3 Questions – 3 Minutes with Ole Jantschek
Ole Jantschek is a political scientist and National Director of the Protestant Network for Civic Youth Education, as well as Deputy Secretary General of the Protestant Academies in Germany. His work centres on democracy education, European citizenship, and the development of innovative learning formats for young people.
We had the chance to ask Ole a few questions on hope as a practice in civic education and what it takes to keep citizens engaged and resilient in times of democratic uncertainty.
1. Ole, in your observation report from the NECE Festival, you describe hope as both a personal practice and a collective responsibility. How can civic educators cultivate this sense of collective hope without falling into naïve optimism?
“Indeed, there was a shared understanding at the festival that hope can be seen as a conscious personal choice: choosing to do what you believe is right without knowing whether it will bear fruit in the future. Many participants shared examples of how this choice becomes a daily practice that gives them energy and orientation. I can personally relate to this: It is crucial to know what you’re working toward and even more why you do it. Especially when things get difficult and the impact of your actions feels far too small to match the challenges. At the same time, this kind of personal hope needs other people: It can only be sustainable if you make positive experience – if you feel resonance and joy, if you make meaningful connections and achieve something together with others. Civic education can offer spaces where people connect in this way, but only if it does two things at the same time: First, it must allow for deeper conversations and controversy, explore challenges and embrace ambiguity. Second, it must cultivate the understanding that neither democracy nor society are fixed givens, but can be shaped and that developing positive alternative visions is worthwhile. When civic education holds both of these dimensions together, it can foster hope without slipping into naïve optimism.”
2. You point out that activism and civic education share similar goals but differ in approach. What do you think both fields can learn from each other to keep citizens engaged – and hopeful – in times of crisis and polarisation?
“I think civic educators can learn a lot from activists about self-directed learning and empowerment, while activists can benefit from educators’ experience in facilitating controversy. Both fields share a vision for democratic, participatory societies, but I see them as complementary and believe they should preserve distinct professional self-understandings. So let me answer your question with an example: a workshop for young people on the topic of sustainability. I think this illustrates not only the potential for learning processes but, more importantly, the potential for cooperation, as activists and civic educators complement each other in their different roles. On this topic, activists could, for example, bring experiential knowledge from social movements, embody clear political positions, and offer perspectives often marginalised in mainstream discourse. They could share first-hand insights into transformative practices, inspire through their lived commitment, and thereby provide examples that support young people’s political identity formation. Civic educators, in contrast, would see it as their role to offer knowledge, context, and diverse perspectives, to facilitate deeper analysis of power structures and foster genuine controversy. This combination could create an engaging and diverse learning environment.”
3. Looking ahead, how can we make hope a more practical tool in civic education—something that helps young people act, connect, and stay resilient even when democratic progress feels uncertain?
“It seems to me that one starting point in civic education can be a very simple question: ‘What do you hope for yourself and for others?’ This question opens a conversation about human needs and about ways to make our society fairer, more rooted in solidarity, and more inclusive.
Feeling hopeless and feeling powerless are closely connected, and both are associated with feelings of loneliness and isolation. Therefore, it is essential to create spaces where young people can connect, spaces that they can shape themselves and that can serve as a starting point for their own initiatives. I am concerned that places where children and young people can experience self-efficacy and a sense of community are, in part, disappearing. We should see this as an alarming sign and an important reminder for civic education to recreate such spaces together with other actors in civil society and youth work.”
THE CIVICS would like to thank Ole Jantschek for his time and valuable insights!
