The workshop organised by the Centre for Work and Politics at the University of Bremen (zap) and the Working Group on Political Education/Political Didactics at the University of Oldenburg will take place on 9–10 September 2026 at the University of Oldenburg.
Conference rooms: A05 0-054, 055 and 0-056

Theme: Youth, Crises and Social Cohesion – Political Orientations, Perceptions and (Lack of) Knowledge in Flux

The centre of the conference is young people as actors in a politically volatile global society characterised by ecological, economic and social crises. Polarisation, a loss of trust in institutions and the dissolution of conventional knowledge structures are giving rise to new forms of political positioning, which are increasingly taking shape in digital and informal spaces. Taking these developments as its starting point, the workshop explores the role of political participation, media-mediated knowledge spaces and generational positioning in fostering social cohesion within the context of political education.

The key questions for the event are:
• How do young people develop political orientations amidst multiple crises, and how do they negotiate notions of social cohesion in the process?
• What role do assumptions about self-efficacy, problem awareness and the adoption of different perspectives play in conceptions of social cohesion?
• To what extent can implications for political education be derived from this?

The aim of the conference is to bring together current research and work in this field, to initiate a productive exchange of ideas, and to develop avenues for research, such as joint publication projects, initiatives and potential responses to calls for proposals and third-party funding opportunities.

The programme and further information can be found here.

Podcast: In episode 59 of the series "Hirn gehört - Der Oldenburger Wissensschnack", Prof Dr Tonio Oeftering spoke on the topic of "From education to political man". Click here for the podcast.

Lecture by Prof. Dr Tonio Oeftering on 11.05.2026 at 19:00, The Smart House Oldenburg

The event will focus on the concept of human dignity. The first question to be asked is what is actually meant by human dignity and whether it is an inherent characteristic of human beings or rather an open-ended social design and action mandate. In addition to these fundamental aspects, current threats to human dignity such as extremism, war, climate change and digitalisation, but also the question of its significance in politics, professional life and everyday life will be addressed.

The current issue of the magazine "Forschung und Lehre: alles was die Wissenschaft bewegt" focuses on democracy. It contains an interview with Prof Dr Oeftering in which he discusses the topic of the issue in greater depth and explains the central importance of political education for democracy. Further information can be found here.

Oeftering, T.: Critical support and co-design. On the importance of civic education for democracy. Interview, in: Forschung & Lehre, H. 8/24, pp. 572-574.

"In 2016, the Lower Saxony state parliament decided to reestablish the Lower Saxony State Centre for Political Education and at the same time established an evaluation after five years. The Political Education/Political Didactics working group at the University of Oldenburg, headed by Prof Dr Tonio Oeftering, was commissioned with this evaluation. In their final report, Antje Gansewig and Tonio Oeftering present a fundamentally positive assessment, point out opportunities for development, recommend strengthening the state centre and emphasise the importance of further, more in-depth studies to record the effects and achievement of objectives."

Gansewig, A.; Oeftereing, T.: Final report on the scientific evaluation of the Lower Saxony State Centre for Political Education. Available online at https://transfer-politische-bildung.de/transfermaterial/datenbank/#/d224

In June 2024, Prof. Dr Tonio Oeftering was appointed to the advisory board of the Fachstelle politische Bilung. The Fachstelle is a project of Transfer für Bildung e.V. and is funded by the Federal Agency for Civic Education. It deals with the concrete practice of political education and has set itself the goal of creating a knowledge hub in which knowledge on political education is structured, analysed and linked in a sustainable way. In addition, the knowledge is to be prepared for further specialist debates and as suggestions for practice. Further information can be found here.

To mark the 75th anniversary of the proclamation of the German Basic Law, Prof. Dr Tonio Oftering explores the topic of human dignity in times of multiple crises in a guest article. In it, he examines current challenges, particularly within the university context.

You can read the full article here.