Oct 07, 2021
JoDDiD in Häppchen - Spatial political education promotes democracy
Katja Meier, State Minister of Justice and for Democracy, Europe and Equality (left), and Prof. Dr. Anja Besand, Director of JoDDiD, during the event to mark the first anniversary of JoDDiD.
The John Dewey Research Center for the Didactics of Democracy celebrates its first anniversary.
On October 6, 2021, the John Dewey Research Center for the Didactics of Democracy (JoDDiD) celebrates its first anniversary. In the presence of the Minister of State for Justice and for Democracy, Europe and Equality, Katja Meier, and the Rector of TU Dresden, Prof. Ursula M. Staudinger, the JoDDiD rooms in the von Gerber Building will also be inaugurated.
Under the title "JoDDiD in Häppchen", the event was designed in such a way that it was held as a series of many small coffee breaks at different locations in the research center and the various projects could be presented and discussed at different stations. In this sense, for example, a consulting workshop was set up in which stakeholders in extracurricular civic education can reflect on their conceptual work from a didactic perspective. There is also an innovation workshop, which is a laboratory of ideas and a workbench for new formats and approaches in civic education.
The services offered by the research center were already in great demand in the first year.
Katja Meier, Minister of State for Justice, Democracy, Europe and Equality:
"Democracy is, in the words of John Dewey, 'more than a form of government; it is first and foremost a form of living together, of common and shared experience'. To this end, the John Dewey Research Center draws on classical materials, but also on innovative formats. It cooperates with artists, produces podcasts, tinkers, repurposes everyday objects and provides advice. With its low-threshold offers and various collaborations, it opens up new target groups for contemporary political education work: participatory - and with the joy of playful discovery. Democracy is not a matter of course. We have to learn and internalize values such as justice, respect and tolerance again and again. The JoDDiD innovation workshop now offers a safe space to try things out and - in the spirit of John Dewey - to make and share positive experiences."
Prof. Dr. Ursula M. Staudinger, Rector of TU Dresden:
"We at TU Dresden are proud of the John Dewey Research Center for the Didactics of Democracy - which, although it is only celebrating its first birthday today, has already become an important bridge between the university and civil society. The research center meets a need that has not been met for a long time. This is mainly due to the fact that the field of concrete democracy work and extracurricular political youth and adult education is not well represented at universities (nationwide)."
Prof. Dr. Anja Besand, Director of JoDDiD:
"We work with spatial concepts in political education and what that means is something we want to make clear in Saxony over the next few years."
All those involved also used the festive occasion to exchange ideas. The John Dewey Research Center for the Didactics of Democracy is now entering its second year with new impetus for its future work.
Contact for media inquiries:
Agnes Scharnetzky
Research Associate/ Project Coordination
JoDDiD
John Dewey Research Center for the Didactics of Democracy
www.joddid.de
TUD Dresden University of Technology
Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science
Institute of Political Science
Chair of Didactics of Civic Education
01062 Dresden
Phone: +49351-463 41137
Fax: +49351-463-36928
E-mail: