About the SL4DC project
The Erasmus+ project 'Service-Learning to promote Competences for Democratic Culture' or 'SL4DC' (2025-1-BE02-KA220-HED-000357830) explores the contribution of service-learning to the development of competences for democratic culture in European higher education. The project runs from November 2025 till October 2028.
In the current European context, democratic culture is under strain due to multiple socio-political challenges, including rising misinformation, increasing social and political divides and declining civic participation. Higher education institutions have the potential to counter these trends by equipping students with the necessary democratic competences, but they lack structured, evidence-based approaches to do so effectively and in a sustainable way.
The SL4DC project identifies two needs in contemporary European higher education:
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- A need for service-learning to strengthen competences for democratic culture for students and society
- A need for service-learning to enrich democratic culture within higher education institutions and to promote universities as ‘schools for democracy’, aiming to be institutions ‘doing democracy’ themselves.
Through the SL4DC project, students will experience civic engagement first-hand, increasing their likelihood of participating in community initiatives and engaging in democratic processes. Universities will play an active role in fostering a culture of democratic participation rather than being isolated from societal issues. The project will develop new service-learning methods to strengthen competences for democratic culture in students and communities. By integrating service-learning and art-based approaches, the SL4DC project provides a holistic response to Europe’s democratic challenges. The project ensures that European higher education institutions become key players in strengthening democracy, fostering a new generation of engaged, critically literate and socially responsible citizens through collaboration with communities.
Objectives
Collect and analyse existing practices to assess how service-learning effectively contributes to competences for democratic culture
Develop and pilot Art-Based Service-Learning approaches (ABSL) to enhance the impact of service-learning practices
Develop and pilot service-learning methods to tackle dis- and misinformation and bridge social and political divides
Project Phases
The project will be implemented in three phases:
Phase 1: Mapping service-learning practices fostering competences for democratic culture
(timeline: 1/11/2025 – 31/10/2026)
As a first step in the SL4DC project, we aim to identify existing service-learning practices that contribute to competences for democratic culture in the European higher education context. We will analyse the collected experiences, interpreting the underlying mechanisms and linking them to the EU Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC). This will result in an overview document with guidelines for higher education teachers and policymakers on how and in which contexts service-learning can contribute to competences for democratic culture in the European higher education context.
Phase 2: Connecting service-learning and art for critical understanding and empathy
(timeline: 1/10/2026 – 31/03/2027)
In a second phase, we will pay explicit attention to the relevance of art-based service-learning approaches (ABSL) for the development of competences for democratic culture. We will draw on insights collected from the first project phase to develop methods for integrating art-based approaches in service-learning to enhance democratic competences of students and community members. We will pilot these methods in existing service-learning courses and develop training materials and (online) workshops for higher education teachers on how to implement art-based approaches in their service-learning practices.
Phase 3: Service-learning for truth and trust
(timeline 1/05/2027 – 31/10/2028)
In a third phase, we will dive deeper in the relevance of service-learning to face two pressing challenges for European democracy: the rise of mis- and disinformation (Service-Learning for Truth) and the increasing social and political divides (Service-Learning for Trust) in our contemporary societies. These newly developed methods will be piloted in different partner institutions involved in the project. Training materials will be created for higher education teachers who want to develop their own service-learning practices targeting the challenges of truth and trust. This will help enhance competences for democratic culture among students and community members.
Outputs
- Framework on Service-Learning to foster Competences for Democratic Culture in European Higher Education
- Online Repository of Service-Learning Good Practices
- Training Programme on Service-Learning and Art-Based Approaches
- Service-Learning Pilot Projects
- Guidelines and Teaching Materials