The NECE Festival is an annual event that brings together stakeholders from civil society, politics, academia, media, and culture for an interactive and interdisciplinary exchange of ideas and actions. The festival is held in various European cities and focuses on a specific topic that is highly relevant to civic education.
In 2025, we were exploring HOPE. In 2026, we are focusing on TRUST.
European festival of civic education: TRUST
14-16 October 2026, Lisbon
Programme
The NECE Festival provides a platform for courageous and visionary thinkers to present bold ideas and drive forward initiatives that address these challenges. You’ll have the opportunity to network with over 200 participants from civil society, politics, science, media, and culture, sharing best practices and exploring possibilities for civic educators.
Join us in October 2026 for an inspiring and engaging festival across Lisbon, Sintra, and Cascais—the European Capital of Democracy 2026! Together, we will explore the role of trust in civic education and how it can foster resilient, ethical, and sustainable transformation in communities across Europe and beyond.
Participation
Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to get together with other civic educators from all over Europe and even beyond. Participation in the NECE festival is free of charge. Join us in Portugal from 14 to 16 October 2026.
The registration for the festival will be open in spring 2026.
NECE Festival 2026 focuses on TRUST as a central question for civic education today and explores three pillars related to this theme.
Trust in democracy. This pillar explores trust in democracy as a value-based system of governance and a way of living together.
Trust in civil society & civic education. This pillar focuses on trust in civic education, educators, and civil society as actors that help societies make sense of complexity and sustain democratic culture.
Trust in people. This pillar addresses social and interpersonal trust: the ability of people to relate to one another with goodwill, respect, and a readiness to cooperate – even across differences.
See the festivals’ concept paper authored by philosopher Sven Gerst, which further elaborates on the thematic foundations of the festival here.
The NECE Festival 2026 is organised in cooperation with the Instituto Padre António Vieira (IPAV) and supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
The NECE Festival 2026 is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
