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Grassroot movements started in the citizenry in Denmark. in the late18.th century,
and spread among the peasants in the 1820´es and -30´es, and werecarried
on by industrial workers in the late 19.th and early 20.th century . Their aim
was liberation from suppression, poverty and superstition.
Education and enlightenment came to have an ever more important role as a means
in this project of transforming society from Feudalism and Absolutism to modern
Democracy, - and accordingly the power of deciding to whom, how much, when, where
and how education and enlightenment should be given, became an important political
question: Would it become an instrument of authorities to create obedient, standardized
subjects??
- or would it become the instrument of liberation and for the independent spiritual
development of the individual??
Creation of People´s Institutions of Education. Maybe authorities of
the 19.th century in Denmark became aware of this matter too late,- or maybe they
just hadn´t sufficient money and intellectual capacity to win the battle,
- in any case: Through local initiatives all over the country during the second
half of the 19.th century hundres of communities or "circles" were germinating
in towns and villages, creating and operating their own "Free schools"
for children, "After schools" for youngsters and "Folk High Schools"
for adults.- These institutions became local centres of culture, making educational
activities available for everybody even in the most remote corners of the country.
Influenced by the educational thinking of the philosopher, poet, M.P., vicar
N.F.S. Grundtvig, focus in the greater part of these educational activities were
placed on practical and actual social, cultural and political problems of real
life of the individual and in society, as well as upon philisophical, spiritual
problems of conditions and sense of human life!
Non formal in its character this kind of education called upon the participation
and engagement of ordinary people in questions of society and community. So during
the period app.1850 - 1925 a deep rooted democratic tradition was developed, in
which local circles of study and education as well as national associations of
education and enlightenment played an important role, creating public opinion
and influencing legislative decisions in Parliament. Political parties, important
interest organizations, private groups of people etc. etc. founded their own associations
of education and enlightenment, and coordination and cooperation was established
by means of a common
council, founded 1941.
So when during the 1970´es and -80´es problems of ecological character,
existence of limits to growth and of pollution etc. became evident, and questions
as to fact and fiction, true and false arose, and political decisions became necessary,
many established organizations took up ecological items on their educational schedule,
and a new grass root movement developed, based upon independent initiatives of
ordinary people, - continuing and reviving the old tradition.
- One such independent local initiative, - which has now spread to become a national
organization- is the "Network for Ecological Educationand Practice"
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