Presentation and Dissemination

The committee has been asked to present proposals for how the democracy canon can be introduced and communicated in text, film, internet, etc. for use in teaching at primary and lower secondary school, general and vocational upper secondary school, etc.

The broad target group for the democracy canon is the Danish population. The committee has decided that the democracy canon should be presented in book form and as an internet publication. The committee wishes to highlight the following proposals for further promoting awareness and knowledge of the democracy canon among the general public.

• Production of a documentary TV series of 35 episodes (one episode for each canon item), in which the significance of democracy and human rights in each of the selected canon items is examined.
• Theme Saturday on DR2 on democracy based around the democracy canon and the historical explanation of democracy as a form of govern - ment and philosophical concept up to the present day.
• Production of debate and quiz programmes for radio and TV about the canon items and the knowledge that Danes have about them.
• Development of board games and internetbased games with a point of departure in the democracy canon.
• Organisation of national and local lectures and other events about democracy with a point of departure in the democracy canon.

The efforts to promote awareness and knowledge of the democracy canon should particularly focus on the education system, and in this regard targeted efforts should be made to disseminate the ideas behind the canon and the history of democracy in today’s Denmark. Children in primary and lower secondary school are an obvious target group for the dissemination efforts, but the democracy canon should likewise be disseminated in other parts of the education system where education for democratic citizenship is an integral part of the teaching and aims of the programme. In the objects clause of the Folke - skole (Danish Primary and Lower Secondary School), it is stipulated that the Folkeskole shall prepare pupils for participation, joint responsibility, rights and duties in a society based on freedom and democracy. The school’s activities must therefore reflect intellectual freedom, equality and democracy. In the Act on Free Schools and Private Basic Schools, etc., it is stipulated that free basic schools depending on their purpose and in all their activities shall prepare pupils to live in a society like the Danish one with freedom and democracy and shall also develop and improve the pupils’ knowledge of and respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights, including equality between the sexes.

Also the running of the municipal school system is organised on the basis of local democratic co-involvement. Parents and pupils are represented on school boards, and pupils from 5th form upwards have the right to establish pupil councils. The pupil council appoints representatives to participate in committees and working groups set up by the school to tackle issues of importance to pupils. After lower secondary school, democratic citizenship education continues to be provided in the education system in the form of classes in democracy and opportunity for co-involvement through participation in collegiate bodies. The statement of aims for general and vocational upper secondary education programmes as well as short-cycle and medium-cycle higher education programmes stipulates that the programmes must contribute to developing the students’ desire and ability to participate actively in a democratic society. In the private independent boarding schools, including folk high schools and continuation schools, the primary objective is to provide life-related education, general education and democratic citizenship education.

Historically, this form of schooling is closely linked to democratic governance and the development of democracy in Denmark.

The democratic values must be protected and safeguarded, and children and young people must be brought up with, and educated to use, demo - cratic practice in a broad sense. There is a need for frontier delimitation and discussion about the fact that democracy is not just about rights but also about duties and about consideration for both the individual and the community. A well-functioning pupil council or another collegiate body is a perfect forum for testing representative democracy and at the same time a space where the culture of debate and desire for discussion can be promoted and developed.

In relation to using the democracy canon for teaching purposes, it is proposed that each educa - tional institution once a year places particular focus on the concept of democracy. The specific planning will naturally depend on whether the institution is a primary and lower secondary school, an upper secondary school/college or an institution of higher education. In this respect, the committee calls on those working in the education system to focus on democracy from a broad perspective, so as to reflect the scope of the democracy canon.

I relation til brug af demokratikanon i undervisningsøjemed foreslås det, at den enkelte uddannelsesinstitution en gang om året sætter særligt fokus på demokrati. Den konkrete tilrettelæggelse vil naturligvis afhænge af, om der er tale om en folkeskole, en ungdomsuddannelse eller en videregående uddannelsesinstitution. Udvalget op fordrer i den forbindelse til, at der i uddannelsessystemet arbejdes bevidst med demokrati i bred forstand som en afspejling af bredden i demokratikanon.

In relation to the dissemination efforts in primary and lower secondary education, the committee finds that all canon items should be integrated into the teaching and daily life of the school. The committee wishes to highlight the following proposals for the further adoption and use of the democracy canon in primary and lower secondary education.

1. The democracy canon should be included with the teaching manuals in the new course booklets for history and social studies in the Folkeskole (the teaching manual is not meant to be a binding text for the teacher, but rather a guidance manual, which the teacher can choose to follow or disregard).

2. The democracy canon should be used as the focus of theme weeks, especially in 2009 in connection with the 160th anniversary of the Constitution.

3. A history canon/democracy canon game should be developed for 5th form upwards, where pupils can test their general knowledge about democracy and history

4. The democracy canon should be used as a source of inspiration for interdisciplinary projects which lower secondary school and upper secondary school seek to pursue in the specialisation components, e.g. project assignments with thematic readings across the canon texts.

5. In 2009, at least one initiative of a popular informative nature should be organised by the Folketing, e.g. a public meeting in the Landsting Room for researchers, experts, folk high school teachers, etc. with the aim of discussing the democracy canon and the present state of democracy.

Finally, the committee should identify a few specific examples of how a canon item might be presented and taught to pupils in primary and lower secondary school.

Democracy’s roots

• Mounting of the words Demos and Kratos in the classroom or at the school’s entrance.
• Dramatisation of a popular assembly or a people’s court.
• Inclusion of themes from Greek tragedies in the subject drama.
• Performance of Greek chain dance to Greek folk music in the subject music.
• Drawing and painting of relevant motifs from ancient Athens in the subject the visual arts.

The French Revolution

• Presentation of the real events that set the revolution in motion.
• Presentation of the extensive pictorial and film material about this event as a subject for analysis and debate.
• Examination of France’s geography and the historical role of the capital, with focus also on the relatively close ties between France and Denmark during that period.
• Presentation of the attire and fashion of that period, with special focus on uniforms as well as the clothes worn by women and men at Court.

The labour movement

Introductory visit to the Workers’Museum in order to gain a picture of the period and the conditions of the working class.

Presentation of Pio’s thoughts and ideas about the first trade union and the road forward towards political democracy

Narratives about the Battle of Fælleden and the strikes.

Inclusion of songs representing the labour movement in the subject music.

This page is part of the electronic publication "The Danish Democracy Canon"
© The Ministry of Education 2008