Walk-in sessions | 3 September

On 3 September, the NECE Festival invites you to join walk-in sessions featuring mini panels and trainings with diverse experts. These informal conversations offer fresh perspectives on key topics in civic education. Participation is flexible and does not require registration.

In an increasingly divided world, how can civic education foster global solidarity, democratic resilience, and inclusive citizenship? This panel invites you to hear from civic educators and changemakers from South America, South/Eastern Africa, and Asia, regions often underrepresented in global conversations. Together, we’ll explore how local contexts shape civic education and how practitioners are navigating complex social, political, and cultural landscapes to promote pluralism, equity, and active citizenship. Join us for a rich and thought-provoking exchange of insights, lived experiences, and innovative practices and help reimagine what citizenship education can look like in a truly global context.

In an age of polarisation, disconnection, and democratic fatigue, silence becomes dangerous. When we stop talking, we stop imagining alternatives. Dialogue, then, becomes an act of defiance – and of hope. This session invites you into a space where hope is rekindled through conversation. Grounded in the DEMOS – Democracy Dialogues project, Hope in Dialogue explores how structured, inclusive dialogue can reawaken civic imagination, help us confront what divides us and rediscover what connects us. You’ll get a hands-on introduction to the DEMOS Dialogue Method, including practical tools and resources like our DEMOS Guide and Dialogue Cards. Experience how deep listening and shared reflection can spark not only understanding, but genuine hope. We invite you to join us in strengthening democratic culture – one honest conversation at a time.

 The mission of the New Community Foundation is to combat polarisation. For the past five years, they’ve been organising Good Conversation Trainings and dialogue events where people with different views discuss divisive topics in an atmosphere of respect, openness, and mutual curiosity. The New Community Foundation will give a sneak peek into their approach by inviting you to a Good Conversation Workshop – a training focused on how to talk across differences in beliefs, attitudes, and experiences. Through a series of practical exercises, we show how to better connect with the pressing social issues. The training includes hands-on exercises on how to: listen with curiosity and full attention, express your views honestly and respectfully, ask questions instead of making judgments, stay open to other perspectives, and manage irritation when differences arise.

The session is hosted by the local partner organisation of the NECE Festival 2025. Facilitated by its acting executive director Ingrid Aspelund.

Through more than three years of full-scale war, the strength of Ukrainian civil society and local communities, often centered around the school, has been vital in the defense of the country but also in the efforts to preserve hope. Not blind hope, but one rooted in action – rebuilding homes, reopening classrooms, defending human rights, and reimagining what education for democracy can mean during crisis. Ukrainian youth are not waiting for peace to start shaping their future – they are already doing it. What lessons in hope can Ukraine offer civic educators in Europe?  

The session is hosted by the local partner organisation of the NECE Festival 2025. Facilitated by its acting executive director Ingrid Aspelund.

As Norway’s response to the massacre, Utøya has been rebuilt as a commemoration and learning centre, balancing the need to commemorate and the need for new life, learning and engagement for a more inclusive, democratic society. The massacre is now used as a starting point for young people, teachers, and other educators to learn to create a democratic culture and stand up against discrimination, hate speech and extremism. “I have gained a better understanding of what Utøya once was, the incident there, and how it has been handled afterwards. Something I have thought a lot about since then is how Utøya has returned to being a summer camp and a place for education, while still commemorating what happened there in an incredibly beautiful way” – Student, participant at Democracy Workshop.