Europe and its participating countries need a strong democracy, an inclusive society, and active citizens. Intercultural and democratic competences are crucial for the future of Europe, its countries and its citizens. Education can play a central role in developing the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes among young people. Universities have a double role in this they have to educate: academics who can and want to contribute to such an inclusive and democratic society; and teachers, educational researchers and curriculum developers who will work in schools and other educational institutions on empowering young people for active, engaged and democratic citizenship.

The pedagogical role of teachers in contributing to a more inclusive, social justice and democratic society is very important in this period of European history in which growing globalization challenges traditional values. A more inclusive and democratic society is as relevant for the future of Europe as economic growth. Education, and in particular teachers, can contribute to this moral enterprise. Strengthening the international academic cooperation in all parts of Europe is very relevant to broaden the horizon of students, teachers, and academic researchers. The seven participating universities in the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership are: Humanistic Studies Utrecht (coordinator), Barcelona, Bath Spa, Helsinki, Charles University Prague, Tallinn, and Aristotle University Thessaloniki. The collaboration partly emerged out of ECER Network 7 Intercultural Education and Social Justice.

As research shows, attention towards democratic and intercultural issues is not very strongly embedded in the curricula of teacher education and educational science. EDIC+ aims to support democratic intercultural citizenship education by developing a joint curriculum, through the professional development of academic staff, and the collaboration and exchange of students. Through cooperation and the development of joint curricula we hope to realize an increase in social inclusion and the development of intercultural and civic competences among students. The interdisciplinary nature of cooperation is addressed by including a broad range of partners representing social sciences, humanities, as well as teacher education.

The concrete objectives of the project are:

1. To develop a curriculum for Education for Democratic Intercultural Citizenship (EDIC), formally recognised and supported by seven universities in different parts of Europe. Each university develops a module.
2. To stimulate student exchange in this area and gather collective experiences in intensive programmes.
3. To promote the professional development of teachers in this field
4. To stimulate a more complex, inclusive, critical and engaged concept of citizenship that combines social, political, intercultural and entrepreneurial components.
5. To strengthen the cooperation between universities and civil society.
6. To develop a partnership between European universities that stimulates cooperation of researchers, teachers and students in this field.
7. To develop curriculum materials and student products with open access on the EDIC website and in an e-journal.
8. To educate a new generation of teachers, curriculum designers, and researchers in the field of democratic intercultural citizenship education.

In this symposium we will first present the goals of the programme and the curriculum development activities. Then we have three presentations from different universities who each have an own particular topic the area of Education for Democratic Intercultural Education.

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