Strengthening Engagement through Education for Democracy (SEED) 2023 | IFES - The International Foundation for Electoral Systems

Overview
The International Foundation for Electoral Systems’ (IFES) civic education programming empowers citizens to participate more eﬀectively in their country’s electoral and political processes and provides them with the tools they need to hold their elected representatives accountable for eﬀectual governance. When citizens are not empowered to eﬀectively exercise and defend their or others’ democratic rights and responsibilities, the opportunity for disinformation, corruption, and electoral fraud increases, thereby amplifying the potential for leaders to take undemocratic actions that threaten human rights, stability, and prosperity.

IFES’s work to support informed, mindful, and active civic participation through intersectional approaches designed to support diverse groups such as young women, ethnic and religious minority youth, and youth with disabilities expands the potential for all citizens to shape their democracies and to be represented in decision-making processes.

To this end, in 2010, IFES developed a global, university-level civic education approach: Strengthening Engagement through Education for Democracy (SEED). SEED is designed to empower young people to better understand the democratic process and each citizen’s role and responsibility within it. The SEED curriculum, materials, and methodology are country-tailored and designed to foster students’ democratic values and attitudes while equipping them with the knowledge and skills essential to eﬀective and informed citizenship in digital age democracies, as well as closing democratic spaces. Universities have proven to facilitate safe spaces for young people to expand their understanding of democracy and foster community-building among engaged students and their networks.

Through SEED, IFES has worked with universities and education specialists in Georgia, Ukraine, Armenia, and Bangladesh to develop fully accredited university-level curricula to introduce citizens to fundamental concepts of democratic citizenship, systems of government, civic participation, and human rights while building capacity through hands-on, real-world learning experiences.

The core methodology of SEED focuses on three components:

Knowledge

The knowledge-based components of the course cover democratic governance, human rights, civil society, and citizen engagement. Cross-cutting themes include gender equality, elections, minority rights, inclusion of and accessibility for persons with disabilities, enfranchisement, good governance, rule of law, media literacy, digital participation, diversity, the role of money in politics, youth participation, and corruption.

Interactive teaching

To strengthen students’ skills (including, but not limited to, digital literacy, critical thinking and decision-making, active listening, consensus-building, public speaking, group work, and problem-solving), IFES’s civic education methodology emphasizes the primacy of interactive teaching methodology (contrary to a traditional lecture-style format). Course professors selected by the university receive training on interactive teaching methods through IFES-led continuous professional development sessions with national and international experts.

Action projects

The capstone component of the course is a student action project to encourage leadership and service learning. Through a step-by-step, guided process, students identify an issue in their communities that they recognize as problematic, which they then research and relate to course topics. Ultimately, students are challenged to devise an action plan to address the issue. Through ﬁrst-hand experience, students hone the knowledge, dispositions, and skills necessary for active, informed citizenship.

Program Highlights and Impact:

Explore SEED's impact in Georgia, Ukraine, Bangladesh, and Armenia.

Georgia Since 2011 Democracy & Citizenship, Georgian Flag, 38+ universities and vocational schools, 12k+ students engaged, 100+ educators trained

< >Impact:
Course evaluations have demonstrated that course students and alumni experienced a positive transformation in their perceptions and understandings of the rights and roles of persons with disabilities and minorities; applied skills developed through course experiences to academic, professional, and civic endeavors; possessed a strong sense of eﬃcacy toward their ability to aﬀect change; and were committed to the realization of the principles of democracy for all Georgians. Many alumni went on to become civil society leaders, addressing problems in their communities and becoming champions for democracy in Georgia long after the course. With an eye to sustainability, IFES also supported the establishment of the Civic Education Lectures Association (CELA), which is a network of civic educators that represent the majority of accredited universities across the country; CELA currently maintains Georgia’s SEED curriculum. IFES has since partnered with Georgia’s Ministry of Education to expand civic education oﬀerings to vocational education institutions.

Ukraine Since 2018 Democracy from Theory to Practice, 59+ universities and vocational schools, 12,000 + Students Engaged, 134+ Educators trained

< >Impact:
Course evaluations have yielded encouraging results on all measures—course instructor interviews and surveys, student surveys and focus groups, classroom observations, and pre-and post-tests. The results demonstrated that students gained knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to eﬀectively monitor and hold the government and members of society accountable to principles of democracy in the digital age.
Using skills developed in the course, since 2021, alumni have gone on to intern at Ukrainian institutions like the Central Election Commission and National Agency on Corruption Prevention. Beyond the knowledge and the skills developed, students also demonstrated a desire to be active citizens. The course alumni organization Youth Democratic Association (YODA) and IFES have organized several extra-curricular activities, such as the DemVision action project competition, DemoGRAtia interactive game, and social media DemTalk events to support current students and maintain a robust and active alumni community. Furthermore, in April 2022 IFES helped establish the Civic Educators Association to help build the capacity of and support course educators.

Bangladesh Since 2018 Democracy from Theory to Practice, 1+ Universities and vocational schools, 160+ students engaged

< >Impact:
IFES’s Democracy: From Theory to Practice university course gives students a theoretical background in democracy through the SEED methodology and practical and hands-on experience as students conduct projects and research fellowships. Over 160 students have taken part in the course to date through the University of Dhaka. IFES expects to expand the course to a second university in 2023 and up to five additional universities throughout Bangladesh through 2025. The course has been complemented by programming through the Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) network, expanding beyond 13 public universities and over 1,600 students across all divisions of Bangladesh. IFES continues to mobilize existing SAVE participants through advanced trainings and community-based assignments. Additional webinars and online events, as well as campaigns for safe and inclusive campuses both oﬀline and online, provide much-needed opportunities for education and student activism.

Armenia since 2020 Engaged Citizens, 8+ universities and vocational schools, 170+ students engaged, 52+ educators trained

< >Impact:
IFES's Engaged Citizens course launched in 2021 at three universities throughout Armenia. Since the launch of the course, the course has expanded into five additional universities. The cohort of alumni of the course is 80 percent women. To date, student action projects have been given funding through international embassies and have allowed students to advocate for community improvements with the Prime Minister.

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