The SMOOTH Conference on "Educational commons and active social inclusion" took place on May 26-28, 2023 in Volos, Greece - a three-day conference with talks, keynotes, and workshops on educational commons, sharing primarily findings and insight from the SMOOTH H2020 European funded research project and featuring theoretical and conceptualizing discussions on the topic from both practitioners and academics.

The EU-funded research project SMOOTH (Horizon 2020) is exploring the opportunities and challenges of a commons-oriented education with an aim to reverse inequalities, to present good practices resulting from ongoing projects, and to inform political decision-making processes. Preliminary findings from different educational spaces account for improved as well as sustained citizenship-based and democratic attitudes.

TalTech’s research team also participated in the conference with a workshop on Educational Commons and Democratic Education”. The workshop was hosted by Dr Charlie Moreno-Romero, Primary Investigator for the SMOOTH project, which showcased how a pioneer democratic school in Tallinn Estonia within Tallinna Kunstigümnaasium, Suvemäe, fosters the educational commons. The workshop also shared insights and important learnings from VIVITA Estonia / Vivistop Telliskivi , a creativity accelerator center for youth.

Group discussions followed with educators and researchers from other countries who also shared their experiences with democratic education. The main topics that were discussed included but not limited to: practical ways of maximizing students’ voice and ensuring their active participation in decision-making, the challenges that democratic school spaces face, and how rethinking of the educational structures is needed to ensure not only students’ academic achievement but also their socio-emotional well-being.

Learn more about SMOOTH project here!