Thematic Events

Civitas Regional Institutes are a Civitas International Programs strategy for sustainability, strengthening regional capacity, and expanding cooperation. The Institutes help address the long-term sustainability of the Civitas International Programs network by strengthening regional capacity and expanding cooperation among members of the network.

Recognizing their strengths in developing programs focused on human rights, tolerance, and reconciliation, the Center for Civic Education selected Co-operation Ireland as the first Civitas Regional Institute in 2009. The following year, Fundacion Presencia (Colombia) and the Moroccan Center for Civic Education were designated as Civitas Regional Institutes after an open call for proposals and a competitive review process. Over the next five to seven years, the Center intends to facilitate the development of Civitas institutes in the remaining regions. The Institutes will provide direct support services and foster a powerful network among partner organizations in order to maximize impact on youth and teachers and increase organizational strength.

The Civitas International Programs holds U.S. Leaders Meetings to provide directors of U.S. partnership sites with the opportunity to discuss issues related specifically to their involvement in the Civitas network. These meetings are an opportunity for U.S. partners and Center for Civic Education staff to discuss best practices in partnership management, which includes conducting successful exchange visits, reporting requirements, fostering communication amongst partners, and new initiatives like the Civitas Lessons on Democracy.

The October 11-12, 2010 U.S. Leaders Meeting was held on in San Antonio, Texas immediately following the Center's Project Citizen Coordinators Conference. The workshop theme was “Identifying and Addressing Challenges of the Civitas International Programs”. Over the course of two days, thirty-one participants and staff discussed partner recommendations to address the needs within the Civitas network and planned for future events.

The Center for Civic Education and its partners in the Dominican Republic, the Consortium for Civic Education/ Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra, held a regional workshop for Civitas Africa and Latin America Program Directors as well as their U.S. partners in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from March 12-16, 2009. The curriculum-focused workshop, entitled "Civic Education in a Social Change Environment," fostered the sharing of information among civic educators on successes and challenges in the development, implementation, and promotion of civic education programs in a social change environment.

Since the 1990s German and American counterparts have hosted a series of conferences focused on exchange of recent research and practitioner experiences in civic education.

On April 14-19, 2013 the German Federal Agency for Civic Education hosted a conference titled Solving ethno-national conflicts in Europe: An example to the rest of the world? European capabilities and prospects in solving problems within and beyond the nation state. The Tutzing Academy for Civic Education hosted the meeting, which was aimed at researchers and practitioners in the field of didactics of civic education. The conference focused on minority rights as outlined in the Council of Europe committees, documents, and frameworks on the protection of national minorities and the relationship to civic education.

"Civic Education for a Global World," a Paper by Frances L. Kidwell, Ed.D.

In March 2011, Germany’s Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (Federal Agency for Political Education), the Center for Civic Education, and Indiana University jointly sponsored the German-American Conference at Indiana University in Bloomington. The annual conference brought together German and American scholars and educators to discuss issues related to democracy and the development of an enlightened citizenry.

"Suffrage, Elections, and Some Implications for Civic Education in the United States," a Paper Presented by Margaret Stimmann Branson, Associate Director, Center for Civic Education