H.04. Becoming Anticipatory Citizens: Adult Learning for Deep Democracy in Complex, Embodied and Pluriversal Societies

Stream H. Life Courses, Youth, Migration and Work
Convenor(s) Maria Fabiani (Independent researcher and evaluator); Roberta Terzi (Italian Futurists Association - Afi); Mario Cusmai (Italian Center for Lifelong Learning - Ciape); Mattia Cipriani (Ministry of the Interior); Patrizio Pastore (Sapienza University of Rome)
Keywords Adult Learning, Deep Democracy, Anticipatory Practices

At a time of democratic erosion, epistemic fragmentation, and growing inequalities, adult education emerges as a vital democratic institution. It is not merely a place where adults are taught about citizenship; it is a space where they can develop the attitudes, skills, and outlooks necessary to engage with democracy as an ongoing, contested, and generative practice. This panel examines how adult learning can sustain deep democracy, a democracy that is embodied, pluriversal, relational, future-oriented, and grounded in social justice.

Drawing on traditions from Dewey to Freire and on contemporary approaches, the panel explores how adults can learn to deliberate, negotiate difference, and reclaim autonomy in contexts shaped by emotional triggers, misinformation, and structural inequalities. We invite theoretical, empirical, and practice-based contributions that address:

  • Embodied and anticipatory forms of citizenship, examining how adults confront uncertainty, imagine alternative futures, and develop the agency required for democratic action amid socio-ecological transformations;
  • Democratic learning spaces, from community-based practices to cultural and workplace settings, where adults engage in dialogue, cultivate critical awareness, and confront power dynamics, intergenerational tensions, discrimination, and democratic backsliding;
  • Adult education as a bridge between citizens and democratic institutions, investigating how learning practices can connect with emerging anticipatory governance approaches in public administrations to foster participation, inclusion, and responsibility toward present and future generations.

Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the panel combines perspectives from education, democracy studies, futures studies, anticipatory thinking, civic imagination, and social justice frameworks to shed light on how adult education can evolve into an active practice of democracy.

Related panels

← Back to panel sessions