Center for Inclusive Civic Education (ZIPB)
We joined forces with the Chair for Didactics of Civic Education and Weiterdenken – der Heinrich-Böll_Stiftung in Sachsen (English: Innovative Thinking – the Heinrich Böll Foundation of Saxony) in 2014 to found the Center for Inclusive Civic Education. Its aim is to discover, develop and test new concepts of civic education. These concepts pave the way for the civic participation and self-determination of all individuals.
Founding of the ZipB
The need for inclusive civic education stems from two key findings:
- Civic education has previously only reached a small group of people
- Group-based and deficit-based thinking does not encourage the participation of marginalized and discriminated groups
The ZipB’s work stems from an inclusive perspective based on the recognition that exclusion is not only rooted in prejudice and discrimination – it is also the result of a lack of infrastructure suited to all. Examples include communication structure, existing culture, power, and scarcity of inclusive meeting spaces.
What do we do?
The Center for Inclusive Civic Education sees itself as a living lab. In the ZipB lab, educational practice and research converge. We research and develop inclusive educational concepts for civic education, test these pragmatically and share our findings with the public.
The first step: Research.
To start, the ZipB focuses on research and competency development tasks. This is because research into inclusive civic education, inclusive infrastructure and the field of civic education as a whole is still relatively underdeveloped.
Right from the outset: Networking and sharing.
The ZipB has relied on intensive networking and interaction with others connected to the field of inclusive (civic) education since the start of our work. By building a strong network, we hope to gain sustainable and practical results from our research.
Keeping it practical: Testing, support, advice.
ZipB always conducts research in close collaboration with the practical field to remain in step with applied education. We try out various formats and concepts, support cooperative partners on their path towards more inclusion and provide judicious advice.
For more information, please visit www.zipb.de.