As young people face overlapping crises—from climate collapse to algorithmic surveillance and democratic erosion—education must become more than preparation for the future; it must serve as a platform for transformation. This two-day symposium brings together educators, artists, researchers, and policymakers to explore how both formal and non-formal learning environments can foster agency, critical reflection, and collective action. From AI education as civic intervention to cultural institutions as democratic laboratories, the sessions highlight creative practices that build critical literacy, enable youth participation, and drive systemic change. Inspired by the propositions of the Critical ChangeLab project, the symposia present bold visions of learning as disruption—and of democracy as something we must actively co-create.
Photo: Bettina Gangl
Collection
Critical ChangeLab Symposia
Panic as Pedagogy: Learning for Critical Change
Sprache //
EN
Educating an A(ctivist) Intelligence
This session centers on radical AI education as civic armor, aligned with the festival’s call for a “digital immune system” rather than alarmism. Educational activists, youth organizers, and techno-critics will spotlight initiatives that transcend basic digital literacy.
Learning to Disrupt: Non-Formal Education for Critical Change
This session explores how non-formal learning spaces can act as agile civic platforms—where young people don’t just receive knowledge but actively question, imagine, and create alternatives to the systems shaping their lives.
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Critical ChangeLab
Critical ChangeLab aims to build a resilient European democracy by reinvigorating the relationship between youth and democracy through civic interventions in which young people envision alternative futures for (shared) European democracy, and act on that. The project is led by the University of Oulu in Finland and embraces a transdisciplinary approach that brings together expertise from nine other partner institutions across Europe.
