From Territory to Nation: Teaching Democracy and EU Values Through Slovenia’s History

Description

Over the past century, Slovenia has undergone profound social and political transformations worth looking at closely – from being under the control of powerful empires like Austria-Hungary and Italy, to becoming a socialist republic within Yugoslavia, and finally an independent democratic state in 1991 and a member of the European Union.

Its history therefore offers a unique perspective on how democratic systems develop and evolve, and on the role of political institutions and civic participation in shaping them.

Even though the country still faces challenges common to many modern democracies (e.g., political fragmentation and instability, changing relationships with neighboring states, etc.), what really matters is that Slovenia presents a unique opportunity to explore democracy not as an abstract concept, but as a real case study.

This course supports teachers in bringing these topics (such as democracy, human rights, and the rule of law) into the classroom in a meaningful and practical way.

These principles are central to European societies, but they cannot be taken for granted, and this course’s goal is to underline how education plays a key role in helping young people understand how democratic systems function and how they can actively participate in them.

For this reason, taking inspiration from the unique features of Slovenia’s recent political history, participants will explore how democratic institutions are formed, why civic participation matters, and how trust in democratic systems can be strengthened.

Throughout the course, they will be guided in engaging in discussions, collaborative tasks, and activity design, focusing on how to teach EU values, rights, and responsibilities through interactive and student-centered approaches, so that these “abstract” principles can be translated into meaningful classroom practice.

The learning experience will then be enriched through visits to local museums and to the Slovenian Parliament.

These will offer participants direct insight into Slovenia’s recent history, democratic institutions, and decision-making processes, as well as an overview of key challenges, issues, and opportunities.

By the end of the program, participants will have a deeper understanding of EU values and principles of democracy.

They will also take away practical tools and the confidence to teach them effectively in their own classrooms to engage students in active citizenship.

Concept by Olga Plyaskina

Learning outcomes

The course will help participants to:

• Explain key EU values and democratic principles using Slovenia’s history as a real-life case study;
• Understand the main stages of democratic transition and the challenges, issues and opportunities faced by modern democracies;
• Reflect on the role of public trust and civic participation in sustaining democratic systems;
• Design engaging classroom activities to teach EU rights, responsibilities and opportunities;
• Use interactive methods, including discussion and debate, to support active citizenship education;
• Promote critical thinking and informed participation among students;
• Adapt democratic education approaches to different subjects and learning contexts.

Tentative schedule

Day 1 – Introduction to the course

• Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
• Icebreaker activities;
• Presentations of the participants’ schools;
• What is democracy? Initial reflections and group discussion;
• Introduction to key concepts: democracy, inclusion, and participation.

Day 2 – Understanding the EU

• Visit to the National Museum of the Contemporary History of Slovenia;
• Transition from a Yugoslavian republic to independence and democracy;
• The role of institutions in democratic systems;
• Historical development of the EU and its values;
• Opportunities in the EU: social programs, educational exchange, job markets, etc;
• Current challenges in the EU: security, immigration, citizenship & social cohesion;
• Group work: designing learning activities to introduce EU values and principles in the classrooms.

Day 3 – Democratic culture in schools

• Group dynamics and participation in learning environments;
• Tools for inclusion and engagement (check-in / check-out, brainstorming);
• Introduction to debate and discussion methods (e.g., Model United Nations approach – how to balance debate with empathy);
• Developing critical thinking and respectful dialogue in the classroom.

Day 4 – Rights and responsibilities

• Visit to the Slovenian Parliament;
• Building dialogue and healthy discussions (Soft Shoe Shuffle tool);
• Group reflection: how to maintain democratic institutions;
• Citizenship & my rights – my responsibilities: two sides of the same coin;
• Create democratic statements for living and working in democratic cultures.

Day 5 – Nurturing democracy

• Skills needed to nurture democracy and democratic participation across Europe;
• Deep Democracy – listening to the minority & the gift of dissent;
• Design learning activities on nurturing a democratic culture in schools;
• Group reflection: ways for teachers and students to collaborate in these activities;
• Sharing ideas to be implemented in the classroom.

Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities

• Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
• Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
• Excursion and other external cultural activities.

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