Submitting ECED’s Resolution to PM and Sejm & Senate Speakers

Appeal to the Prime Minister, the Government, and the Parliament of the Republic of Poland concerning the Europejskiego Roku Edukacji dla Demokracji, a parliamentary team, and supporting and expanding Centrum ECED.

Due to the fact that:

• we are at a turning point in history that will determine the defence of democracy, the free world and the European Union,
• Poland, just like in 1980, is in a unique situation, becoming in recent years (especially in the breakthrough of the year 2023) a model for other societies in defending humanitarian values and the democratic model of state community, as well as in resisting populism and authoritarian tendencies ,
• Poland’s raison d’état is to promote the Polish brand of defence of democracy under the Polish Presidency and, on its basis, propose corrective actions to Europe,
• the European Union lacks a centre consolidating the activities of people and entities involved in pro-democratic education, which results in the lack of far-reaching and coherent strategies in this area;

and wishing to take advantage of the above – unique – circumstances, we addressed a RESOLUTION to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, the Speaker of the Sejm and the Speaker of the Senate, in which we appealed for:

1. Announcing the European Year of Education for Democracy in 2025 as a comprehensive event accompanying the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU – as a stage preceding 2026, in order to jointly call on the European Parliament to make “Education for Democracy” the theme of 2026 on the basis of this foreground;
2. Cooperation in the implementation of the following four research and educational activities:

Action 1: Dissemination of knowledge about the benefits of creating a common European legal and institutional order and the implementation of a new tool strengthening intra-EU decision-making processes – a rating of the coherence of legislative policies of the European Union and the Member States, using arguments based on “hard numbers” resulting from the use of innovative solutions , a research tool developed in Poland – lexometry.

Action 2: Inspiring the youngest European voters to discuss the future of the European Union, implementing the humanitarian and democratic values on which the Euro-Atlantic community is based. Making a diagnosis, based on the analysis of the results of debates on these issues, of the threats resulting from the media expansion of populism and authoritarianism, for shaping the awareness of people who will have an increasing influence on the situation in the European Union in the coming years.

Action 3: Development of interdisciplinary democratic education materials based on the Polish model of multilateral education, with the participation of specialists from various fields dealing with democratic education in the European Union. Consolidation of Polish and European resources and experiences of people and institutions in order to implement specific democratic education strategies with Polish foundations for wide use in other countries.

Action 4: Dissemination and promotion of initiatives in the field of education for democracy and exchange of experiences of their creators, implementers and recipients. Creating a network of organizations and individuals from various environments and European Union Member States, jointly creating open resources checked for their substantive value and free from disinformation.

3. Human and financial support for the European Centre for the Education for Democracy as a centre coordinating the above pro-democratic activities throughout the European Union;
4. Involvement of scientists, parliamentarians, local government officials, journalists, representatives of the world of culture, non-governmental organisations and people working for universal education at all levels in work on democratic education strategies.

THEREFORE, we called for actions to be taken to promote the agency, sensitivity, community and subjectivity of citizens of the European Union, thus for the sake of freedom, solidarity, security and peace.