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publications

headlines

Rescuing play: why schools should take it seriously

Too often, for adults, teachers, risk-averse institutions and school systems, play appears as something problematic: risky, unproductive, difficult to manage and almost impossible to measure. The article challenges this view by pointing to the increasingly pernicious marginalisation of play and to the risks this represents for children and for society more broadly.

Nonviolent Communication Guidelines for Teachers

Nonviolent Communication (NVC), developed by Marshall B. Rosenberg, is a communication approach grounded in empathy, clarity, and mutual respect. Its purpose is to help individuals connect with themselves and others in ways that reduce conflict, increase cooperation, and foster emotional safety.

Guidelines for Teachers in Democratic Education

In keeping with the principles of lifelong learning and the need for continuous professional growth in an ever-changing world, QUEST presents its guidelines for teachers working in democratic schools.

IDEC@EUDEC Report

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.

policy

New Anti-Racism Strategy – QUEST’s Education and Right-Based Position

QUEST acknowledges the European Commission’s efforts to integrate anti-racism education and implement intersectional approaches. However, the strategy largely prioritises vague notions of diversity and inclusion over structural transformation, failing to confront the embedded systems of racism within policies, curricula, and institutions.

Choosing education as Europe’s democrcy shield.

If the EU is serious about building resilient democratic societies, it must recognise that education is the foundation.

Statement on World Day of Social Justice 2025

A protected democracy is a practiced one

project reports

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.

The Change We Want: A Manifesto by Rural Young People in Europe

At QUEST, we believe young people don’t need adults to translate what they want to say. Too often, they are tokenised, routinely consulted to check a box, yet shut out from meaningful decision-making on the very issues that shape their lives. They need real space to say it, and real doors opened to the people who can act on it. Giving rural youth the room to define their own demands, in their own words and their own format, and then walking those demands into institutions like the EESC and the Committee of the Regions, is exactly the kind of empowerment we exist to make possible.

Exploring Gender Dynamics in Forest School Kindergartens

This report explores how gender dynamics manifest in children’s play and interactions within outdoor kindergarten environments that follow the Forest School pedagogy.

From Eco-Anxieties to Action

On October 17 th 2025, 35 young participants from Lithuania, Ireland, Bulgaria, and Italy gathered in Brussels, Belgium, to bring eco-anxiety into light in front of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), youth workers, and peers.

VIDEOS

SUVEMAE, Pioneer of Possibility

How a democratic ‘school in a school‘ in Tallinn could pave the way for transforming public education in Europe

BUSTA documentary

BUilding Skills in schools through Training therapy Animals

YGBN documentary

Youth Going Back to Nature – Engage, Connect, Empower

QUEST in the press

Democratic education in public schools: is it possible?

QUEST DOCUMENTS

QUEST Activities Report 2025

QUEST Communication and Dissemination Report 2024

QUEST Events Report 2024

QUEST Activities Report 2024