelong learning and awareness on understanding the European Union and common EU values. 

The committee pointed out to a lack of systemic impact so far, regarding Erasmus+ actions in the field of citizenship education and also elaborated on numerous proposals for improvement. Some of them included the solidification of partnerships and short-term mobility programmes for academic staff, the inauguration of the “Euro Teacher” label award, the publication of the results of citizenship education projects, the promotion of intercultural and dialogical approach to history, or the introduction of a module on EU citizenship as a precondition for participating in elated mobility programmes. 

You can read the full report here.