About the Project

Since the establishment of the first Danish folk high school 175 years ago, the folk high school movement has been a leading educational and cultural institution in Denmark. Based on the purpose: to provide life enlightenment, people’s enlightenment and democratic education, the folk high schools aim at an education that enables the individual not just to make a living, but to live meaningful lives. Today this also means to live your life in coexistence with nature. With this project FFD has 3 goals:

Strengthen pedagogy within sustainable and global education.

Today, many folk high schools work extensively with sustainability in subjects, in relation to the school's own ecological transformation and with the communities around them.

With this project, FFD seeks to create a framework for the development of sustainable personal formation at folk high schools by sharing educational experiences from different schools, by inspiring teachers with the latest insights within the field and by developing and testing new educational programs together. This collaboration between folk high schools will create synergy, motivation, and joy in educational development work.

 

Strengthen the global folk high school movement.

The folk high school movement is global. When more than 120 people’s educators from 28 countries gathered at the International Folk High School Summit in 2019, a clear vision from the community was to strengthen the connections and the pedagogical dialogue between people’s educators globally.

With this project we wish to connect 11 Danish folk high schools with 11 folk high school-like organizations abroad. This will not only allow the project to take off from a world development point of view, sharpening the awareness of the complexity and interconnectedness of the climate challenges, but also establish close and personal relations between folk high schools which will further enhance the possibilities of global teaching and collaboration in the future.

 

Strengthening people’s engagement in sustainable transition of societies.

We believe that change is brought by the will, abilities, and the power of imagination of individuals and communities of praxis. This project will be focusing on the personal formation of individuals and their commitment in the sustainable transition of societies.

During the two semesters, 300 students from 11 Danish folk high schools will be equipped with knowledge, courage, and experience, enabling them to take action for a more sustainable world. The programs will be centred on working for real sustainable changes in the local communities where the Danish folk high schools are located. Along with local partners and with global inspiration and new insights, these students will analyse, generate, and implement ideas and engage with the community surrounding the folk high schools.

Objectives and sub-objectives

Each of the projects’ three components has its own individual objective and sub-objectives:

1)     Strengthen pedagogy within sustainable and global education.

  • Improve pedagogical praxis concerning sustainable education in 11 Danish folk high schools and 11 non-Danish folk high school-like organizations.
  • Strengthen teachers’ competencies within global education, sustainable education, and action learning.
  • Document the project focusing on lessons learned, to inspire the entire folk high school movement in Denmark and abroad and other educational institutions.

2)     Strengthen the global folk high school movement.

  • Strengthen Danish folk high schools' bilateral and equal relationships with folk high schools or folk high school-like organizations abroad.
  • Nourish and inspire the broader folk high school movement with global outlook through activity in the project.
  • Gain organizational experience with global folk high school collaboration for future collaboration.

3)     Strengthening people’s engagement in sustainable transition of societies.

  • Engage teachers and students at the 22 participating folk high schools.
  • Engage the 11 local communities in Denmark.
  • Engage stakeholders in Denmark (politicians and other educational institutions) and the wider public.