This paper discusses the application of the framework of critical literacies developed by the research partners on the EU-funded ‘Critical ChangeLab: Democracy Meets Arts’ project (hereafter ‘Critical ChangeLab’) in educational settings in Ireland. Critical ChangeLabs respond to calls to reinvent and reinvigorate creative democracy in the everyday lives of young people (Dewey, 1939; Bernstein, 2000). They are a scalable model of democratic pedagogy for use in formal and non-formal learning environments, which use transdisciplinary arts and science practices (Mejias et al., 2021) to engage youth (11-18 years) with issues across human and more-than-human relationships. Using the first iteration of Critical ChangeLabs in Ireland as a case study, the paper will examine the iways that critical literacies can facilitate transformative learning processes that support individuals' civic engagement across a range of settings. The framework of critical literacies defines dimensions of learning required to develop these critical literacies in participants. It was created following a systematic literature review of critical literacies frameworks developed and used in educational settings with young people. At a time when post-truth paradigms influence the ways in which education is understood and enacted critical literacies are more important and relevant than ever (Pandya et al., 2022). The first iteration of the Critical ChangeLab in Ireland took place in an informal education (youth work) setting with young people (11-18 years) experiencing disadvantage. The Critical ChangeLab used participatory, creative and critical approaches to facilitate exploration of ideas about community and identity. This was particularly pertinent as the young people live in an urban area undergrowing rapid demographic expansion and change. The Critical ChangeLab incorporated historical and cultural perspectives, and the young people created artistic interventions around concepts of inclusion and belonging. Our paper will discuss how the application of the framework of critical literacies in a Critical ChangeLab setting strengthens democratic society through the promotion of the competences identified in the Council of Europe Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (2016).  Our analysis underscores the significant potential of applying our critical literacies framework in Critical ChangeLab settings to foster transformative agency, encourage youth ownership of everyday democracy, and imagining alternative futures. As the Critical ChangeLab is a scalable model, application of the framework has the potential to strengthen democracy education on issues of global significance and democratic process in any formal or non-formal learning environments.

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