Conference description (for the Conference Full Presentation click here)
   
      Orientations  
       

Connections is about the relationship between individuals and their communities, between citizens and the state, between the local and the global, in a transforming world. These relationships are nowadays analysed, criticized and problematised by researchers, policy makers and commentators in the media. In the conference were connected the viewpoints and findings of the research community to these ongoing debates (see also: www.surrey.ac.uk/education/etgace).

Connections offered a forum for inter/multidisciplinary contributions focusing on societal learning strategies related to these transformations. Researchers from various disciplines was invited, including psychology, sociology, ethics and philosophy, political science, history, anthropology and education.

Connections is also about linking the research community to questions raised by the European Commission. Therefore, the conference themes are closely related to the European Framework Programme 6 (FP6) and Priority Area 7 ‘Citizens and Governance in a Knowledge Based Society’ which aims at supporting the development of strong networks in the European Research Area.

Connections is about networking creative researchers willing to get involved in this European programme and who wish to engage in innovative research methodologies and to collaborate on these themes in various ways: through research projects, conferences, seminars, exchange of staff, joint publications, etc..
Connections reflect on societal transformations which affect us all nowadays such as migration, globalisation, European integration, participatory forms of governance and citizenship, environmental degradation and sustainable development, the emergence of a knowledge based society.
 
      Themes  
        1. Active civic participation
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Active civic participation is increasingly an important aim both of public governance and of the renewal of civil society. Paper presentations should aim to improve our understanding of the reasons why civic participation should be relevant to cope with different societal challenges and what may be the different factors that promote or inhibit such participation. Following questions may give direction to contributions related to this topic:
  • What is the impact of different political cultures, levels of governance and socio-political contexts on active civic participation?
  • What are the implications of and interactions between on the one hand gender, age, class, ethnicity and, on the other, civic participation.
  • What is the role of actors (parties, unions, NGO's, media) and mechanisms (elections, citizen juries, community actions) and their impact on civic participation?
  • What new practices of active civic participation emerge nowadays and to what extent can we interpret these as a new paradigm of governance and citizenship?
  • How can we make sense of individual and social learning processes in the context of practices of active civic participation?
  • How can we research methodologies which contribute to investigations of active civic participation?
2. European citizenship and multiple identities
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European citizenship and multiple identities. Contributions related to this theme aim at increasing understanding of the evolution of citizenship and identities in the context of European integration and enlargement, of globalisation and localisation, of migration, etc... Following questions may direct the contributions related to this theme:
  • What are different features of (European) citizenship today?
  • What are the perspectives on European citizenship and its relation with other types of citizenship as well as the rights of non-citizens?
  • How do civic cultures shape citizenship?
  • What is the role of education and forms of formal and informal learning processes in combating civic apathy and exclusion?
  • How are individual, collective and multiple identities constructed nowadays in the context of transformations taking place on a local, regional and global level?
  • What are the interrelations of multiple identities and what are the consequences for the promotion of inclusive and active citizenship?
  • What are the dynamics of European integration and enlargement, of globalisation, and of ongoing societal and demographic changes with respect to the construction of identities?
  • What are relevant research methodologies to investigate citizenship and multiple identities?
 
 
 
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