FUSADES: Understanding, Teaching and Learning Democracy
Ten years ago, disenchantment with democracy was already a significant problem, and the availability of training on the roles of citizens and officials in protecting it was scarce.
Thus, FUSADES, with the support of Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung, created the “Central American School of Government and Democracy” (ECADE) with the aim of contributing to quality training in the areas of government, democracy, and public management in El Salvador and Central America. This was achieved through a learning methodology based on the analysis of international experiences and classes taught by renowned political scientists from Latin America and Europe. In 2020, we proposed a course that combined elements of democracy and governance with a perspective of women’s inclusion and empowerment, giving rise to the specialized course “Strengthening Women’s Leadership as Agents of Change.”
Ten years later, about 2,000 students have successfully completed the courses and are now agents of change in their various fields of work. ECADE believes that for democracy to be practiced, it must be understood, taught, and learned. In an era of global democratic decline, there are more, not fewer, reasons to move forward, one democrat at a time.