Democracy Workshop International

Democracy Workshop as "export model"

The Democracy Workshop is not only a successful institution of the Austrian Parliament but also an attractive "export model" for strengthening democracy education in the countries of the Western Balkans and for deepening further international cooperation with other parliaments.

Two Democracy Workshops based on the Austrian model have already been established in the national parliaments of Montenegro and Kosovo, and further related cooperation is underway with three other parliaments in Albania, North Macedonia and Slovakia.

Implementation in these three countries is taking place through cooperation with the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM) and in collaboration with the ERSTE Foundation.

Lehrlinge der Landesberufschule Knittelfeld während der Gruppenarbeit

Objective

An important task of parliaments is raising awareness and interest in parliamentarianism, democratic political processes, (political) participation, and civil society engagement.

The Democracy Workshop was established by the Austrian Parliament in 2007, in tandem with the lowering of the voting age to 16. The aim is to strengthen democratic awareness, willingness to participate, media skills, and the ability to articulate oneself by sharing knowledge about democracy and parliamentarism.

The Democracy Workshop has been running very successfully in the Austrian Parliament since 2007. With its special concept of didactic teaching based on capacity building, it serves as a best-practice example in the countries of South East Europe.

Activities in Detail

Collaborations already implemented

With the support of the Parliamentary Administration and start-up funding from the ERSTE Foundation, two other institutions based on the model of the Austrian Democracy Workshop have been established: There has already been a Democracy Workshop in the Parliament of Montenegro since 2014 and in the Parliament of Kosovo since 2019.
Ongoing implementations

In March 2020, a new stage in parliamentary cooperation with two Western Balkan countries was launched by National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka: the signing of a letter of intent with his counterparts from Albania and the Republic of North Macedonia. The next phase will be implementation of the Austrian Democracy Workshop model in Tirana and Skopje. For this purpose, the Austrian Parliamentary Administration is in intensive exchange with colleagues from Albania and the Republic of North Macedonia.

Slovakia is the first EU Member State to implement a Democracy Workshop based on the Austrian model. In June 2021, the President of the National Council Wolfgang Sobotka and his Slovak counterpart signed a letter of intent on the establishment of a Democracy Workshop in Bratislava.
Democracy Workshop Forum

In order to strengthen networking and in the spirit of closer cross-national cooperation, the Austrian Parliament launched the Democracy Workshop Forum together with implementation partner IDM and supported by the ERSTE Foundation. First held virtually in March 2021, it has evolved into a biannual format. The Forum promotes exchange within the Democracy Workshop community and provides a platform for sharing best practices.

Democracy Workshop International

Democracy Workshop as "export model"

Objective

Activities in Detail

Collaborations already implemented

Ongoing implementations

Democracy Workshop Forum