Conference Agenda
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1st keynote: Sjur Bergan: LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR DEMOCRACY: THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE REFERENCE FRAMEWORK OF COMPETENCES FOR DEMOCRATIC CULTURE
Biography Sjur Bergan is an independent education expert. He was Head of the Council of Europe’s Education Department until February 1, 2022, where, among other things, he led the Council of Europe projects on Competences for Democratic Culture and the European Qualifications Passport for Refugees. Sjur represented the Council of Europe in the Bologna Follow Up Group and Board between 2000 and April 2022 and chaired working groups on structural reforms in 2007 - 15. He was a member of EHEA groups on the fundamental values of higher education 2018 – 24 and a key author of the statements on fundamental values adopted by EHEA Ministers in May 2024. He is currently affiliated with the Fundamental Values WG as an expert in the NewFAV2 project. Sjur was series editor of the Council of Europe Higher Education Series. He is the author of Qualifications: Introduction to a Concept and Not by Bread Alone as well as of European Higher Education, Social Responsibility, and the Local Democratic Mission, published by Temple University Press in March 2025. He holds honorary doctorates from Dublin City University (2022) and the University of Oslo (2024) and is the recipient of the 2019 European Association for International Education Award for Vision and Leadership. | ||
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The CoE Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC) (Council of Europe 2018 a, b, c) was developed to stipulate learning outcomes that would help education systems and institutions make preparing for democracy a key purpose of education (Council of Europe 2007) at all levels in practice and not only in solemn declarations. The project was launched as the main priority of Andorra’s Presidency of the CoE Committee of Ministers in 2011 – 12. The model for the RFCDC was adopted by the Standing Conference of Ministers of Education in April 2016, while the full framework was established in 2018. It has later been supplemented by guidance documents intended to further implementation of the RFCDC within specific areas of education, including higher education (Council of Europe 2020). The RFCDC may be either integrated wholesale into national education systems and provision or, more likely, be developed to take account of national and regional specificities. The RFCDC establishes twenty competences organized in four clusters: values, attitudes, skills, and knowledge and critical understanding. For each of the twenty competences, a set of descriptors has been developed, and these are organized in three levels: basic, intermediate, and advanced. A set of 135 key descriptors is supplemented by further descriptors for each competence. All descriptors were developed through an extensive testing process involving educators at all levels and from many CoE Member States. The extent to which competences for democracy can and should be assessed was an important point of discussion during the development of the RFCDC. It was, however, considered important that the competences be both teachable and assessable, and the descriptors therefore make it possible to assess the extent to which a given competence has been acquired. While the RFCDC descriptors thus indicate level of achievement, they are not value statements and do not provide’” a basis for judging learners as “more or less democratic”. An individual may have acquired certain competences at advanced level and others only at basic level or not at all. The competences described in the RFCDC may be developed in various ways and through both formal and non-formal education. Nevertheless, the formal education system is key to developing the competences we need as active citizens in democratic societies. The presentation will describe the development of the RFCDC and consider some discussion that arose during the process and explain the choices made. It will also discuss the role of higher education in developing competences for a culture of democracy as well as the importance for students to develop democratic competences. References Council of Europe (2007): Recommendation CM/Rec(2007)6 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the public responsibility for higher education and research, https://search.coe.int/cm/Pages/result_details.aspx?ObjectId=09000016805d5dae, accessed April 27, 2026 Council of Europe (2018 a): Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture Volume I: Context, Concepts and Model. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing https://rm.coe.int/prems-008318-gbr-2508-reference-framework-of-competences-vol-1-8573-co/16807bc66c, accessed April 27, 202 Council of Europe (2018 b): Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture Volume II: Descriptors of Competences. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing https://rm.coe.int/prems-008418-gbr-2508-reference-framework-of-competences-vol-2-8573-co/16807bc66d, accessed April 27, 2026 Council of Europe (2018 c): Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture Volume III: Guidance for Implementation. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing https://rm.coe.int/prems-008518-gbr-2508-reference-framework-of-competences-vol-3-8575-co/16807bc66e, accessed April 27, 2027 Council of Europe (2020a): Competences for democratic culture in higher education Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publications https://rm.coe.int/rfcdc-guidance-document-for-higher-education/1680a08ee0, accessed April 27, 2026 | ||
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