About

The International Democratic Education Conference is a coming together of individuals and organisations of educators, parents and young people interested in finding and creating paths of learning in line with children’s own natural ways of living and learning.

It is not an organisation; but more of a community keeping in touch through a few common e-lists. Every year, the Conference is held in a different country and rotated round the continents, to make it easier for those in that region to attend.

IDEC was called HADERA CONFERENCE FOR DEMOCRATIC SCHOOLS for the first 4 years. Just in the second time in the UK – during the fifth conference – it was called IDEC. The format of the conference was not made at a certain point. It evolved from the beginning, each host adding or changing.

The conference gives an experience to the participants as to what a democratic culture could be. Nobody is pushed into seminars or activities; it is for each participant to choose how to participate in the conference. It is a supportive, nourishing, challenging environment for those searching for meaningful ways to live and support young people.

It is held together by the host organisation for that year and passed on to the next year’s host school or organisation. Usually, the keynote speakers are scheduled in one time slot of the day; then there are workshops that participants may announce before or even during the conference. The format of the conference was designed by students at the second I D E Conference, in the U.K (the first one in 1993 being held in Israel, where it was named the democratic conference) to be for about ten days; with structured and unstructured time spread out through the day.

Visits to schools and programmes in the country; tours to other parts of the country are done before, during or after the conference. In 2018, the IDEC is being clubbed with the newly formed Asia Pacific Democratic Conference, which will be in its third year. So, IDEC@APDEC 2018 is announced by InDEC, with its first gathering to be held in November 2018, in Bangalore, to work towards the conference and its own goals for India.