Ties of Freedom – intergenerational exchange as a strategy to promote democratic values

ongoing

Recent events in the international political context show that democracy is under serious threat in many parts of the world. Challenges from third countries and from the Member-states themselves mean that the EU is not immune to new trends that weaken democratic regimes. Ties of Freedom aims to appeal to the memory of communities and create awareness of the need for constant efforts to guarantee the EU's key values. In this sense, the project's proposal is to develop an intergenerational approach, which is considered by various empirical evidence to improve well-being and promote social cohesion. More specifically, Ties of Freedom will create several moments of knowledge-sharing between people who have lived through totalitarian and authoritarian regimes and the democratic transition in the partner countries, and young people – as they represent a group that is particularly vulnerable to radical influences - who will have the opportunity to learn from the experience of that group and to act actively in defence of democratic values. The project will promote activities based on different methodologies, including: storytelling workshops, one board intergenerational game and the creation of a short film with individuals that experienced democratic transitions so that children and young people have increased understanding of how was the reality of life before the democratic era; democratic talks, which conversation events with children and young people will promoted and supported by a toolkit also developed by the project; circles of democracy, based on public debates that will include the general population and educators. Ties of Freedom aligns with Priority 1 (CERV-2024-CITIZENS-REM-TRANSITION) and will focus on the transition from authoritarian and totalitarian rule to democracy, highlighting lessons retained for the future on how to defend key EU values, such as democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights.