Project
"More than Two Sides" (MORE) is an Erasmus+ funded project that explores the importance of emotions in political education in the digital age.
Polarizing content from populist groups and political parties achieves a high reach on social media such as TikTok, the main source of information for young people. This content is emotionally charged, often in a subtle way. These and other mechanisms of influence, as well as the functioning of the platforms themselves, show the importance of emotions for civic education and are examined in the project. The target groups are both teachers and pupils.
Naika Foroutan[1] among others summarizes the situation that prevails in many European countries: On the one hand, social groups strongly demarcate themselves in terms of their values, norms and their respective backgrounds; people position themselves ad hoc on one side or the other. Pause for thought, in-depth reflection, and recognizing shades of grey tend to be the exception. In discussions, things get heated – which can be seen quite clearly on social media. In addition, some actors actively create polarization by various means. The evocation of emotions is one of these means. Narratives that generate strong anger among the recipients are popular – as is stirring up hatred and fear. Similar strategies are used on online platforms such as TikTok – a main source of information for young people – which often exert influence more subtly.
Against this backdrop the project aims to develop materials for teachers and students at the intersection of political education and emotions.
[1]Foroutan, Naika (2023): Gegenwartsdeutungen und Zukunftserzählungen in der postmigrantischen Gesellschaft. Keynote auf dem 15. Bundeskongress für politische Bildung. Video accessible at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAAwuSDMy_I&t=3153s
CONTACT
Project Manager
Alrun R. Vogt, M.Sc.
Research Staff
Phone
Email
Address
Callinstraße 22
30167 Hannover
30167 Hannover
Building
Room
Phone
Email
Project Lead
Dr. Wolfgang Beutel
Executive Board
Phone
Address
Callinstraße 22
30167 Hannover
30167 Hannover
Building
Room
Dr. Wolfgang Beutel
Executive Board
Phone
Project Supervisor
Dr. Elizaveta Firsova-Eckert
Senior Research Staff
Phone
Address
Callinstraße 22
30167 Hannover
30167 Hannover
Building
Room
Dr. Elizaveta Firsova-Eckert
Senior Research Staff
Phone
PROJECT
The project “More than Two Sides” (MORE) aims to contribute to countering these developments that threaten European democracies. The MORE-project addresses three interconnected topics: emotions, social media and civic education. The project consortium will develop a teacher training as well as practical units for the classroom on the following issues:
- Emotions in the process of learning (about politics)
- Self-reflection of teachers’ perceptions and values
- Emotions in politics and influencing on social media
RESULTS
Coming soon
In this section you will find the project results once they have been published. The publication of the results is scheduled for late 2026.
NEWS & EVENTS
2nd PROJECT MEETING in VIENNA, 28th & 29th of OCTOBER
For the 2nd Project Meeting the MORE-Consortium came together in Vienna. At the meeting each partner presented the materials that they had worked on so far and received feedback. Now the partners are working on finalising the materials so that they can be tested and feedbacked by external persons.
KICK-OFF MEETING in HANNOVER, 26th & 27th of MAY 2025
At the end of May 2025 the MORE project consortium had their Kick-Off Meeting hosted by the Institute of Didactics and Democracy in Hannover. Based on the reports and needs analysis conducted by each partner the consortium discussed and agreed upon the next steps for developing the materials for the teacher training and the class units.
ABOUT US
Institute for Didactics of Democracy
As a research institute, we focus on civic education on a national and international scale. Dealing with anti-democratic tendencies and the development of tools to challenge them is one of our core competences.
Contact person: Alrun R. Vogt (vogt@idd.uni-hannover.de)
Nansen Dialogue Centre, Croatia
The Nansen Dialogue Centre is a civil society organisation that has been contributing to the democratisation and social development in Croatia for almost 25 years. The organisation has been dedicated to improving education, developing intercultural dialogue and building peace in Croatia and the region. Our work is based on educating teachers, youth and communities through innovative educational programmes and advocating for inclusive education policies.
Contact person: Ivana Milas (ivana@ndcosijek.hr)
Website: https://www.ndcosijek.hr/en/
I. Gimnazija Osijek, Croatia
The I. Gimnazija Osijek is a secondary school in Osijek, Croatia, with over 550 students. The curriculum of the school follows the national curriculum as well as the programme “School for Life”. “School for Life” is aimed at fostering equal opportunities for all students as well as teaching skills such as problem solving, creativity, critical thinking and more. They are a Erasmus+ Certified School and are part of the PASH-Initiative.
Contact person: Gracija Rezić (gracija.rezic@gmail.com)
Website: https://gimnazija-prva-os.skole.hr/
Democracy Centre Vienna
We are an interdisciplinary research institute with 20 years of experience on our main topics: processes of democratization, digital citizenship, forms of participation and citizenship education.
Contact person: Arne Schrader (schrader@demokratiezentrum.org)
Website: https://www.demokratiezentrum.org/
vhs Celle - Celler Volkshochschulverein e.V., Germany
The vhs Celle is the largest non-formal education institution in the district of Celle, Lower Saxony, Germany. Their work, which includes adult education, reaches a very diverse audience such as refugees, people with histories of migration, students, young adults and many more. Around 1850 people participate in the programme every term.
Contact person: Enno Stünkel (e.stuenkel@vhs-celle.de)
Website: https://www.vhs-celle.de/
FUNDING
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.