Democracy Week took place at the University of Kassel this week with various events on the topics of democracy, democracy education and democracy promotion.  The aim of the theme week was to liberate democracy from its supposed normality and to emphasize its importance in the everyday life of students and their later role as (professional) teachers and educators. The Department of Vocational and Business Education was involved with the following events as part of Democracy Week:

Wednesday, 10am-12pm, seminar on "Digital divide: meaning in the context of media literacy, fake news and more"(Verena Pfeiffer)

The event was held on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Basic Law and focused on the topic of "Digitalization and Democracy". In addition to the informational self-determination enshrined in the Basic Law (keyword: data protection), the connections between the various inequalities in terms of digital participation (digital divide) and democracy were clarified. Insufficient digital participation makes it difficult to verify fake news or disinformation - a threat to democracy. (Professional) teachers are therefore called upon to strengthen the digital sovereignty of learners. Some possible applications, such as various teaching materials, were discussed during the event.

Thursday, 10-12 a.m., lecture with guest lecture and discussion on the topic "Democracy promotion as a task of school development"(Prof. Dr. M. Goller in cooperation with Prof. Dr. H. Bennewitz)

After a brief introduction to the topics of democracy and democracy education and their integration into the lecture "Developing and shaping institutions of (vocational) education" by Prof. Goller, Prof. Bennewitz introduced the guest speaker Mr. Thilo Engelhardt. Mr. Engelhardt is the principal of the Waldparkschule Heidelberg, which is known for its concept for promoting democracy and was awarded the German School Prize in 2017. Mr. Engelhardt's guest lecture dealt with the specific profile of his school and the previous and current school development efforts of his staff. The event ended with a question and discussion session.

Thursday, 12-14 p.m., seminar on "Democracy in the digital age - potentials and risks of artificial intelligence for political participation"(Alina Gierosz)

The seminar focused on artificial intelligence in the context of democracy in the digital age. By way of introduction, a group of experts defined basic terms such as political participation, artificial intelligence, deep fakes and fake news using current examples. After a brief excursus on recognizing fake news, the potential and risks of artificial intelligence for political participation were developed in small groups using selected examples and put up for open discussion. A particular focus was placed on the role of future teachers in the general and vocational education system and the associated educational mandate as well as the upcoming European elections.