Single title
FOREWORD
“Democracies need democrats” – this insight forms the perennial precept of civic education. In order for a democratic system to be effective and sustainable, and also to be more than just a set of formal procedures it needs to rely on democratic citizens. In other words: there is need not just for a democratic system, but a
democratic society.
Civic education in a democracy is education in self-government. It aims at creating and promoting an informed citizenry. A citizenry, that is actively involved in governance and does not just play a passive role, leaving all political matters to a few selected leaders.
In order for the people to be engaged in governance – and this implies participation that goes beyond just voting during elections – they need to understand the political system under which they are governed. And even more they need to internalise the basic values of democracy. In this line, civic education helps in attaining the goal
of an active, informed and critical citizenry by providing the people with relevant information, raising their awareness on their democratic rights and responsibilities, and promoting those values that are indispensable ingredients for a democratic society.
There is no doubt that a democratic state has the central responsibility for consistently creating opportunities for civic education. However, it is also obvious that civic education through state institutions and in schools needs to be supplemented by a
wider range of measures. This is where the diversity of civil society actors needs to come on board and play its part.
As a German political foundation, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) is one of the major agents in a pluralistic landscape offering civic education in Germany. But even beyond Germany, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung conducts and supports civic education measures in more than a hundred countries around the world, including Uganda.
This Guide on Facilitation Skills and Methods of Adult Education is part of a comprehensive Toolkit for Civic Education which is being produced under the project “Action for Strengthening Good Governance and Accountability”. The project is being implemented by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung together with its local partner organisation Action for Development (ACFODE) with funding from the European Development Fund (EDF) under the Democratic Governance and Accountability Programme (DGAP).
The Toolkit for Civic Education forms the basis for a series of trainings in the 11 target districts of the project. Through the trainings, local civil society actors in the districts shall be supported to enhance their capacity to effectively promote
democracy and good governance and to conduct grassroots civic education. The toolkit will therefore also provide the main source of reference for sensitisation measures at grassroots level.
In order for the participants in training activities to become effective trainers themselves, they not only need to understand the basic concepts of democracy but they also need to know how to transfer the gained knowledge to people at grassroots level. In sum, they should be able to organise and conduct effective civic education activities. This is why this guide constitutes an important and integral part of the toolkit.
The guide is a comprehensive manual for trainers and facilitators of civic education activities. It contains basic information on the concepts of civic education and adult learning and gives practical instructions on how to organise and implement trainings
at grassroots level. Specific attention is given to facilitation skills and methods that can help the trainers apply an appropriate and effective methodology to facilitate learning.
I am confident that this guide, as well as the toolkit as a whole, will prove to be a useful instrument for enabling local actors to conduct meaningful trainings for civic education – not only under this “Action for Strengthening Good Governance and Accountability”, but also in various other interventions and programmes for which
the material can be a valuable input.
Dr. Angelika Klein, Project Director