The European Wergeland Centres is an international resource centre supporting the implementation of the Council of Europe educational policies, serving all its member states.
Our vision:
To educate for a democratic Europe where all individuals can fully enjoy their human rights
Norway establised the centre in close cooperation with the Council of Europe in 2008, building on their shared values as a joint initiative to promote democracy and human rights across Europe through education.
Our mission:
To strengthen the capacity of children and young people, educators, educational institutions, and educational systems to build and defend a culture of democracy and human rights.
We serve as an international resource centre and a meeting place for people working in education, training and research.
We lift insights from practice, encompassing both formal and non-formal settings, and convey them into the authorities’ policymaking. At the same time, we facilitate the implementation of policy in practice. Via this two-way street, we support human rights and democracy through education in Norway and throughout Europe.
We are also active in research, employing the same two-way approach to contribute our experience to research efforts and convey results back into practice. Fostering networks of engaged professionals, we continually develop quality learning materials that are relevant and freely accessible
As a “privileged partner” of the Council of Europe, we are uniquely positioned to promote systematic changes in education at all levels by working with a broad range of actors, including national and local authorities, teacher education institutions, schools, teachers, students, parents and civil society.
How we work:
We have chosen to focus on five action areas to build and sustain a culture of democracy and human rights through education.
Staff
The European Wergeland Centre is based in Oslo, Norway, with field staff in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece and Ukraine. Our Acting Executive Director is Ingrid Aspelund.
Governing Board
The European Wergeland Centre is governed by a Board with members nominated by the Council of Europe and Norway. The Board is appointed by the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research.
