Now in ELM: Democracy, polarisation and active citizens

 
ELM Magazine Newsletter
November 2025Open the message in browser
 
 
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 Highlights in NovemberDemocracy under threat // New framework for civic learning // Education benefiting oneself and society  Visit the online magazine 
 
  Someen ok for wp marina weisband3 “The right to free speech ends when it’s used to attack democracy itself”, argues Marina Weisband. Photo: Marina Weisband.Democracy at the crossroads: dialogue or defence?With polarisation on the rise, is meaningful dialogue across divides still possible? Psychologist Marina Weisband and political scientist Richard Gebhardt explore the issue from a German perspective.“Dialogue with people who lean toward the extreme right is essential in our society, but in practice, it’s almost impossible. That’s the contradiction and the challenge,” says Gebhardt. Read the article 
 
  Okok cropped for wp hoggans eence day1 5 Tetyana Hoggan-Kloubert and Chad Hoggan argue for reclaiming rationality in its dialogical form as public reason, exercised collectively in civic spaces.Building democracy: How to prepare citizens for effective participation“We see a danger of democracy collapsing, and the need for a new framework for adult civic learning to respond to it,” say Tetyana Hoggan-Kloubert and Chad Hoggan.“Being ready to have sometimes-difficult dialogues despite our differences means having a commitment to search for truth together,” Chad Hoggan adds. Read the article 
 
  Ok for wp horizontal paulstanistreet photo uil “I am always impressed by how adult learners use their education not only to improve their own lives, but also to make their communities better places to live,” says Paul Stanistreet of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning. Photo: UIL.Stanistreet: “Education can play a transformative role”Our “Meet the board” series introduces the members of ELM Magazine’s editorial board. Our new member, Paul Stanistreet, Head of Knowledge Management and Communications at of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, is inspired by the transformative power of adult education.“It is important that we do not forget the critical role played by adult education in enabling people to shape the reality in which they find themselves and, where appropriate, resist and change it,” he says. Read the article 
 
 
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