It is with deep sadness that the Board and Trustees of the Inter-European Commission on Church and School (ICCS) share the tragic news of the sudden death of our colleague and friend, Kaarina Lyhykäinen. For many decades, Kaarina’s dedicated contribution to orthodox religious education in Finland and across Europe has been much valued and respected. […]
From 10 to 11 February 2025, the Board of ICCS gathered for an in-person meeting in Amsterdam. Participants included Heid Leganger-Krogstad, Tania ap Sion, Bianca Kappelhoff, and Werner Haussmann. The meeting focused on two main topics: the organisational restructuring of ICCS and initial reflections on its future direction. Dissolution of Charity Status Tania ap Sion […]
The representation of ICCS as an NGO at the Council of Europe (CoE) will henceforth be carried out in cooperation with CoGREE. A joint meeting was held online on April 8, 2025, to formalize this collaboration. For over two decades, ICCS has been represented in NGO meetings at the CoE by James Barnett, an esteemed […]
Are you interested in learning or networking in the field of interreligious and interconvictional dialogue? Then, this platform is for you. Developed by the committee of the same name of the Conference of NGOs in the Council of Europe, the platform invites people in governments, institutions and organisations to find out more about positive developments and innovations, […]
In this issue you can read about the latest developments in European religion and education networks that took place at the most recent events: The CoGREE team has now continued its discussion about its future direction, which began in May, and has drafted a number of resolutions in this regard. And there is also a […]
Religiously neutral education? Media and teachers, especially before Christmas, discuss heavily the role of schools in relation to a religious, secular or neutral marking or celebration. It is a reflex of a more general debate on the role of religion in schools. So-called neutral and secularistic argumentation is increasingly dominant. Politically decided values and teachers’ […]
ICCS was created in 1958 with the aim of providing a framework for cooperation in monitoring and developing church and school issues in Europe. It brings together representatives and experts from research, practice and policy working on Religion and Education. Since 1994, ICCS has been registered as a charity in England and Wales, and that […]
The European Wergeland Centre offers multiple courses for teachers. Most of them are 10-to-20-hour courses and may be studied individually. Available themes are (https://theewc.org/online-courses): ICCS Newsletter recommends the online course on Disinformation. This course prepares teachers to be able to teach to develop their students for the use of Artificial Intelligence on internet and conscious […]
In the context of the research project ‘What Covid-19 reveals to RE specialists’ the research team of five women from five countries (Ireland, Wales, Germany, Austria, Hungary) have published a new article. Among them are Tania ap Siôn and Bianca Kappelhoff from the ICCS board as well as three colleagues from the EFTRE network, with which […]
The European Wergeland Centre, now working in close relation to Council of Europe for 15 years in Oslo, Norway, has newly developed a free learning material on Democratic teaching. The little BIG handbook of DEMOCRACY has introductions to three different parts with learning activities mad for 13–30 year olds. The activities can of course be […]