The Civil Education of Europeans

Giampiero Bordino
Professor in Contemporary History and Political Analyst. President of the Einstein Center of International Studies

The theme of cultural and human formation is central to any historical process of building new political communities. As historical experience teaches us, common institutions are not enough, a shared culture is also needed which, in addition to making their birth possible, nourishes them and promotes them over time.

This awareness, essential but not always adequately present in the public debate and in government policies themselves, is the basis of the European Parliament Resolution (April 2022) entitled "Implementation of civic education measures". The Parliament places the Resolution in the context of some fundamental European and international documents: in particular the founding treaties of the European Union, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the Union, the documents of the Council of Europe, the sustainable development goals of the United Nations, and others.

In the text of the Parliament it is said that “civic education must be understood as an education at several levels, which contemplates the local, regional, national, European and global dimension of citizenship ...”. It is also noted that “the ongoing process of globalization and European integration will require the new generation of Europeans to have greater political commitment at various levels, as well as the ability to live and work all over the world, and manage differences in daily life. …”.

In such a context, civic education, understood both in a formal sense (education at various levels, including adult education) and in an informal sense (learning that takes place in the variety and complexity of all human and social relationships), assumes a decisive value.

The numerous "recommendations" of the European Parliament to the Community institutions and at the same time to the national ones aim at the active involvement of all European citizens, old and new (migrants, refugees, etc.), in the processes of political participation at different levels, from the local to the global one, in which they actually take place. In other words, the fundamental objective is to promote forms of "active citizenship" capable of guaranteeing, not only formally but substantially, political democracy. In this context, the European Parliament document also highlights the training needs related to the "digital transition" underway. Without adequate digital skills, as is increasingly evident, the exercise of citizenship rights becomes difficult or in some cases even impossible. It is not just a technological problem, but a great political and cultural problem, decisive for our future.

The Parliament Resolution highlights the need for a shared memory for the civil education of Europeans. Identity, and the feeling of belonging, as is well-known, are built at the intersection between memory and any undertaking. In other words, we are always, on the one hand, what we have been and, on the other hand, what we plan to become.

In particular, the Parliament Resolution cites the island of Ventotene and its Manifesto (see insert in this issue). Memory and the project of the construction of Europe. Since the distant 1941.