The concepts of utopia and dystopia are often used to explore the ideals and challenges of society. Regarding civic engagement and education, these concepts can be used to explore the possibilities and obstacles to building a better future.
Utopias can inspire young adults to engage in civic and social activities by offering them a positive vision of the future. Dystopias, on the other hand, can highlight the negative consequences of inaction and motivate young adults to engage in order to avoid a dark future.
Civic education can help young adults understand the social and political issues that underlie utopias and dystopias, as well as acquire the skills necessary to engage effectively in society.
Ultimately, the concepts of utopia and dystopia can help young adults understand their role in building a better future and find the motivation necessary to engage in civic and social activities.
Within the scope of the Erasmus+ project EUtopia, we interviewed local youth workers in the partners’ countries. Thanks to their answers and some deeper research from the EUtopia team, we created a handbook about the theoretical background and historical experience of using utopias and dystopias for citizenship education.
The guide explains the pedagogical objectives of the project and provides detailed definitions of the concepts of dystopias and utopias, with cultural references from all the consortium countries. Utopias and dystopias are studied from different angles, such as politics and civic participation, discrimination, and climate change.
This handbook allowed us to better understand the concepts that are the basis of the project and widen our knowledge. It also serves as a pedagogical, editorial, and graphic design framework for the EUtopia project. We would like to share this work with you. You can find our handbook called “Utopias in Action” on the project website here.
Don’t hesitate to share it around you if you find it interesting!