The Justice and Peace Commission of the Slovenian Bishops' Conference (1985) is known for its social commitment to the defence of human rights in the context of the former socialist Yugoslavia. The Commission emphasises the importance of social harmonisation and overcoming post-war conflict.
Together with the Justice and Peace Commission, the Social Academy, founded after the democratic changes, is responsible for education in the Social Doctrine of the Church.
The introduction of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church into Slovenian society promotes an action plan aimed at protecting nature, respecting human life, welcoming others, social justice and reconciliation.
In this regard, online platforms have been designed and created to bring together the voices and thoughts of participants and disseminate them to the public. One example is the creation of the Slovenian educational portal https://razgledan.si/, which is rich in resources relating to aspects of social, political and civic life in the region.
Created within the Socialne akademije (a non-profit organisation dedicated to strengthening citizens' social engagement), this platform has specific sections designed to combat citizens' lack of knowledge about fundamental concepts such as democracy, community, populism, etc.
The educational content includes a section dedicated to lessons, divided into areas: Me and society, Basic concepts, State and democracy, Slovenia, my country. These are social, cultural and anthropological topics, limited to the territory, which aim to offer an accessible and quick-to-read, yet detailed, explanation of Slovenian society. To enhance user engagement, the platform includes a section dedicated to educational quizzes, through which users can become protagonists and test their knowledge, receiving certificates.
The richness of this portal is also evident in its more sector-specific resources aimed at a targeted audience such as teachers, who can use the teaching materials in schools. The educational material is therefore made available and continuously updated with the aim of “improving civic literacy”.
Another important European project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme, is Hard Topics, available in its original language as well as in English, Italian, German, Hungarian and Croatian. It aims to bring together young people, youth workers and educators to discuss difficult issues such as overcoming polarisation, conflicts and misunderstandings, and political, cultural and religious issues. The focus is on promoting the development of dialogue skills and creating discussions on shared European values.
The success of the initiative is reflected in the participation of over 850 young people and around 110 youth workers. The latter receive training to enable them to support and accompany the young people. Various dialogue tools are available online for users, such as a facilitator's manual, reflection cards, workshop ideas and recommendations for institutions.
In addition, an application has been created at the heart of the project to facilitate interaction between users. Educators can create personalised questionnaires and participants can engage in respectful discussion and mutual understanding.
By joining the community, users rediscover dialogue and listening to others, getting involved in passionate debates and finding themselves in agreement or reflecting on differing opinions. Young people can therefore enter a space where they can transform conflicts into constructive dialogue.