folk high school

The initiative European Folk High School has its roots in the Danish educational institution, first presented by priest, poet, and politician N.F.S. Grundtvig (1783-1872) called a ‘Folk High School.’ Grundtvig created the notion of the “people’s enlightenment” in which people engage in lifelong learning, gaining the enlightenment that he considered necessary in order for people to be able to participate as responsible citizens in deliberations about society. At Folk High Schools democracy is understood as something, that is not restricted to the representation of people in political institutions such as in parliament but also embraces participation by citizens in processes of deliberation about the common good. In this initiative we invite youths from all over Europe to take part in a pan-European Folk High School, allowing cultural meetings and new learnings. These perspectives are the core of Folk High Schools today, and this philosophy of non-formal education and democratic participation is the key feature of every training and educational activity in this initiative.

2022

In the summer of 2022, 67 young people from all over Europe gathered for a week at the beautiful Folk High School ‘Krogerup’ in Humlebæk, Denmark, to debate, learn, create, and make their voices heard on the future of Europe. During the week participants explored issues of particular relevance for the European youth. They engaged in different topics and gained leadership resources, shared best practices on activism, worked on sustainable development goals, and became part of a pan-European network to further support their work as youth change agents. The week contained workshops, creative labs, lectures, music, sports, and excursions. Participants chose one out of five thematic areas to dive into with their group during the week. The topics were: ’Migration and Justice’, ‘Technology and Democracy’, ’The New Economy’, ‘Climate and Environment’, and ‘Polarisation in Europe.’

2023

In the summer of 2023, 101 participants from all over Europe came together for a week, in Spain to debate, learn, create, and to make their voice heard on the future of Europe. During the European Folk High School week, participants explored issues of particular relevance for the European youth and co-created solutions to the common challenges that are shared across regions. The week contained workshops, creative labs, lectures, music, sports, and excursions. Participants chose one out of five thematic areas to dive into with their group during the week. The topics were: ’equality in education’, ’breaking borders’, ’economic transformation’, and ‘sustainable living.’ You can read more about this year's topics below.

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our values

The Young Europe project is based on a set of shared values, from which we build our programs around. Our organization supports human rights, and inclusion and sustainability are at the core of all our programs.

We are committed to building a diverse network that inspires individuals of all backgrounds – across nationalities, races, ethnicity, religions, economic backgrounds, sexual orientations, languages, ages, genders and prior experiences – to bring their full selves to the work of creating a more progressive, democratic and sustainable Europe.

The EU values of inclusion, tolerance, justice, solidarity and non-discrimination prevail in our work, and we do not tolerate homophobia, transphobia, racism or other discriminatory practices in our programs.

If you sign up to the European Folk High School, we expect that you share our values, and actively contribute to create a space where these values are implemented.