Experiencing democracy
The German Volkshochschul-Verband in Russia
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The Institute for International Cooperation of the German Adult Education Association (Volkshochschul-Verband) has been active in Russia since 1993. The main purpose of the institute’s work is the dissemination of knowledge about democracy. Experience has shown that democratic attitudes cannot be communicated in political education seminars. It is more important to strengthen civil society and to promote self-confidence on the part of disadvantaged strata of the population. Adult education must impart professionally-oriented knowledge and focus on social problems. Only by doing this can it ensure that the promotion of democracy is not seen as a utopian project or even as Westerners telling the East what to do, but rather as something that can be experienced in everyday life.
(Osteuropa 8/2005, pp. 214–224)