Climate Pact Ambassadors’ Recommendations for the new EU Agenda 2024-2029
Why this document? Six Belgium Climate Pact Ambassadors have gathered their thoughts and recommendations in this document to inspire the EU Commission’s next 2024-2029 agenda, in the hope to see it reflect citizens’ needs, the reduction of inequalities as well as the preservation of natural resources and planetary boundaries as an utmost priority. To this […]
Facing local environmental challenges through children participation : the key to an inclusive green transition
Children, the new sustainable entrepreneurs Today, recurring news about climate change, natural disasters, biodiversity loss or heightened pollution pose a real risk to the well-being of children as they face greater uncertainty towards their future. To answer this challenge, learners’ active participation in finding solutions can make a difference. Participation indeed develops a feeling of […]
Research report: democratic education in schools (executive summary)
Democratic education is an educational philosophy that has existed since the end of the XIX century. It is grounded on two fundamental principles: SELF-DETERMINATION Children making primary decisions regarding their learning experiences, emphasising autonomy. DEMOCRATIC COMMUNITY PROCESSES Children learn to articulate their views, collaborate and negotiate agreements through democratic community processes in which each participant […]
Education in nature: the bedrock of our future
Education in nature is the bedrock of the European Union’s inclusive green transition – a green transition that needs to guarantee children’s rights and well-being while recognising education as essential towards its achievement.Without reconnecting children with nature, our common goals to reduce carbon emissions and protect biodiversity are meant to remain limited. Indeed, learning in […]
What is The Green Competences Framework?
The European Sustainability Competence Framework – GreenComp – defines what sustainability is as a competence and how it can be developed through the educational system. The GreenComp places particular attention to the interconnected character of the 12 competence and to the need to embed sustainability skills through the lifelong learning process of an individual. The […]
Request for clarification on ‘compulsory’ education
This November, QUEST participated in an international press release centered around World Children’s Day. The action was a call to the United Nations’ Committee on the Rights of the Child to clarify that “compulsory education” means a guarantee of universal access to education and does not mean forcing a child to attend school. The Universal […]
Statement on the situation of children in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel
QUEST is extremely concerned by the tragic events happening in Gaza Strip and the impact this is having on children in the short and long run. “At least 3,195 Palestinian children have been killed in the past three weeks. About a million have almost no access to essential healthcare services in Gaza. According to UNICEF, more than 400 […]
Teachers shortages and demotivation : a reality we must transform
44 million. This is, globally, the number of teachers we are nowadays lacking to meet universal primary and secondary education by 2030. An objective we have set ourselves to achieve through the sustainable development goals framework, and more specifically with SDG 4 on quality education. At the regional level, Europe and North America arrive third on the […]
IDEC 2023 – Democratic Education across the World
IDEC 2023, the International Democratic Education Conference, offered an exceptional opportunity to bring together educators, students, parents, and advocates from various countries, creating a truly global community committed to the principles of democratic education. QUEST participated in this amazing experience and reached out to democratic communities all over the world, engaging in discussions about freedom, […]
The European Education Area : Where is education heading in the EU?
Halfway towards the end of the European Education Area (EEA), policymakers, educators, and stakeholders from across the European Union gathered, on October 10, to assess the accomplishments, limits, and next steps to be taken to fulfill the objectives set for 2025. These results were also explained within QUEST’s expert panel discussion dedicated to the EEA. The […]