Join our membership

In August 2025, from 1 to 7 August, the European and International Conferences of the Democratic Education Communities(IDEC) converged in Belgium under the banner IDEC@EUDEC 2025. The venue was De Kluis, a youth residence in the forested area of Meerdaalwoud, in Sint-Joris-Weert, near Leuven.

This marked the first time either of the two conferences has been hosted in Belgium. QUEST was proud to be one of the official organizers of this conference, alongside Orvita, CollectiveUp, Kenny Vranken, and Sigrid Delmotte contributing actively to its organization, programming, and overall vision. Our involvement reflected our core commitment to advancing equitable and participatory models of education.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

More publications

Decolonial Approaches through Reflection & Exchange Toolkit

This toolkit is the result of a 5-day training bringing together youth workers from Belgium, Greece, Italy and Spain, learning and putting into practice decolonial and anti-oppressive approaches Here, you will find clear information and tools to learn about colonial legacies, whiteness and systemic inequalities, and how to put decolonial and anti-oppressive approaches into practice through step-by-step instructions, tips and feedback from the youth workers who already took the training.

QUEST’S Response to the European Commission’s Call for Evidence on New Education Package

This submission responds jointly to the three linked initiatives open for evidence : - Strengthening basic skills and improving performance in school education - EU Teachers Agenda: Enhancing the attractiveness of the education and training profession - Quality education for all: a 2040 roadmap

The Reclaiming Education Toolkit

This toolkit wants to demystify EU advocacy and help you navigate local and European decision-making, so that your school / organisation can raise their concerns and visions for education at different levels.

Cala Wioska School

Cala Wioska School

Biography coming soon.

Creating a Safe, Inclusive and Supportive Classroom

Sehlim Charles

Biography coming soon.

Young Children’s Voices in Educational Decision-Making: Power and Participation in Disadvantaged Preschool Classrooms

Duygu Yalman Polatlar

Duygu Yalman Polatlar is an Assistant Professor at Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf University, Türkiye. Her research focuses on early childhood education, children’s literature, children’s rights, and children’s participation.

Alperen Avcı

Alperen Avcı is a lecturer at Muş Alparslan University, Türkiye, and a PhD candidate in Preschool Education at Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf University.

Rights-based Participation of Children with Special Educational Needs in Educational Decision-Making

Lenka Mazáková

Lenka Mazakova is a co-founder of the Slobodna skola. She specializes in inclusive educational practices for students with diverse needs and behavioural challenges in democratic school environments.

From Participation to Practice: How Evidence-Based Wellbeing and Equity-Focused Leadership Can Shift Power Towards Children’s Voices in Education

Geetika Goyal

Biography coming soon.

Jayne Carter

Biography coming soon.

Reimagining Educational Research Through Children’s Participation: Insights from Transdisciplinary and Participatory Approaches

Sarah Zerika

Sarah Zerika holds a PhD in Educational Sciences and is a Substitute Research and Teaching Fellow at the University of Geneva’s Centre for Children’s Rights Studies. Her research focuses on children’s rights and participation in education, school climate, transdisciplinary approaches, and the ethics of research involving children.

Johanna Zelck

Johanna Zelck is a research and teaching assistant at the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg. Her doctoral research focuses on children’s interpretation and negotiations of the generational order and adultism.

Maude Louviot

Biography coming soon.

From Consultation to Co-Creation: Child Leadership in Practice in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Serbia

Nejira Pasic

Nejira Pašić is the Children’s Rights Project Lead for Southeast Europe at the Global Campus of Human Rights, where she leads children’s rights mainstreaming and programming, including the Child Leadership Team and Youth Advisory Group. She is also a Lecturer at the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, teaching research methods, public policy and human rights.