Education and Democratic Participation
and who gets to have a
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Episode 01 – Education and Democratic Participation
And Who Gets to Have a Voice?
About this episode
What does it take for young people to develop confidence in their own political voice? And how can education help turn an understanding of democracy into the ability and willingness to participate?
In this opening episode of Berlin x London im Dialog: Urban Voices on Democracy, we welcome Professor Bryony Hoskins and Tim Pires Alves for a conversation on democratic education, political self-efficacy and the opportunities schools have to make civic participation more accessible.
At the heart of the discussion is G-EPIC**, a European research project investigating how educational approaches can strengthen political confidence and help address social and gender inequalities in democratic participation.
The research behind the conversation
G-EPIC – Gender Empowerment through Politics in Classrooms** developed and evaluated a five-lesson educational programme designed to strengthen students' political self-efficacy, with particular attention to girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The programme was developed in collaboration with researchers, teachers, students and civil society organisations and implemented in five European countries: Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Its educational approach goes beyond teaching political institutions and democratic procedures. It also explores how students can develop the confidence to discuss political issues, challenge assumptions, express their views and recognise opportunities to participate in public life.
The project offers an important starting point for thinking about the relationship between educational opportunity, political confidence and democratic participation.
Our guests
Professor Bryony Hoskins
Professor of Comparative Social Science at the University of Roehampton, London, and a leading researcher in citizenship education, political participation and social inequalities. She led the UK research team developing the G-EPIC classroom intervention.
Tim Pires Alves
Researcher at the Institute of Political Science, Justus Liebig University Giessen. His work focuses on democracy, political culture and political socialisation. He contributed to the German research team of the G-EPIC project.
Moderated by Dr Robert Keeling
Public Policy Advisor at the German Institute for the Good Life (difgl) and co-host of the podcast series LondonBerlinDemocracy.
Further reading and resources
G-EPIC – Official research project
https://www.g-epic.eu/
G-EPIC classroom intervention and educational toolkits
https://www.g-epic.eu/toolkits
G-EPIC – Research at Justus Liebig University Giessen
https://www.uni-giessen.de/de/fbz/fb03/institutefb03/ifp/forschung/bereiche/methoden_der_politikwissenschaft/g-epic/g-epic
Original event information – Berlin State Centre for Political Education
https://www.berlin.de/politische-bildung/veranstaltungen/veranstaltungen-der-berliner-landeszentrale/bildung-und-demokratische-teilhabe-1675236.php
About the podcast
Berlin x London im Dialog: Urban Voices on Democracy brings together voices from academia, politics, public administration and civil society to explore democratic life in two cities shaped by different political traditions but connected by many of the same social challenges.
The series builds on the German-British dialogue established through the difgl podcast LondonBerlinDemocracy.
Explore the project:
https://difgl.de/projekte/berlin-x-london-im-dialog-urban-voices-on-democracy/
Listen to LondonBerlinDemocracy:
https://londonberlindemocracy.podigee.io/
Production credits
A production by: difgl – German Institute for the Good Life
Executive Producers: Christoph Henseler, Katja Anclam
Special Guests: Tim Pires Alves, Professor Bryony Hoskins
Series Hosts: Dr Robert Keeling, Sabine Pusch
Episode Host & Moderator: Dr Robert Keeling
Sound & Video: Lena Weller
Editing: Lena Weller, Sabine Pusch
Original Music: Sebastian Winter, Raul Pablo Krantz
Graphic Design: Ralf Henning, Mathilda Kühne, Sebastian Winter
Recorded on: 18 June 2026
Location: Berlin State Centre for Political Education, Berlin, Germany
Language: English
Funded by the Berlin Senate Chancellery as part of the Berlin–London city partnership.
The Berlin event was held in cooperation with the Berlin State Centre for Political Education.
© 2026 difgl – German Institute for the Good Life.