The international seminar of the COMPASS project, held on 29–30 June 2026 in Brussels, brought together trade unions and research institutes from Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Spain around a shared concern: how to strengthen the political awareness and democratic skills of union representatives using the tools of critical pedagogy.

On the first day, participating organisations presented posters on their countries and existing approaches to training trade union officials in democratic values and practices.

The second day featured lectures and discussions by two experts in critical pedagogy, exploring applied critical and practical knowledge with trade union representatives and researchers.

CELSI supported the Hungarian trade union SZEF in this project and was represented at the seminar by Senior Researcher Tibor T. Meszmann.

The COMPASS project aims to raise awareness among trade unions and their representatives about the importance of democratic principles, rights, and values — fostering pro-democratic attitudes and encouraging active participation in governance.

Set against a backdrop of democratic backsliding and growing pressure on labour rights across Europe, it focuses on knowledge-sharing, capacity building, and the development of novel training materials grounded in critical pedagogy.

The project is co-funded by the European Union, project no. 101250703.

Partners include KU Leuven, ACV Puls and De Vormers vzw (Belgium), ISSI, FNZ, and ISTURET (Bulgaria), SZEF (Hungary), and Fundación 1º de Mayo (Spain).

🔗 More about the COMPASS project: https://celsi.sk/en/COMPASS/

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📷 Photo: Balázs Dvoracskó