UIL Library volunteer Josefine Sandwall reflects on the importance of ‘third places’, drawing from her personal experience as a ‘book’ in a Living Library.
Human connection is at the heart of our lives and societies. Being part of an inclusive community – where we engage with diverse perspectives – shapes not just who we are as individuals, but also how we see the world. It influences our values, beliefs, and even political opinions. When nurtured in a democratic space, these connections help build a more inclusive world.
‘Third places’ help to facilitate this process. These spaces create opportunities for social interaction, open dialogue, and meaningful participation in democratic discussions and events. In an age of social isolation and digital polarization, they allow for face-to-face interaction, breaking down stereotypes and assumptions.
As the world marks the defeat of Nazism and the end of the Second World War, Paul Stanistreet asks what lessons we can learn in our current crisis from the mass programmes of social reconstruction that followed the war
The end of
the Second World War was marked around Europe by national programmes of social
and economic reconstruction, as nation states sought both to rebuild and to address
long-standing inequalities.
In France, the
De Gaulle government put in place a massive programme of nationalization and social
reform, granting women the right to vote and laying the foundations of the modern
French welfare state. In the UK, fees for state secondary education were
scrapped (through the 1944 Education Act) and a progressive Labour government
was elected with ambitious plans to transform social security, including
universal free healthcare for all (the National Health Service). Moreover, in the
Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), following the period of occupation,
a programme of economic reconstruction ensued, followed by the creation of the
German ‘social state’.
The
solidarity and sense of shared responsibility and sacrifice engendered in the war
appears to have spurred the people who survived these cataclysmic events to reject
the way things had been done before and to demand a world that was better – not
just for a few but for everyone. There was a desire to recognize sacrifice by humanizing
social policy, including in education, and extending people’s rights. Furthermore,
there was a new appreciation of the power of the state to act for the common
good. What is remarkable about this is that it was achieved at a moment when
most of the countries of Europe were in economic disarray, poverty was rife and
food rationing common, and governments were loaded with huge amounts of debt. Continue reading →
Lifelong learning has a key role to play not only in achieving SDG 4 on education but also in creating a climate in which progressive change is possible, writes Paul Stanistreet
Last week, the Comparative International
Education Society (CIES) convened in San Francisco for its annual conference,
which this year focused on ‘Education for Sustainability’.
Jeffrey Sachs, the economist, UN adviser and
sustainability advocate, gave the keynote lecture. He demanded urgent action to
address the challenges of sustainability and specifically to deliver on the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development targets for education. Without a major
change of pace or direction, he warned, the targets for Sustainable Development
Goal (SDG) 4 would not be met.
Sachs is right to urge educators to ‘raise
their voices’ and’ fight harder for resources’. However, the contribution of
education to the sustainable development agenda will not be realized simply by raising
more taxes from the very wealthy or by demanding or securing more funding for
schools, important though this is. We need to think too about the role of
education in shifting the cultural and intellectual climate to a place where political
will can be moved and meaningful change in the face of powerful, entrenched
interests is possible. Continue reading →
Werner Mauch on 100 years of adult education in Germany
‘The constitution is on your side’, said Andreas Voßkuhle, President of the German Federal Constitutional Court, this week, at an event to celebrate a century of adult education practice in Germany. Democracy needs an informed citizenry and vital debate at all levels, he argued, as well as constant participation and effective support. The costs of not taking steps to cultivate democratic citizenship were all too clear from the history of Germany, he told participants, which was why German adult education centres (Volkshochschulen) were so important and so highly valued.
The German Adult Education Association (Deutscher Volkshochschul-Verband or DVV) organized the event at Paulskirche in Frankfurt, Germany’s ‘cradle of democracy’ where the first assembly of representatives met in 1848 to prepare a first national constitution for Germany (unsuccessfully, as it turned out). The event marked the centenary of the foundation of many Volkshochschulen across Germany, following the 1919 Weimar constitution, which made adult education a key component of a comprehensive education system, alongside formal school and higher education. Continue reading →
